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69th out of 211 books
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Carnivorous Nights: On the Trail of the Tasmanian Tiger
Packing an off-kilter sense of humor and keen scientific minds, authors Margaret Mittelbach and Michael Crewdson take off with renowned artist Alexis Rockman on a postmodern safari. Their mission? Tracking down the elusive Tasmanian tiger. This mysterious, striped predator was once the world’s largest carnivorous marsupial. It had a pouch like a kangaroo and a jaw that ope...more
Paperback, 336 pages
Published
April 2nd 2009
by Villard
(first published 2005)
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Allison
rated it
As an American living in Australia who is interested in the native wildlife, I really enjoyed this book. It was a quirky mix of travelogue, information on Tasmanian fauna and flora, and an American perspective. Though it is packed with good information and has additional reading materials in the back, it is not an indexed authority on any subject. It is more the recording of three Americans traveling to Australia to learn more about the elusive and sadly probably extinct Tasmanian Tiger. As such...more
I enjoyed this one despite the narrative choice of using the second person plural. It made the authors sound like conjoined twins - or was it the royal "we"? - it was a consistent irritant throughout the book. Luckily the trek around Tasmania was interesting as an introduction to some of the nifty places and critters of that island. We've planned it as part of our trip to Oz next month (me and my conjoined twin) and I made notes and got ideas on where to go when we get there. Womb...more
I'm 3/4 of the way through and thought this was a lot of fun to read while on my recent camping trip. It is a search for a (thought to be extinct) creature and gives a lot of history about Australia, Tasmania, and the animals of that region with a funny writing style. Only complaint is that I didn't much like some of the 'characters' and the ever present pot smoking didn't do much to add to the book (for me.)
This book was pretty interesting - it had some REALLY gross parts (land leeches!!). The cloning part was very reminiscent of Richard Stone's Mammoth. All in all, this was a very fun and educational read. Although, it certainly didn't make me want to vacation in Tasmania. It was a little disappointing that all signs point to the Tasmanian Tiger's extinction... but it was still a fun read!
The right ingredients are there, but they're boiled down into an unappetizing sludge. The characters have boring personalities, and their jokes were boring and their trip was boring and the boring secret of their boring trip is that they never get up close to the Tasmanian tiger. A bit of Steve Irwin-style schtick lightens the slog, but not much. Clumsy and insipid.
I love the thylacine and looked forward to reading this book for quite sometime. Although first chapters were pretty exciting and interesting it started to get a bit dull toward the center and downright tedious at the end.
I agree with one of the other reviewers. It would have made an excellent long article in the New Yorker or something but it's 20 some chapters wear thin and become pretty formulaic.
1) We go to this place to look for the thylacine.
2) We meet...more
I agree with one of the other reviewers. It would have made an excellent long article in the New Yorker or something but it's 20 some chapters wear thin and become pretty formulaic.
1) We go to this place to look for the thylacine.
2) We meet...more
Just finished this as we reached Australia. A wonderful account of a party traveling to Australia to determine if the Tasmanian Tiger is truly extinct. I really learned alot about Australia from this book and it has made my trip that much better. A must for anyone interested in Australia or planning a trip.
Jenny Gendel
added it
Really got into it, but wished the authors hadn't used we for everything, either attributed it to one author or the other. I would have liked more of both of thier individual personalities. I did REALLY enjoy Alexis' artwork throughout the book. It beautiful, and I hope to see his work in person some day.
Good, very depressing book about a contemporary (fairly low-intensity) search for the Tasmanian Tiger. It discusses a number of other strange Tasmanian animals and spends a fair amount of time on the history of the tiger itself, and on sightings/evidence since 1936.
Well-described and interesting not only for its facts about the Tasmanian Tiger, but fascinating for its details about other wildlife and facts about Tasmania. This is a great example of what travel literature and nature literature should be.
I enjoyed this one despite the narrative choice of using the second person plural. It made the authors sound like conjoined twins - or was it the royal "we"? - it was a consistent irritant throughout the book. Luckily the trek around Tasmania was interesting as an introduction to some of the nifty places and critters of that island. We've planned it as part of our trip to Oz next month (me and my conjoined twin) and I made notes and got ideas on where to go when we get there. Womb...more
I don't know where I heard about this book, but it was on a little scrap of paper to read and I finally did. I thought it was really interesting and entertaining. Each chapter started a little adventure into a different part or inhabitant of Tasmania. I would definitely have given it an extra star if it hadn't had, in my opinion, unnecessary bad language.
A quick, fun travelog/nature writing trip into the wilds of Tasmania. I learned about new (to me) critters, conservation efforts (or lack of, in some cases), and laughed a lot. A nice armchair travel jaunt.
Another book that should have been a long article. The subject matter is great, fresh and interesting (for being an extinct animal and all...), but all of the anecdotal meetings with people could have been summarized into interesting facts about the tiger instead of whole narrative chapters. To paraphrase my Uncle Rich paraphrasing Homer, BOOOO-RIIIING.
I really liked it. I'm a bit straight laced so the occassinal drug use bugged me, but all in all a great look at Tasmania and the search for the devil. Loved the artwork.
If you have ever been to Tasmania you will love this book! If you have not been to Tasmania this book is a excellent way to learn a bit about the people, history, ecosytems and crazy ass animals that live at this beautiful place.
They live! I believe! Quirky commentary by artist Alexis Rockman and his beautiful drawings enhance this search for the elusive thylacine.
great book, very interesting. beautiful artwork too!
Book fairy
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