Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Last Chance to See

4.3 of 5 stars 4.30 · rating details · 8,203 ratings · 464 reviews

"Very funny and moving...The glimpses of rare fauna seem to have enlarged [Adams'] thinking, enlivened his world; and so might the animals do for us all, if we were to help them live."
THE WASHINGTON POST BOOK WORLD
Join bestselling author Douglas Adams and zoologist Mark Carwardine as they take off around the world in search of exotic, endangered creatures. Hilarious and po...more

Paperback, 256 pages

Published October 13th 1992 by Ballantine Books (first published 1990)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking

Best Science Books - Non-Fiction Only

41st out of 596 books — 1,318 voters

The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan

Best Environmental Books

45th out of 349 books — 382 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Feb 28, 2012 Brittany rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sciencewriting, wildlife, favorites

I love Douglas Adams's science fiction. Just look at my bookshelves. So it's as a firm fan that I say: Douglas Adams was wasted--wasted--on science fiction.

The man is obviously a science writer.

His science fiction was always good. Clearly. But none of it sings like Last Chance to See. This book is a passionate, loving, critical look at the human species and the influence we've had on our planet-mates. It chronicles the decline, and impending loss, of some wonderful, charismatic vertebrates. It t...more

27 likes · like · see review

Feb 16, 2011 Kwesi 章英狮 rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: borrowed, douglas-adams, mark-carwardine, 2011

I'm not a zoology student but I have a 3 unit subject and we were required to visit either Manila Zoo or the National Museum of the Philippines animal research section, it was a part of our annual field trip without the teacher in charge. Because I'm new here in Manila last year my classmates decided to go both the zoo and the museum. In spite of the fact that the weather was hot, we were forced to go outside and take pictures for our journal because it was the last day of submission.

Our first s...more

11 likes · like · see review

Nov 10, 2007 Ellen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Last Chance to See
Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine‘s book on capturing photos of nearly extinct species from around the world:

The book certainly had a very serious topic that is usually covered by explanation of the facts in a rather dry manner. I read those kinds of things anyway and take them to heart. The thing that was different for this book is that the presentation was lighter, with Douglas taking us into his head to deal with the insanity of travel, normal aberrant thoughts that we all h...more

1 like · like · see review

Sep 28, 2008 Lena rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: essays, humor

Mark Carwardine was a zoologist working for the World Wildlife Fund when he was hired by a magazine to take Douglas Adams to see the world’s rarest nocturnal lemur, the Madagascar aye-aye. The trip was enough of a success that they decided having Adams write funny things about his attempt to visit endangered species was a good way to raise awareness about animal conservation, so they reunited a few years later to track down some other animals whose numbers have fallen into the double digits. The...more

4 likes · like · see review

Aug 11, 2008 Aaron rated it 5 of 5 stars

Hillarious and strangely touching. Douglas Adams is the guy who wrote 'Hitchhiker's guide to the Galaxy' and some other science fiction humor books. In this non-fiction book, his publisher randomly paired him up with a zoologist and sent him to Madagascar to look for an endangered lemur. They just thought it would be a funny idea for an article. During the trip, Douglas Adams became really passionatly interested in animals and decided to do a whole book about endangered animals all over the worl...more

1 like · like · see review

May 24, 2013 Lhayes95 added it

Last Chance to See is the recorded journey of Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine as they travel around the world to see several endangered species for possibly the final time. Their journey takes place in a span of a few years during the late 1980’s.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Douglas Adams has is able to keep the reader in tune with what is going on with his wonderfully sarcastic and satirical sense of humor. Through his humor, Adams is extremely informative throughout the entire book. He...more

like · see review

May 22, 2012 Britany added it

Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine did a great job with this book. They took their mission of going all over the world to find all sorts of exotic and endangered species and really accomplished their goal. Going to places like Madagascar, Zaïre, and China; just to name a few, the two and their companions did a fine job. Doing a publication for BBC and to write a book all seem very ambitious and they did it well.
I thought Last Chance to See was entertaining because the reader gets the point-of-vi...more Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine did a great job with this book. They took their mission of going all over the world to find all sorts of exotic and endangered species and really accomplished their goal. Going to places like Madagascar, Zaïre, and China; just to name a few, the two and their companions did a fine job. Doing a publication for BBC and to write a book all seem very ambitious and they did it well.
I thought Last Chance to See was entertaining because the reader gets the point-of-view from a writer and not an actual scientist who is writing the book. The sense of humor in this book by Douglas Adams also helped with the flow of the book. I didn’t feel like I was reading a textbook, but I felt like I was reading a regular book. It was very informative in the sense that it was written with the help of Mark Carwardine who is a zoologist and knows a thing or two about animals around the world.
From an environmental perspective, it talked about tipping points in the rainforest of New Zealand, exotic species that take over in China, or human interference in Zaïre with poaching. The people who were interviewed in the book as well as for the BBC publication; they were very concerned about the animals and how they were going to survive if their habitats were being destroyed. The people were also worried about others killings the animals into extinction. For example, when reaching Mauritius, the locals were concerned for the Rodrigues Fruit Bat and if there were anymore on the island because they are rare species.
The book affected me for the best because I knew what the content was about and I could relate it to my Environmental Science class as I had learned about the things that were discussed. I have developed a conscious mind when it comes to animals and the environment I am in and how to treat it. I felt like I could relate to some of the people interviewed because they were so angry with poachers and other individuals who didn’t have a care in the world unless it was a selfish care.
Last Chance to See (less)

1 like · like · see review

Dec 01, 2008 Raquel Franco rated it 3 of 5 stars

Este libro, del autor de la brillante y desopilante guia del autoestopista galáctica, es una pequeña obrita de arte, en el más contemporáneo de los sentidos. Douglas Adams es cronista de viajes y un gran narrador. Los viajes que narra aquí son visitas de cortesía a los últimos ejemplares de algunas especies en vías de extinción, en sus ambientes naturales (bastante poco confortables): el dragón de Komodo, los delfines del río Yangtzee (recientemente acabados, por cierto), y otras rarezas. El lib...more

like · see review

May 23, 2013 Niki K. rated it 5 of 5 stars

Last Chance to See is a book documenting the journeys of Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine as they explore the corners of the Earth in search of endangered species. Adams, a comedic author, and Carwardine, an expert zoologist, travel everywhere from the jungles of Madagascar to the Yangtze River in hopes of encountering species on the verge of extinction. Adams and Carwardine shed some light on these rare species in hopes of promoting awareness and influencing recovery efforts. This book greatl...more

like · see review

Dec 30, 2012 Andrew rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book I have had for years - I picked it up not really knowing much about it as I was collecting his works after reading the hitchhikers guide. All I really knew about it was that it was a natural history exploration which sadly Douglas Adams died before completing. All that saw release was the book. I will be reviewing the book that Stephen Fry was involved with later - so much as to say that years later the project was resurrected and completed with great success, so much so that even afte...more

like · see review

Jun 18, 2012 Colleen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, nature

Douglas Adams teamed up with a crew from BBC to go around the world and find endangered species. That's not funny, it's sad. You're looking for creatures that you're not entirely sure will actually still exist when you get there. And yet, the creatures were seen. I have two favorite stories from this book.

Upon landing on Komodo in Indonesia, Doug mentions how disturbing it is to see a lizard and realize that its eye is the same size as yours. It's fine, he says, for a lion's eye to be that big,...more

like · see review

May 21, 2012 Nicholas Frye rated it 5 of 5 stars

Douglas Adams is best known for his science fiction and humor in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. What most people don’t know about the man is that while he was always writing about adventures on other worlds he always had big place in his heart for our world.

In 1985 Douglas Adams was sent to Madagascar to write about the aye-aye lemur for the Observer Colour Magazine. He was accompanied by a zoologist named Mark Carwardine. Once they actually saw the rare aye-aye it encouraged Adams to go...more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 10, 2011 Jodi R added it

A phenomenon that was started by one trip to Madagascar to find an almost extinct Lemur called the aye-aye, ended in a television show a radio show and this amazing book. Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams is an honest look at nature like we’ve never seen it before. This once science fiction novelist, goes on an adventure that will make you question everything you thought you knew about nature and animals. Adams‘ leaves the fiction behind in this real life story about one man’s journey around t...more A phenomenon that was started by one trip to Madagascar to find an almost extinct Lemur called the aye-aye, ended in a television show a radio show and this amazing book. Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams is an honest look at nature like we’ve never seen it before. This once science fiction novelist, goes on an adventure that will make you question everything you thought you knew about nature and animals. Adams‘ leaves the fiction behind in this real life story about one man’s journey around the world with a zoologist and a camera.
This book in my opinion is amazing, it has everything you could ever want in a non fiction book, it has amazing descriptions, intelligent insights and it has humor, It’s not dry like a textbook, It doesn’t just give you the straight facts about these animals, it explores the inter workings of the communities these animals live in, in a way that makes you feel connected, I don’t know what other environmental or biology non fiction books are like, but I think they should be modeled after this one.
The Observer colour Magazine couldn’t have picked a better person to team up with Mark Carwardine, on this adventure into the lives of these almost extinct animals in their homes all over the world. Listening to Douglas describe is second best to what I could only imagine being a life changing adventure, as good as it gets aside from actually being there and seeing what they see and how it makes them feel as well, to be in the presents of these extinct animals that we hope to find out so much more about. Another thing that in my opinion Douglas did very well was describe what it was like to be on this trip, as an author, you have to be good with words, but I never would have thought someone that could write fiction so well could also write non fiction and make an impact. I know that there are animals that are verging on extinction, but I never understood what they could mean, and I never thought that many species could be in danger, it’s not just a few animals, the number of species moving towards extinction is growing all the time. If the words weren’t enough to make you want to stand up and take action the color pictures in the middle of the book will make you feel the need to do just that. When I was hearing all the descriptions of these animals I never imagined that they were so close to these in some cases extremely dangerous animals.
Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams, is the most interesting non fiction book, I have ever read. Then again anything having to do with Douglas Adams is amazing in my opinion. When I saw Adams’ name on the book list, I thought it was a joke or a misprint, I even assumed that it was someone else with the same name, curious I looked into it further and there it was in smaller print “The author of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy” I bought it right on the spot. Last Chance to see was not the first Adams’ book I have read for an academic class. In eleventh grade I took an Astronomy class, and the summer before we had to read The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. It became one of my top five favorite books, and I went on to read more in the series. So it was inevitable that I would read his book for this assignment, and it was every bit as amazing as hoped it would be.
(less)

like · see review

Dec 29, 2010 Christiane rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, animals

In 1990 Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine traveled the world in search of the most endangered animals. I originally read this book years ago but was reminded of it again when I recently read “Kakapo Rescue”. Kakapo were on the verge of extinction in 1990 and are still on the verge of extinction today; there are 122 birds left (according to the Kakapo Recovery website). Some of the other animals they visited include the Komodo dragon, Northern white rhino, mountain gorilla, Yangtze River dolphin,...more

like · see review

Aug 05, 2012 Veeral rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, funny, adventure, travelogue, favorites-of-2012

This is a non-fiction book written by Douglas Adams who went around the globe along with zoologist Mark Carwardine in search of various species of animals and birds which were on a verge of extinction in 1985 (when this book was written). This piqued my interest on the thought that if these species were considered endangered in 1985, what is their current status as of 2012? Well I did some research on it (I mean I Googled it. But not in an amateurish way, I tried hard enough until I got bored, i...more This is a non-fiction book written by Douglas Adams who went around the globe along with zoologist Mark Carwardine in search of various species of animals and birds which were on a verge of extinction in 1985 (when this book was written). This piqued my interest on the thought that if these species were considered endangered in 1985, what is their current status as of 2012? Well I did some research on it (I mean I Googled it. But not in an amateurish way, I tried hard enough until I got bored, i.e. after 15 minutes!)

Well, we will soon see the current status of those species, but first some food for thought.
I cannot understand why normal citizens consider the extinction of various species a natural phenomenon! Just say these words in front of a well educated crowd and you almost know what answer you are going to get. Global warming? Pah. Government conspiracy. Extinction of various species? It is not a new thing. It’s just a cycle. But what if someone told you that the rate of extinction has increased exponentially in the last 50 years or so? And just because Al Gore supports the campaign against global warming doesn’t make it a conspiracy.

But whatever we say, ignorant person is going to stay ignorant, isn’t it true? So, without any further ado, let’s just look at the comparison of the species population which Adams saw in 1985 compared to the current year 2012.

Aye Aye(Madagascar) - unknown pop. (1985) – Fortunately they are more widespread than previously thought (2012)

Northern White Rhino (Zaire- Africa) – 22 nos. (1985) – Extinct (2012) (Only 7 remain in captivity)

Mountain Gorrillas (Zaire- Africa) – 280 nos. (1985) – 790 nos. (2012) (But endangered due to activities like deforestation and poaching)

Kakapo (New Zealand)– 40 nos. (1985) – 126 nos. (2012)

Yangtze River Dolphin aka Baiji (China) – 200 nos. (1985) – Extinct (2012)

The Komodo dragon (Indonesia)– 5000 nos. (350 females) (1985) – 4000-5000 nos. (2012)

Finless porpoise (Yangtze River, China)– 400 nos. (1985) – less than 400 nos. (2012)

The Rodrigues fruitbat (Mauritius) – 100 nos. (1985) – 3000 nos. and rising (2012)

Mauritius kestrel (Mauritius) - 100 nos. (1985) – 3000 nos. and rising (2012)

Echo Parakeet (Mauritius) – 15 nos. (1985) – 130 nos. (2012)

Pink pigeons (Mauritius) – 200 nos. (1985) – 350 nos. (2012)

The above description shows that not all of the species made it. And those who are faring better comparatively are still considered endangered if not critically endangered. And these are among the lucky few who were saved because of the much required publicity received from various sources including, I think, this book by Douglas Adams.

Apart from these species, Adams also saw some of the rarest species of flora. Let us read about them in his own words:

I knew that the palm tree was called Beverly because Wendy told me that was what she had christened it. It was a bottle palm, so called because it is shaped like a Chianti bottle, and it was one of the eight that remain on Round Island, the only eight wild ones in the world.

Or that the Hyophorbe amarfcaulis (a palm tree so rare that it doesn't have any name other than its scientific one) standing in the Curepipe Botanic Gardens in Mauritius is the only one of its kind in existence? (The tree was only discovered by chance while the ground on which it stands was being cleared in order to construct the Botanic Gardens. It was about to be cut down.)

But a skeptic would still ask that why it is only and only our (humanity’s) fault that earth’s ecology is crumbling? Let me leave this review with the perfect quote from this book itself to mull over if that question might arise in someone’s mind:

The great thing about being the only species that makes a distinction between right and wrong is that we can make up the rules for ourselves as we go along.
(less)

7 likes · like · see review

Nov 13, 2010 Nicholas Armstrong rated it 5 of 5 stars

If a book is well-written, and I don't simply mean it is an enjoyable romp, I mean really well written -- it is consistent, there is no break in the flow, voice, or tone -- and it accomplishes the elusive task of making you think, then what might we call that book? I would call it remarkable.

Douglas Adams is one of the most amusing writers of all time, perhaps even the most amusing writer of all time; couple this with an incredible intellect and the ability to write quite well and you get a pre...more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 23, 2011 Becky rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, humorous, audiobook, to-buy, 2011, highly-recommended, reviewed, challenge-1010

Last Chance to See chronicles Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine's trips to far flung places to see, and call attention to, endangered and borderline extinct animal species.

I listened to the audio, read by Douglas himself (except for the very end which is read by Mark Carwardine), and it was brilliant. Not only does Douglas really bring each destination and trip to life, but he does so in a way that allows the reader to understand his feelings regarding these things, but without sounding judgmen...more Last Chance to See chronicles Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine's trips to far flung places to see, and call attention to, endangered and borderline extinct animal species.

I listened to the audio, read by Douglas himself (except for the very end which is read by Mark Carwardine), and it was brilliant. Not only does Douglas really bring each destination and trip to life, but he does so in a way that allows the reader to understand his feelings regarding these things, but without sounding judgmental or like a finger-wagging nag.

And on top of that, his sense of humor and brilliant mind are like sunshine on a mostly cloudy day. It's all seriousseriousserious... then WHAM! Unexpected funny. What I wouldn't have given to be tagging along for this trip! DA, exotic locations, trying to help endangered animals, and my goodness, if the experts that they talked to were all half as funny and awesome as DA portrayed them, I'd have needed some adult diapers so that when I pissed myself laughing nobody would know and I could keep on trekkin'. As it was, just listening to him imitate them, I kept giggling uncontrollably. Just imagine that with facial expressions. Oh man.

But this is really a serious book. It's a bit dated now, from the late 80s or so, but the issues it contains are just as prevalent now as they were then, if not more so. Some of the plights he described, particularly that of the Yangtze River Dolphin, the Baiji. Evolutionarily blind because of the muddy river water, they existed for thousands of years by echolocation, and then when China started to develop industrially and started to use the river with powered boats etc, the dolphins could no longer hear, became confused and would be hit by boats or propellers, or get caught in fishing nets and die either way. And that's not to mention the pollution and poisons in the water from industrial waste, or the fact that people still eat them. Or did, before they were declared "functionally extinct" in 2006. *sigh* Just the way that DA described these poor dolphins broke my heart - blind, confused, hungry due to lack of food due to human fishermen, in constant fear and pain from the pollution and noise pollution in the water, and with nowhere to go... it makes me really hate humanity sometimes. But, in the Chinese people's defense, it seems that they truly didn't know that there were dolphins in the river until almost too late, and then they scrambled to help... But too late won. :(

I definitely recommend this book. It's an important and brilliant one. And it's Douglas Adams. That should be enough.(less)

2 likes · like · see review

Apr 01, 2011 Kathleen rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Adams' fans, animal lovers, environmentalists

This was Douglas Adams’ favorite of the books he wrote. It’s a serious book about a serious issue that was very important to him: preserving biodiversity. Now, when I say it’s a serious book, what I mean is that it’s a serious treatment of the subject matter. But that is not to say that it isn’t infused with Adams’ unique and quirky brand of humor, because it is.

Adams, along with zoologist and co-author Mark Carwardine, made a series trips between 1985 and 1989 to some far-flung corners of the...more

like · see review

Jan 08, 2008 Angela rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: everyone

Recommended to Angela by: Sam Bretheim, my spouse

Wow, so many cute animals, with pictures! And they're disappearing... This amusing / horrifying book perfectly captures the mood of the urgent environmental crisis we're in (it's by no means comprehensive, just engaged in the discussion). But! The author's wit and compassion come through, and the book is hysterical by times, instructive, engaging, and compelling by others.

Douglass Adams, why did you die so early?!!!

1 like · like · see review

Jan 01, 2012 Brett rated it 5 of 5 stars

Douglas Adams is, of course, most famous for his work on the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books, but if there was one piece not related to HHGTTG by DNA that I wish people would read, it would be this one.

Mr. Adams was deeply fascinated with the natural world, and this love for the world around him absolutely shines through in this book, wherein Mr. Adams records his experienced traveling the world, encountering various endangered species in their natural habitat. His wonderful observational...more

like · see review

Sep 15, 2011 Maggie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: book-club

Of the two travel journals of comedic writers I've read recently (the other being The Innocents Abroad: or, The New Pilgrims' Progress), this one was more fun and more substantive. Douglas Adams wrote with sadness and hope about the plight of animals who are charmingly ill-suited to the world that has changed around them.

In a more serious work than the books I know him for, he expresses his awe and empathy and discomfort along the way with a lot of clarity -- enough for me to empathize with him...more

1 like · like · see review

Dec 31, 2011 Dimitris Hall rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Douglas Adams proved with this book that he wasn't just a brilliant science fiction writer with a virtually unrivalled wit and sense of humour; it went to show that he had an admirable, enviable even, sense of social and ecological responsibility, taking him, as far as I am concerned, from the "brilliant writer" tier, to the "paradigm of humanity" club, reserved only for those people (and there's not a lot of them around) that can work as true inspiration for me. Last Chance To See is a manifest...more Douglas Adams proved with this book that he wasn't just a brilliant science fiction writer with a virtually unrivalled wit and sense of humour; it went to show that he had an admirable, enviable even, sense of social and ecological responsibility, taking him, as far as I am concerned, from the "brilliant writer" tier, to the "paradigm of humanity" club, reserved only for those people (and there's not a lot of them around) that can work as true inspiration for me. Last Chance To See is a manifesto on almost everything that's wrong or imbalanced in the world today -- and it was written more than 20 years ago. The Douglas Adams impish vibe that is so cherished by many serves as little more than a tasty side dish for this book. It is that good.

My edition has a foreword by Richard Dawkins who has a similar opinion of the late man as I do. While I do not really agree with his flagship Atheist views (even if I would much sooner classify myself as an Atheist than a "Creationist"), he does do a magnificent job of summing up the point of this book in just a few words:

Of the endangered animals that Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine set out to see, one seems to have gone for good during the intervening two decades. We have noew lost our last chance to see the Yangtze river dolhpin. Or hear it, which is more to the point, for the river dolphin lived ina world where seeing was pretty much out of the question anyway: a murky, muddy river in which sonar came splendidly into its own -- until the arrival of massive noise pollution by boat engines.
The loss of the river dolphin is a tragedy, and some of the other wonderful characters in this book cannot be far behind. In his Last Word, Mark Carwardine reflects on why we should care when species, or shole major groups of animals and plants go extinct. He deals with the usual arguments:

Every animal and plant is an integral part of its environment: even Komodo dragons have a major role to play in maintaining the ecological stability of their delicate island homes. If they disappear, so could many other species. And consercation is very much in time with our own survival. Animals and plants provide us with life-saving drugs and food, they pollinate crops and provide important ingredients for many industrial processes.

Yes, yes, he would say that kind of thing, it's expected of him. But the pity that we need to justify conservation on such human-centered, utilitarian grounds. To borrow an analogy I once used in a different context, it's a bit like justifying music on the grounds that it's good exercise for the violinist's right arm. Surely the real justification for saving these magnificent creatures is the one with which Mark rounds off the book, and which he obviously prefers:

There is one last reason for caring, and I believe that no other is necessary. It is certainly the reason why so many people have devoted their lives to protecting the likes of rhinos, parakeets, kakapos and dolphins. And it is simply this: the world would be a poorer, darker, lonelier place without them.

[...]

He [Douglas Adams] saw with his own eyes how quickly such painstaking edifices of evolutionary artifice can be torn down and tossed to oblivion. He tried to do something about it. So should we, if only to honour the memory of this unrepeatable specimen of Homo Sapiens. For once, the specific name is well deserved.

My respect also goes to Mark Carwardine, who has continued to bring the word out all these years, as well as to all the people all over the world, described in the book or not, that have devoted their lives to noble and moving ideals.

(less)

2 likes · like · see review

Aug 01, 2011 Kirsten rated it 5 of 5 stars

One of the best books on conservation and endangered species that I've read! Many books tend to get so bogged down in the details that the non-scientists out there can become overwhelmed and lost. Douglas Adams draws on his fantastic sense of humor in telling his stories of searching for some of the world's most endangered species. The book highlights a few of his travels, and tells the stories of those trips in depth. There is a big emotional take-away from this book - you don't just learn that...more

1 like · like · see review

Jan 20, 2009 Hayley rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone with even a passing interest in animals or species conservation

Recommended to Hayley by: Brittany

Written by a well-known scifi humorist, this real-life account of his travels to see endangered animals is very funny, but is also very poignant when it's NOT funny.

In a concise little book, the author conveys the most interesting details of his trips to see several species, including the silly and sometimes alarming details of his travels, the struggles to locate the rare species in the wild, what it's like when he finally does, and how conservationists are working to protect the animals.

Whil...more

like · see review

Jan 19, 2013 Leanne Kinkopf rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: autobiographies-memoirs, current-events, non-fiction, uk-irish, science, travel

This book has an interesting premise: a zoologist (Mark Carwardine) and a science fiction comedy writer (Douglas Adams) travel around the world and visit endangered species. This is an ideal way for a book about nature to be set up; there's the opinion of numerous experts, and an interested layman to ask the questions that we, other interested laymen, are thinking.

The two men and their small BBC crew travel to different areas of the world in search of specific animals, from man eating lizards to

...more

like · see review

Nov 30, 2010 Shahina rated it 5 of 5 stars

From my old blogs - It is an endearing picture of the world out there. One example…the kakapo of New Zealand has so many eccentric habits that it cannot survive without human intervention. It is an immensely large parrot that has forgotten how to fly and is stuck way back in time. Douglas compares its eccentricity to the British motorbike industry that produced these huge massive bikes with minimal practical features and was largely sustained because it had gained cult status....

Douglas hardly...more

like · see review

Jan 09, 2013 Maximilian Klein rated it 4 of 5 stars

Today if you wanted to create a collection of first hand experiences with exotic, endangered animals world-wid crowdsourcing would be a much more viable option. The downside to having crowdsourced this book rather than having Adams schlep to the remotest corners of the earth is that it wouldn't be entirely written by a grumpy Adams. What's sometimes close to seeming like charity work, i.e. a celebrity author promoting an environmental concern, still is gripping enough to make you read through th...more

like · see review

Aug 03, 2012 Bryan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Everyone

Shelves: nature

This book combines two of my favorite things; Douglas Adams' writing style and nature books. I sprung at the chance to read this when it was released, and have read it multiple times since. Mark Carwardine is an experienced biologist and gifted photographer, and if you don't know who Douglas Adams is, well, you should, he wrote Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Just like HHGTG, this started as a BBC radio show, and ended as a book.

Douglas and Mark travel the world to visit nine animals in acute d...more

like · see review

Dec 18, 2008 Frank rated it 4 of 5 stars

Funny, quirky travelogue from Douglas Adams about his journey to see endangered species around the world. If you liked any of his Hitchhiker books then this one is worth picking up and reading. Easy read. About 200 pages. Here's a sample from the section on the New Zealand kakapos : "It would help if there were plenty of them being born, but this brings us on to more problems. The kakapo is a solitary creature; it doesn't like other animals. It doesn't even like the company of other kakapos. One...more

like · see review

Mar 07, 2011 Kyle Kurpinski rated it 3 of 5 stars

I'm conflicted on this book. On one hand, I truly enjoy Douglas Adams's sense of humor and writing style. On the other hand, I'm biologist at heart and I find the study of endangered species to be a truly interesting and noble undertaking. However, when these two things are mixed together in Last Chance to See, I found the end result to be muddled. I think Adams and Carwardine knew exactly what they wanted to write here, but it's not exactly what I was expecting, and it didn't quite gel with me....more

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 99 100 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

combine
Other Editions (27)

More editions...

Genres

Non Fiction

413 users

Science

169 users

Travel

142 users

Humor

94 users

Environment > Nature

93 users

Animals

63 users

Science > Biology

34 users

Writing > Essays

32 users

Environment

26 users

Science > Mathematics

17 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Douglas Adams

Douglas Noël Adams was an English author, comic radio dramatist, and musician. He is best known as the author of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. Hitchhiker's began on radio, and developed into a "trilogy" of five books (which sold more than fifteen million copies during his lifetime) as well as a television series, a comic book series, a computer game, and a feature film that was comp...more

More about Douglas Adams...

Books by Douglas Adams

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #1)

The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #1-5)

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (Hitchhiker's Guide, #2)

Life, the Universe and Everything (Hitchhiker's Guide, #3)

So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish (Hitchhiker's Guide, #4)

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About Die Letzten ihrer...

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

Quotes from Last Chance to See

“Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.” — 228 people liked it

“In every remote corner of the world there are people like Carl Jones and Don Merton who have devoted their lives to saving threatened species. Very often, their determination is all that stands between an endangered species and extinction.
But why do they bother? Does it really matter if the Yangtze river dolphin, or the kakapo, or the northern white rhino, or any other species live on only in scientists' notebooks?
Well, yes, it does. Every animal and plant is an integral part of its environment: even Komodo dragons have a major role to play in maintaining the ecological stability of their delicate island homes. If they disappear, so could many other species. And conservation is very much in tune with our survival. Animals and plants provide us with life-saving drugs and food, they pollinate crops and provide important ingredients or many industrial processes. Ironically, it is often not the big and beautiful creatures, but the ugly and less dramatic ones, that we need most.
Even so, the loss of a few species may seem irrelevant compared to major environmental problems such as global warming or the destruction of the ozone layer. But while nature has considerable resilience, there is a limit to how far that resilience can be stretched. No one knows how close to the limit we are getting. The darker it gets, the faster we're driving.
There is one last reason for caring, and I believe that no other is necessary. It is certainly the reason why so many people have devoted their lives to protecting the likes of rhinos, parakeets, kakapos, and dolphins. And it is simply this: the world would be a poorer, darker, lonelier place without them.” — 13 people liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: Last Chance to See
avg rating	preview: Last Chance to See Goodreads rating: 4.30 (8203 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8696.Last_Chance_to_See?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327867839l/8696.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8696.Last_Chance_to_See?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams[/url]

Last Chance to See

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website