Last Chance to See

A great read from Douglas Adams. He travels the world looking for endangered animals and writes seriously but with humor about the experience. Beautiful and sad

I normally wouldn't review a twenty-five-year-old book, but since "Last Chance to See" is just as relevant today as it was in 1990, some words are warranted. Also, being an author myself, who writes similar humor-infused, ecologically-minded travel books, I must say that from now on Douglas Adams will be the writer I most aspire to emulate. Although Douglas Adams is most famous for humorous fiction writing, for some reason his novels, like "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," never grabbed me. Perhaps I just wasn't in the mood at the time--I will certainly try again. But when it comes to travel-oriented nonfiction, Adams is absolutely the best. I especially recommend "Last Chance to See" for people who enjoy reading Bill Bryson, but wish that Bryson had bigger adventures that were more wildlife-oriented. What a shame that Douglas Adams died at such a young age. Fortunately books live forever. "Last Chance to See" is an ongoing wake-up call about the serious, irreparable damage humans are doing to Planet Earth, told in a way that will bring you to tears--both tears of sadness and tears of laughter. I don't know how this book escaped my reading list all these years, but I'm glad I found it now! Marty Essen, author of 

Have been rereading portions of the late atheist novelist Douglas Adams' Last Chance to See. What a marvelous, hilarious, evolutionarily witty and brilliant piece of non-fiction this is. Allow me to briefly surmise some of the spectacular facets of this delightful book. Well, screw that, here's what the book is... Take the creator of Vorgons, Zaphod Beeblebrox, The HitchHiker's Guide to the Galaxy, (and that 5 book series) and put him in the real-life context of: * tourists wearing vulgar tourists in exotic places * sniveling and unhelpful airplane customer service people * endangered animals * commuting on a rickety boat with a three-day-old dead goat * some of the most venomous snakes and creatures to exist * and more I love how Douglas (in studying evolution in this book a bit) dissects everything. There was one passage where he deconstructs the composition of the paper pages and leather binding of a notebook (I would've used computer personally lol) (bollocks I will find it and quote it exactly but can't open kindle at moment): He does things and has descriptions like that throughout the book. He made a witty, true, and interesting parallel between vulgar tee-wearing tourists (who happened to be from a non-uk country) convergently evolving in a way that was similar to brits that he knew. I never knew Adams personally, but love the man and his work (possibly as much as Dawkins seemed to, whom wrote a lament for Douglas). He's easily one of, or The, fave sci-fi authors, but that said, this non-fiction of his is even better. Hilarious and wise simul. Put one of the world's most amusing fiction sci-fi authors in with the ants and dirt and forests embarking to see some of the rarest animals on the planet. It's marvelous, insightful atheism, didactic evolutionary biology, promisingly british, freakishly funny, and just awesome.

Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams is a funny and moving trek across the world to see certain species before they go extinct. If it weren't for his incredible humor, I probably would have been a sobbing puddle of tears before I finished the first chapter. It's not easy to read about the damage humanity has wrought around the world. It is heartening to know there are people out there that care enough to dedicate their lives to protecting those that can't protect themselves. While traipsing around to gather material to tell these important stories, Adams manages to get himself into all sorts of predicaments, some which may be familiar to those who've also traveled to exotic locales. The only thing I wish my Kindle version had was photos of the animals and the travels. If you like stories of travel or animals, this is a great read.

I read this book when it first came out and forgot how much it influenced me. 30 some years later. It's still an amazing read and I love Douglas Adams style. First thing tomorrow I want to check on the population numbers of the various things mentioned in the book. Easy read. Super interesting. Highly recommended