What happens when the delicate balance of life is disturbed? Lost Wonders tells ten remarkable stories of species which have become extinct since the turn of the millennium. In Lost Wonders author and journalist Tom Lathan tells the powerful stories of ten species that have lived, died out and been declared extinct since the turn of the twenty-first century.
Many scientists believe that we are currently living through the Earth's sixth mass extinction, with species disappearing at a rate not seen for tens of millions of years – a trend that will only accelerate as climate change and other pressures intensify. What does it mean to live in such a time? And what exactly do we lose when a species goes extinct?
In a series of fascinating encounters with subjects that are now nowhere to be found on Earth – from giant tortoises to minuscule snails the size of sesame seeds, from ocean-hopping trees to fish that wag their tails like puppies – Lathan brings these lost wonders briefly back to life and gives us a tantalising glimpse of what we have lost within our own lifetime.
Drawing on the personal recollections of the people who studied these species, as well as those who tried but ultimately failed to save them, and with beautiful illustrations, Lost Wonders is an intimate portrait of the species that have only recently vanished from our world and an urgent warning to hold on all the more tightly to those now slipping from our grasp. Tom Lathan is an author and book critic living in Kent. His writing has appeared in publications including The Guardian and the TLS. He volunteers with Kent Wildlife Trust, working as part of their initiative to introduce wild bison to the UK for the first time in 6,000 years to West Blean and Thornden Woods Nature Reserve. Lost Wonders is Lathan's first book and was the recipient of a Society of Authors award.
Claire Kohda is an author, musician and artist. Her debut novel, Woman, Eating, was a book of the year in Harper's Bazaar, New Yorker, Glamour, BBC and HuffPost. As a violinist she has played with artists including Sigur Rós and The National, and on various film soundtracks. Lost Wonders is the first book she has illustrated.
