Last Chance to See

I'm going through my Goodreads-reads, and noticed that not a single of my Goodreads-friends have read this book. And, as this is one of the best books I know of that no one seems to have read, I see this as a good occasion to write a (very) late review of this book, which I still remember vividly, over nine years after I read it.

The Hitchhiker’s series is undoubtedly great, and this book is different, but it’s just as fantastic in a different way. It’s a travel-memoir in which Douglas Adams travels to see species that are in danger of going extinct, describing both his journey and the animals. It’s funny, thoughtful, at times properly heartbreaking and feels incredibly real: the emotions of Adams really comes through in the text.

This is a book I’ve gifted several times, and one of those books I think everyone should read for many reasons. It has the obvious conservationism message, but it also a great travel-diary in it’s own right. It’s as funny as you’d expect a book by Douglas Adams to be, and really brings out a different side of his writing from what shines through in his fiction. Go read it!

I started reading this book on my kindle during my last two years at university but forgot about it since then--partly because Rapture of the Nerds came out and I promised the school paper that I would write a review of it. Everything else got in the way as well.

I bought the print edition last year and decided that, this year, I would start reading it again. I regret nothing...

Part travel memoir and scientific nonfiction, Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine go across the globe to find endangered animals, some of which were on the brink of extinction, and how conservation agencies go about preserving them. Adams himself is in good form here, weaving his humor and ruminative thoughts into the journey along with a glimpse into his passion for the environment that led him to become one of the founder patrons for the Save the Rhino charity organization among other things. I found the whole thing beautiful, even when they were struggling through airports and hotels trying to make their way to see the Komodo dragons in Indonesia, the kakapo birds of New Zealand, the Baji dolphins in China's Yangtze River, and other endangered species. Definitely worth the wait!

In short, this book rocks. Read it.
Maybe it just came to my life in the right moment, or maybe I'm too much of a Douglas Adams fanboy. Maybe. But as someone who considers himself a member of the human species, worries about planet earth and its inhabitants, loves traveling, reading, laughing and thinking... this book has it all.
It is funny, surprising and touching. It takes you on a trip and teaches you about the world. It also breaks your heart and makes you wish you could do more.
It was written in the 80s and even though we now have answers to some of his questions (Baiji dolphins are gone, but Kakapos are still with us), the writing feels as relevant as it will ever be.
Adams writing conveys profound, deep insights in such a straightforward and direct way you can't help but devour the entire book. It reads partly as a travel journal, part science book, part jokes and comedy.
He tells you about people and places he visited while looking for some of the most endangered animals, trying to catch a glimpse of them before they disappear forever. The idea of it is so beautiful and poetic it is hard to grasp it is also so simple.
But perhaps the most inspiring thing about the book is the sense of wonder that permeates it throughout. We really live in an astounding planet, surrounded by the most improbable and wonderful living creatures. And yet we are systematically eliminating their chances to live. This book remind you how lucky we are we got to share our home with these creatures. How great it is to have them be part of our stories. How important it is to try and keep them alive, if only because our world would be darker and lonelier and sadder without them.
Read it.