Christopher Cokinos is an award-winning writer and poet, and a professor of English at Utah State University. He has received the Whiting Writers' Award, the Glasgow Prize for an emerging writer in nonfiction, and the Sigurd Olson Nature Writing Award.
"This story-of the ghost species still haunting this continent-is
full of power and mystery."
-Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature
"A eulogy, a call to conservation, and a careful history."
-Chicago Tribune
"Cokinos balances the emotional impact of the last days of six
species with tales of heroic efforts to save them by a handful of
bird-lovers."
-USA Today
"Lovingly persistent detective work brings back flashes of color,
bits of song, and curious lore. This book deserves a wide and
devoted readership."
-Sheila Nickerson, author of Disappearance: A Map
"A marvelous book, beautifully written and filled with a poetry of
evocative detail."
-The Philadelphia Inquirer
"Eloquent and moving . . . a charming narrative that is both
personal and historically meticulous."
-The Washington Post Book World
"Resounds with excitement."
-The Boston Globe
Here is a poignant, beautifully written account of the context and circumstances of the extinctions of six North American birds: the passenger pigeon, Carolina parakeet, ivory-billed woodpecker, heath hen, Labrador duck, and great auk. Cokinos, a poet and English professor at Kansas State University, traveled to where these birds lived, sifted through archives and libraries, and interviewed authorities and witnesses. Far from being a sentimental sojourn, his well-researched book takes an engaging, lively look at American history and science as well as the possibility of re-creating vanished creatures through DNA cloning. With increased extinctions looming worldwide, it provides a well-advised cautionary tale--and much more as well. Highly recommended.--Henry T. Armistead, Free Lib. of Philadelphia Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.
"This story-of the ghost species still haunting this continent-is
full of power and mystery."
-Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature
"A eulogy, a call to conservation, and a careful history."
-Chicago Tribune
"Cokinos balances the emotional impact of the last days of six
species with tales of heroic efforts to save them by a handful of
bird-lovers."
-USA Today
"Lovingly persistent detective work brings back flashes of color,
bits of song, and curious lore. This book deserves a wide and
devoted readership."
-Sheila Nickerson, author of Disappearance: A Map
"A marvelous book, beautifully written and filled with a poetry of
evocative detail."
-The Philadelphia Inquirer
"Eloquent and moving . . . a charming narrative that is both
personal and historically meticulous."
-The Washington Post Book World
"Resounds with excitement."
-The Boston Globe
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