Shortlisted for the 2024 Richard Jefferies Award for nature writing. In Lost Wonders Tom
Lathan tells ten powerful stories of species that have lived died out and been declared
extinct since the turn of the twenty-first century. 'Timely elegiac' Daily Mail 'Superb
storytelling . . . an exhilarating and vital book' - Charles Foster author of Cry of the Wild
-------- 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 - Tom 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. Illustrated by
Claire Kohda
