{"product_id":"vanishing-treasures-a-bestiary-of-extraordinary-endangered-creatures-9780385550826","title":"Vanishing Treasures: A Bestiary of Extraordinary Endangered Creatures","description":"\u003cb\u003eFrom the award-winning author Katherine Rundell comes a \"rare and magical book\" (Bill Bryson) reckoning with the vanishing wonders of our natural world\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe world is more astonishing, more miraculous, and more wonderful than our wildest imaginings. In this brilliant and passionately persuasive book, Katherine Rundell takes us on a globe-spanning tour of the world's most awe-inspiring animals currently facing extinction. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eConsider the seahorse: couples mate for life and meet each morning for a dance, pirouetting and changing colors before going their separate ways, to dance again the next day. The American wood frog survives winter by allowing itself to freeze solid, its heartbeat slowing until it stops altogether. Come spring, the heart kick-starts itself spontaneously back to life. As for the lemur, it lives in matriarchal troops led by an alpha female (it's not unusual for female ring-tailed lemurs to slap males across the face when they become aggressive). Whenever they are cold or frightened, they group together in what's known as a lemur ball, paws and tails intertwined, to form a furry mass as big as a bicycle wheel. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBut each of these extraordinary animals is endangered or holds a sub-species that is endangered. This urgent, inspiring book of essays dedicated to 23 unusual and underappreciated creatures is a clarion call insisting that we look at the world around us with new eyes--to see the magic of the animals we live among, their unknown histories and capabilities, and above all how lucky we are to tread the same ground as such vanishing treasures. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBeautifully illustrated, and full of inimitable wit and intellect, \u003ci\u003eVanishing Treasures \u003c\/i\u003eis a chance to be awestruck and lovestruck, to reckon with the beauty of the world, its fragility, and its strangeness.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Doubleday Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/12\/2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780385550826\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 224\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 08\/01\/2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/01\/2024 pg. 16\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/02\/2024\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Katherine Rundell","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44637803872437,"sku":"9780385550826","price":22.1,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_eb2e37b7-629e-4fb5-9415-eda738891245.jpg?v=1726582593","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/vanishing-treasures-a-bestiary-of-extraordinary-endangered-creatures-9780385550826","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}