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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.
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.
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.
"We can't think what we need to think about the catastrophe of extinction. It is too big. Only stories can change us and ignite the passion necessary for action. Lathan's superb storytelling makes ecological crisis personal, local and often scarily visible. He doesn't let the tragedy hide, as it usually does, behind graphs and abstractions. Yet there's hope here too, in spades. This is an exhilarating and vital book."
– Charles Foster, author of Cry of the Wild
"Not just a timely epitaph [...] but a celebration of their existence, reminding us of their wonder."
– Stephen Moss, author of Ten Birds That Changed the World
"A beautifully crafted elegy for the lost species of our age. In repopulating the world with extinct snails, lizards, bats and rats, Tom Lathan makes us marvel and care almost as much as the conservationists who tried and failed to save them."
– Kate Teltscher, author of Palace of Palms
