The Rarest of the Rare: Vanishing Animals, Timeless Worlds by Diane Ackerman (HC/DJ)

Having written books on the natural history of the human senses and love, Ackerman turns her own exquisitely honed poetic sensibility to vanishing species. Although she travels to exotic locales such as the Amazon, the tropical Pacific, and remote Japanese islands, the powers of her craft are most evident in the chapter centering on Cornell, in Ithaca, New York, near her home. Many nature writers seem to seek out unusual terrains to find their voice. It is a tribute to Ackerman's craft -- and the extraordinary complexity of nature -- that she can turn a trip to the Entomology Department of a nearby university into a world as exotic as the Amazon.