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.

Illustrated by Claire Kohda

Reviews

‘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

‘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

‘In Lost Wonders, Tom Lathan has written not just a timely epitaph for eleven recently extinct species, but also a celebration of their existence, reminding us of their wonder, and spurring us to save those now on the brink of vanishing forever.’
- Stephen Moss, author of Ten Birds That Changed the World

‘Lost wonders is a poignant and exhaustively researched story of the 6th extinction: the one happening right now, and caused by us.The modern pruning of the tree of life can be explained by our ignorant destruction of the natural world. The numerous “endlings” (last members of their species) are chronicled here by people who loved them, conserved them, fought for them and cared for them, whether they were tiny microsnails or giant tortoises. Each species had a right to exist, moulded by eons of natural selection, and lived in a delicate balance that was upset by human meddling. Their stories deserve to be told, and the quiet heroism of those conservationists tasked with saving them to be celebrated. The wanton and careless destruction of habitats, the release of invasive species, and the impact of anthropogenic climate change have all contributed to making our world less full of wonder. The loss of beautiful biodiversity cannot be quickly or easily reversed and the small changes that have ultimately led to many extinctions hold a lesson for our own species.’
- Ross Barnett, author of The Missing Lynx

As Tom Lathan makes clear in this timely, elegiac book, we live in an era of extinction… However, although Lost Wonders offers a stark warning, it also provides hope that we can do something to avert more extinctions.
- Daily Mail

Text © Tom Lathan 2024; illustrations © Claire Kohda 2024