The Endangered Species Road Trip: A Summer's Worth of Dingy Motels, Poison Oak, Ravenous Insects, and the Rarest Species in North America
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.81 (556 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 155365935X |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 272 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2013-03-29 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
His quest will take him on two great loops across the two nations, from Canada's urban core to the forbidding depths of America's dismal south. Comparable to Douglas Adams's seminal Last Chance to See, MacDonald's debut book should be considered a must-buy. From Publishers Weekly Starred Review. Documenting the ongoing simplification of North America's ecologies could be grim work – the specters of death and total extinction are ever present— but MacDonald's comedic sense and his engaging style are addictive and the resulting tale is intensely charming. He finds species teetering on the edge of extinction, in most cases pushed towards the precipice by climate change and the activities of humans. The condo
Touring North America and learning about endangered species and conservation biology Cameron MacDonald teaches biology at Langara College in Vancouver. In the summer of 2011 he took a 11Touring North America and learning about endangered species and conservation biology R. M. Peterson Cameron MacDonald teaches biology at Langara College in Vancouver. In the summer of 2011 he took a 114-day, 16,000-mile trip across the United States and Canada to obtain photographs and anecdotes about endangered animals and plants so that he could spice up his lectures on conservation biology. His vehicle was a minivan and he took his dog. He planned to cook out a lot and frequently to overnight at campgrounds. But by no means was this a reprise of "Travels with Charley", because MacDonald also took his wife (who perhaps was accumulating chits for sainthood), his two-year-old daughter, and his seven-mon. -day, 16,000-mile trip across the United States and Canada to obtain photographs and anecdotes about endangered animals and plants so that he could spice up his lectures on conservation biology. His vehicle was a minivan and he took his dog. He planned to cook out a lot and frequently to overnight at campgrounds. But by no means was this a reprise of "Travels with Charley", because MacDonald also took his wife (who perhaps was accumulating chits for sainthood), his two-year-old daughter, and his seven-mon. "Not quite Bill Bryson, but still a great road trip read" according to M. Palasik. I really enjoyed this book. I don't remember how I heard about it, but I'm glad I did. The author is a biology professor who teaches about environmental studies and endangered species and decides that he's telling his classes this information about species he hasn't even seen before - only gathered shots from the internet to show them. So he takes his wife, under 12-month-old infant son, toddler daughter, and dog on a round continent trip through southern Canada and much of the continental United States, to find some of these species.This book, while not quite as funny as Bill Bryson, still has laugh out . "so-so" according to smichal. When I reserved this book from the library I didn't pay attention and didn't realize it was about a family with small children trying to see endangered species. (I was more interested in the road trip aspect.) This book is kind of ok (animals parts) other times it is like being forced to watch somebody's home movies/slide show. Not interested to hear about diaper changes or toddler tantrums.
In Yellowstone, after driving through unseasonal snow, he manages to spot a rare black wolf and numerous grizzlies, which, unfortunately, call forth a crowd of "grizzly gawkers." The journey takes the MacDonald family from British Columbia, along the west coast of the U.S., through the Southwest and Florida, up the east coast of the U.S., and finally to eastern Canada and then back home to BC.Along the way, MacDonald offers fascinating details about the natural history of the endangered species he seeks, as well as threats like overpopulation, commercial fishing, and climate change that are driving them towards extinction.. Bill Bryson meets John Vaillant in this life list quest to see the rarest species in North America.Crammed into a minivan with wife, toddler, infant, and dog, accompanied by mounds of toys, diapers, tent, sleeping bags, and other paraphernalia, Cameron MacDonald embarks on a road trip of a lifetime to observe North America's rarest species. In Ca