The Last Unicorn: A Search for One of Earth's Rarest Creatures - Softcover

DeBuys, William

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0316232874 ISBN 13: 9780316232876

Publisher: Back Bay Books, 2015

Synopsis

In 1992, in a remote mountain range, a team of scientists discovered the remains of an unusual animal with beautiful long horns. It turned out to be a living species new to western science -- a saola, the first large land mammal discovered in 50 years.

Rare then and rarer now, no westerner had glimpsed a live saola before Pulitzer Prize finalist and nature writer William deBuys and conservation biologist William Robichaud set off to search for it in the wilds of central Laos. The team endured a punishing trek, up and down whitewater rivers and through mountainous terrain ribboned with the snare lines of armed poachers.

In the tradition of Bruce Chatwin, Colin Thubron, and Peter Matthiessen, THE LAST UNICORN is deBuys's look deep into one of the world's most remote places. As in the pursuit of the unicorn, the journey ultimately becomes a quest for the essence of wildness in nature, and an encounter with beauty.

About this title

Review:

""The Last Unicorn" is exhaustively researched, and the trip alone would have made for a riveting read. But it is written with such poetry that it comes as a heart-wrenching wakeup. This book is a beautifully told account of the devastating fact that man alone has relentlessly set about destroying the earth's wildness. It should be required reading for the human race." "Ali MacGraw, actress/activist""

Praise for The Last Unicorn
""The Last Unicorn" celebrates the marvels of the great forest and its wildlife, and William deBuys enlivens its pages with perceptive accounts of local people and cultures. Inspired and entranced by visions of the saola, DeBuys examines what little is known of its enigmatic life as he searches the landscape for glimpses of what we must hope is an enduring future for the natural treasures surviving in these remote mountains." "George Schaller, author of "Tibet Wild"; VP, Panthera; and senior conservationist, Wildlife Conservation Society""

""The Last Unicorn" celebrates the marvels of the great forest and its wildlife, and William deBuys enlivens its pages with perceptive accounts of local people and cultures. Inspired and entranced by visions of the saola, DeBuys examines what little is known of its enigmatic life as he searches the landscape for glimpses of what we must hope is an enduring future for the natural treasures surviving in these remote mountains." "George Schaller, author of "Tibet Wild"; VP, Panthera; and senior conservationist, Wildlife Conservation Society""

"Like Peter Matthiessen's 1978 "The Snow Leopard" (Viking), this is less an homage to an iconic species than a meditation on our compulsion to harry and hem in the wild." "Barbara Kiser, "Nature"""

One of Men's Journal's Best Books of 2015
""The Last Unicorn" is a book you simply must read. For one thing Bill deBuys has a real gift for storytelling. And this story, the quest for an animal that was driven to the point of extinction almost as soon as it was "discovered," is a true adventure. Bill's powerful prose leads us deep into the wilderness in an almost unknown part of the world. And it sends out a clarion call bidding us to redouble our efforts to save the last wild places and vanishing animals before it is utterly too late." "Jane Goodall, Ph.D., DBE, Founder, the Jane Goodall Institute & UN Messenger of Peace""

"Read "The Last Unicorn." The book is extremely important and reads like a novel. DeBuys brings things to life. He writes beautifully. The image of the saola remains alive in the reader's mind. Saola may be the last unicorn." "Evaggelos Vallianatos, "The Huffington Post"""

"A brutal story, told with passion and purpose." "Jane Clayson, WBUR's "On Point"""

One of Christian Science Monitor's 10 Best Nonfiction Books of 2015 One of Men's Journal's Best Books of 2015
""The Last Unicorn" is a book you simply must read. For one thing Bill deBuys has a real gift for storytelling. And this story, the quest for an animal that was driven to the point of extinction almost as soon as it was "discovered," is a true adventure. Bill's powerful prose leads us deep into the wilderness in an almost unknown part of the world. And it sends out a clarion call bidding us to redouble our efforts to save the last wild places and vanishing animals before it is utterly too late." "Jane Goodall, Ph.D., DBE, Founder, the Jane Goodall Institute & UN Messenger of Peace""

"Simultaneously an adventure story, a melancholy parable of the challenges of conservation in an increasingly crowded world, and an engaging introduction to the biota of a unique ecosystem... However intractable the human tendency to pillage our environments, deBuys and Robichaud show the strength of an opposite impulse -- to approach nature with wonder, knowledge, and a deep appreciation of beauty. DeBuys paints the disappearing landscapes of his journey with beautiful and evocative prose."--Nick Romeo, Christian Science Monitor

"The author deftly chronicles both the physical and emotional challenges that come with group travel through an isolated region.... The author's immersive narrative and numerous photos of the unremitting poaching inflicted upon the region's wildlife cause both reader engagement and heartache. A riveting and disturbing account of the clash between the beauty of the wilderness and civilization's unrelenting demands on the natural world."--Kirkus (starred review)

Book Description:

An award-winning author's stirring quest to find and understand an elusive and exceptionally rare species in the heart of Southeast Asia's jungles.

About this edition

• Publisher: Back Bay Books
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0316232874
• ISBN 13: 9780316232876
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 385