Robert Porter Allen (1905–1963)

This is probably the very best story, told in first-person, on attempting to save near-extinct species.

The book is exciting.
There is a lot of discussion of fundamental biological principles and of human nature towards species that become rare.

The author talks about mainly three species he has worked with, Whooping Cranes, Spoonbills, and Flamingos.

Two thirds of the book deals with the Whooping Crane efforts. The reader gets a feel of the tremendous effort expended by the individuals involved in the project.

The book covers not only the daily habits of the species, but the lifestyles and personalities of the peole who come in contact with the birds, from the wildlife professionals working to save the birds, to landowners who come in contact with the birds on their porperty or on nearby public property.

At the end of the book, the author goes over the series of extinctions of North American birds and covers their causes and rapidity of decline.

There is another good book, a biography of Allen, that was written recently by Kathleen Kaska, which covers much of the same material. Both books are good; this one giving the 1957 first-person account, and the recent biography which has the story in a longer erspective with the passage of time.

I recommend both books for a good knowledge of what extinction is like and its causes and the efforts to prevent it.… (mehr)