Condor's Shadow

by David S. Wilcove

Book Overview

With gripping narrative power, The Condor's Shadow traces the ways in which human greed and ignorance have wreaked havoc on our ecological landscape. The heir apparent to Peter Matthiessen's 1959... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0716731150
• ISBN13: 9780716731153
• Release Date: March 1999
• Publisher: W.H. Freeman & Company
• Length: 339 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.1" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Mistakes of the past irreversible?

After reading this thought provoking book, I was left with a sense of anger and hostility towards our ancestors that destroyed the earth as well as the money-hungry that currently destroy the habitat for their own desires. Mr. Wilcove does a tremendous job of detailing the history of natural resource abuse in specific areas of the United States and steps being taken to attempt to repair the damage (irreversible?) of mankind in the past 250 years. His descriptive literary skills allowed me to picture the incredible natural habitats of our country prior to damage created from the over-consuming American public. One wishes he could travel back in time to witness these spectacular scenes and take steps to prevent their demise.

A Topnotch Read on the Biodiversity Crisis in America

David Wilcove takes the reader on a tour of biodiversity loss and renewal throughout the United States. Each chapter focuses on a region, highlights the unique environmental problems of that region, and comprehensively addresses the extinction of vertebrates in that area. He also showcases those (sadly few) species that have flirted with extinction but which are now on the rebound. The book is both amazingly easy to read and thoroughly researched. Happily, the details of the research are tucked at the book of the book so they don't interrupt the flow of the tale, but are available for to the most exacting reader. Wilcove's passion as a birdwatcher shines through and his personality manifests itself on every page. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the state of conservation in the US.

Should be required reading . . .

This is a keeper. Wilcove & Wilson document the monumental impact modern civilization has had on American wildlife. This eminently readable book also debunks the myth that the first settlers upon this continent lived in a utopian harmony with the land. This book provides an excellent historical overview along with details about a variety of plant and animal species that most people are not familiar with.The authors also demonstrate that what often passes as a healthy and thriving ecosystem is not. Various aspects of ecosystem interdependence are well-explained. The descriptions of the various ecosystem relationships - and how disruptive simply a new grass species can be was interesting.I am afraid that what has happened on land is now happening on sea, with more dire consequences. I wish every U.S. citizen would read this book.

environmentally eye-opening

I found this book a very interesting read, it flowed really well and I found it hard to put down. It was very informative but used enough specific stories of certain animal's plights that it kept it interesting. I found it eye-opening in that I realized things aren't always what they seem. A forest isn't necessarily healthy, or natural to the area, and it doesn't necessarily support the wildlife it is there to protect.

Superb tales and lessons from the frontlines of conservation

Wilcove's knack for the well-turned phrase and the personal anecdote makes reading this natural history of wildlife in America compelling. The Condor's Shadow takes decades of scientific observations and current theories, and converts them into gripping tales of survival, extinction, and recovery. This book is a masterful summary of conservation biology's lessons for us - lessons we had better soon grasp or condemn future generations to a simplified, homogenous environment. It communicates the lessons in stories accessible to a general audience with neither patronizing tones nor gross generalizations. For readers with a background in the field, the footnotes and detailed portraits of America's ecosystems make this a peerless reference source. I have begun recommending this book as indispensable background to my students who are about to study environmental and natural resources policy. Also, readers planning to travel to this summer might want to focus especially on a chapter discussing the region they are visiting. I think they will find that Wilcove's insights on the natural history of an area they are visiting will enormously enhance their experience.