Lostworlds: Adventures in the tropical rainforest
by Bruce M. Beehler
Bruce Beehler - a research scientist for Conservation International - is one of the most respected tropical biologists in the world, so it comes as little surprise that this book is a complete joy.
What seems from the outset to be a kind of naturalist's memoir soon turns into a journey of real discovery.
Beehler writes engagingly and humbly and through his expeditions - to Madagascar, New Guinea, Panama, and beyond - imbibes the beauty, threats, and cultures of the world's rainforests. But the trick is, rather than be merely a recipient of the story, you feel the discoveries are, in some small way, your own.
This treatment of the subject is not unique, but it is very very good. Beehler makes sense of the complex and describes clearly, and without preaching, how truly irreplaceable they are. For all these reasons and more you should buy this book.
Lostworlds came out in hardback in 2008 and Plant Talk reviewed the new paperback release.
Available from NHBS and Yale University Press
Review by Dan Ryan, Editor, November 2009