Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams

I guess this is a bit of cheating since it's not "literature" as such. I picked this book up partially because I had ben intending to read it and partially because I needed something more light-hearted after the previous two books.

Douglas Adams is a British science fiction writer, best known for his series "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". "Last Chance to See" is a work of non-fiction, documenting his travels around the globe to view an assortment of the rarest and most vulnerable species left on the planet. It was published in 1990 and contributed greatly to conservation efforts for these animals.

Since there aren't what I'd call "themes" in this book, I've selected an excerpt. While travelling to the island of Komodo in Indonesia to view the infamous Komodo dragon, Mr. Adams writes this;

One of the more disturbing aspects of travel in remote areas is the neccessity of taking your food with you in non-perishable form. For Westerners who are used to getting their chickens wrapped in polythene from the supermarket it is an uncomfortable experience to share a long ride on a small boat with four live chickens who are eyeing you with a deep and dreadful suspicion which you are in no position to allay.

Despite the fact that an Indonesian island chicken has probably had a much more natural and pleasant life than one raised on a battery farm in England, people who wouldn't think twice about buying something oven-readybecome much more upset about a chicken that they've been on a boat with, so there is probably buried in the Western psyche a deep taboo about eating anything you've been introduced to socially.

This frivolity of mood is contrasted by the dire circumstances many of the animals Mr. Adams saw (or didn't see, sometimes).

I really enjoyed this book for it's value to the conservation of these species and because it was like traveling to the most remote parts of the world with a sassy British sci-fi writer (I imagine this is all I've ever wanted out of life anyway).

Up next: I'm hoping to find the book "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe today. Wish me luck!