Lost Wonders: 10 Tales of Extinction from the 21st Century

Shortlisted for the 2024 Richard Jefferies Award for nature writing.

In Lost Wonders Tom Lathan tells ten powerful stories of species that have lived, died out and been declared extinct since the turn of the twenty-first century.

'Timely, elegiac' Daily Mail
'Superb storytelling . . . an exhilarating and vital book' - Charles Foster, author of Cry of the Wild
--------

Many scientists believe that we are currently living through the Earth's sixth mass extinction, with species disappearing at a rate not seen for tens of millions of years - a trend that will only accelerate as climate change and other pressures intensify. What does it mean to live in such a time? And what exactly do we lose when a species goes extinct?

In a series of fascinating encounters with subjects that are now nowhere to be found on Earth - from giant tortoises to minuscule snails the size of sesame seeds, from ocean-hopping trees to fish that wag their tails like puppies - Tom Lathan brings these lost wonders briefly back to life and gives us a tantalising glimpse of what we have lost within our own lifetime.

Drawing on the personal recollections of the people who studied these species, as well as those who tried but ultimately failed to save them, and with beautiful illustrations, Lost Wonders is an intimate portrait of the species that have only recently vanished from our world and an urgent warning to hold on all the more tightly to those now slipping from our grasp.

Illustrated by Claire Kohda

Author: Tom Lathan
Publisher: Picador UK
Published: 06/10/2025
Pages: 448
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.20lbs
Size: 8.50h x 5.60w x 1.60d
ISBN: 9781529047929


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 04/15/2025
Publishers Weekly 04/28/2025
Booklist 04/08/2025

About the Author

Tom Lathan is an author and book critic living in Kent. His writing has appeared in publications including The Guardian and the TLS. He volunteers with Kent Wildlife Trust, working as part of their initiative to introduce wild bison to the UK for the first time in 6,000 years to West Blean and Thornden Woods Nature Reserve. Lost Wonders is Lathan's first book and was the recipient of a Society of Authors award.

Claire Kohda is an author, musician and artist. Her debut novel, Woman, Eating, was a book of the year in Harper's Bazaar, New Yorker, Glamour, BBC and HuffPost. As a violinist she has played with artists including Sigur Rós and The National, and on various film soundtracks. Lost Wonders is the first book she has illustrated.