Flames of Extinction: The Race to Save Australia's Threatened Wildlife

In the early months of 2020, the world's attention was riveted on Australia, where the nation's iconic wildlife fought for survival in the face of unprecedented wildfires. Images of koalas drinking from firefighters' water bottles went viral and became the global face of a catastrophe that would kill as many as three billion animals. Known as the Black Summer, the fire season was responsible for more wildlife deaths and near-extinctions than any other single event in Australian history. Flames of Extinction, written by a journalist at the heart of this news coverage, is the first book to tell the stories of Australia's record-setting fires, focusing on the wild animals and plants that will be forever changed.

As news of the fires spread around the world, journalist John Pickrell was inundated with requests for articles about the danger to Australia's wildlife. The picture seemed grim, from charred koalas to flames that burned so hot not even animal skeletons remained. But Pickrell's reporting exposed a larger picture of hope. Flames of Extinction tells the story of the scientists, wildlife rehabilitators, and community members who came together to save wildlife and protect them in the future.

As climate change intensifies and devastating wildfires become more commonplace, Australia's Black Summer offers a poignant warning to the rest of the world. Through evocative and urgent storytelling, Flames of Extinction puts readers on the ground to witness the aftermath of one of Australia's greatest tragedies and inside the inspiring effort to save lives.

Author: John Pickrell
Publisher: Island Press
Published: 04/15/2021
Pages: 296
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.20lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.10w x 1.00d
ISBN: 9781642832020


Review Citation(s):
Choice 10/01/2021

About the Author
John Pickrell is an award-winning journalist, the author of Flying Dinosaurs and Weird Dinosaurs, and the former editor of Australian Geographic magazine. Currently the Asia-Pacific Bureau Chief for Nature, he has worked in London, Washington, DC, and Sydney for publications including New Scientist, Science, Science News and Cosmos, and his articles also appear in Nature, National Geographic, Scientific American, Focus, BBC Future, The Guardian and the ABC. John has been a finalist in the Australian Museum's Eureka Prizes three times, won an Earth Journalism Award and has featured repeatedly in The Best Australian Science Writing anthology, which he edited in 2018. He studied biology at Imperial College in the United Kingdom and has a Master of Science in taxonomy and biodiversity from the Natural History Museum, London.