This is an excellent history of both the thylacine and environmental conservation in Tasmania. While this is a reference book, it was far from boring, and even delved into the cryptozoological question of the creatures continued existence into present day. I would highly recommend this book to people interested in the animal, as well as people with a passing interest in natural history and environmentalism. It is an excellent wake up call for modern day. ( )

Fascinating topic, but a bad book. Someone like David Quammen would have handled the material with analytical depth, clearly-presented evidence and unexpected insights into biology and science generally. Owen spread his material out for what he probably considers better effect, pads shamelessly and doesn't even dig deep on the interesting questions of thylacine biology and behavior. He just flails around. I learned almost nothing, and even the emotional content of the story was blunted by his inept presentation. ( )