Gone

Dynamic naturalist Michael Blencowe has travelled the globe to uncover the fascinating backstories of eleven extinct animals, which he shares with charm and insight in Gone . 'Really, really well-written.' – CHRIS PACKHAM Inspired by his childhood obsession with extinct species, Blencowe takes us around the globe – from the forests of New Zealand to the ferries of Finland, from the urban sprawl of San Francisco to an inflatable crocodile on Brighton’s Widewater Lagoon. Spanning five centuries , from the last sighting of New Zealand’s Upland Moa to the 2012 death of the Pinta Island Giant Tortoise, Lonesome George, his memoir is peppered with the accounts of the hunters and naturalists of the past as well as revealing conversations with the custodians of these totemic animals today . Featuring striking artworks that resurrect these forgotten creatures, each chapter focuses on a different animal, revealing insights into their unique characteristics and habitats ; the history of their discovery and just how and when they came to be lost to us . Blencowe inspects the only known remains of a Huia egg at Te Papa, New Zealand; views hundreds of specimens of deceased Galapagos tortoises and Xerces Blue butterflies in the California Academy of Sciences; and pays his respects to the only soft tissue remains of the Dodo in the world. Warm, wry and thought-provoking, Gone shows that while each extinction story is different, all can inform how we live in the future . Discover and learn from the stories of the: Great Auk . A majestic flightless seabird of the North Atlantic and the ‘original penguin’. Spectacled Cormorant . The ‘ludicrous bird’ from the remote islands of the Bering Sea. Steller’s Sea Cow . An incredible ten tonne dugong with skin as furrowed as oak bark. Upland Moa . The improbable birds and the one-time rulers of New Zealand. Huia . The unique bird with two beaks and twelve precious tail feathers. South Island Kōkako . The ‘orange-wattled crow’, New Zealand’s elusive Grey Ghost. Xerces Blue . The gossamer-winged butterfly of the San Francisco sand dunes. Pinta Island Tortoise . The slow-moving, long-lived giant of the Galápagos Islands. Dodo . The superstar of extinction. Schomburgk’s Deer . A mysterious deer from the wide floodplains of central Thailand. Ivell’s Sea Anemone . A see-through sea creature known only from southern England. A modern must-read for anyone interested in protecting our earth and its incredible wildlife, Gone is an evocative call to conserve what we have before it is lost forever .

Dynamic naturalist Michael Blencowe has travelled the globe to uncover the fascinating backstories of eleven extinct animals, which he shares with charm and insight in Gone . 'Really, really well-written.' – CHRIS PACKHAM Inspired by his childhood obsession with extinct species, Blencowe takes us around the globe – from the forests of New Zealand to the ferries of Finland, from the urban sprawl of San Francisco to an inflatable crocodile on Brighton’s Widewater Lagoon. Spanning five centuries , from the last sighting of New Zealand’s Upland Moa to the 2012 death of the Pinta Island Giant Tortoise, Lonesome George, his memoir is peppered with the accounts of the hunters and naturalists of the past as well as revealing conversations with the custodians of these totemic animals today . Featuring striking artworks that resurrect these forgotten creatures, each chapter focuses on a different animal, revealing insights into their unique characteristics and habitats ; the history of their discovery and just how and when they came to be lost to us . Blencowe inspects the only known remains of a Huia egg at Te Papa, New Zealand; views hundreds of specimens of deceased Galapagos tortoises and Xerces Blue butterflies in the California Academy of Sciences; and pays his respects to the only soft tissue remains of the Dodo in the world. Warm, wry and thought-provoking, Gone shows that while each extinction story is different, all can inform how we live in the future . Discover and learn from the stories of the: Great Auk . A majestic flightless seabird of the North Atlantic and the ‘original penguin’. Spectacled Cormorant . The ‘ludicrous bird’ from the remote islands of the Bering Sea. Steller’s Sea Cow . An incredible ten tonne dugong with skin as furrowed as oak bark. Upland Moa . The improbable birds and the one-time rulers of New Zealand. Huia . The unique bird with two beaks and twelve precious tail feathers. South Island Kōkako . The ‘orange-wattled crow’, New Zealand’s elusive Grey Ghost. Xerces Blue . The gossamer-winged butterfly of the San Francisco sand dunes. Pinta Island Tortoise . The slow-moving, long-lived giant of the Galápagos Islands. Dodo . The superstar of extinction. Schomburgk’s Deer . A mysterious deer from the wide floodplains of central Thailand. Ivell’s Sea Anemone . A see-through sea creature known only from southern England. A modern must-read for anyone interested in protecting our earth and its incredible wildlife, Gone is an evocative call to conserve what we have before it is lost forever .

Fans of Stephen King, Karin Slaughter and Stuart MacBride will love this gut-churning, chilling and darkly compelling thriller. 'Lacerating' Independent 'Stomach-churning, fast-paced, top-notch' Sunday Express 'A particularly potent blend of terror and horror' The Times 'Nothing short of brilliant' Daily Mail ---------------------------------------- HE WATCHES. HE WAITS. HE TAKES WHAT ISN'T HIS. Night is falling as murder detective Jack Caffery arrives to interview the distraught victim of a car-jacking . What he hears horrifies him. The car was taken by force, and on the back seat was a passenger. An eleven-year-old girl . Who is still missing. Before long the jacker starts to communicate with the police. And Caffery becomes certain that he is planning to take another car. And another child. Who is the car-jacker? How is he choosing his targets? And - most urgent of all - can Caffery find the child? Before it's too late . . .

Fans of Stephen King, Karin Slaughter and Stuart MacBride will love this gut-churning, chilling and darkly compelling thriller. 'Lacerating' Independent 'Stomach-churning, fast-paced, top-notch' Sunday Express 'A particularly potent blend of terror and horror' The Times 'Nothing short of brilliant' Daily Mail ---------------------------------------- HE WATCHES. HE WAITS. HE TAKES WHAT ISN'T HIS. Night is falling as murder detective Jack Caffery arrives to interview the distraught victim of a car-jacking . What he hears horrifies him. The car was taken by force, and on the back seat was a passenger. An eleven-year-old girl . Who is still missing. Before long the jacker starts to communicate with the police. And Caffery becomes certain that he is planning to take another car. And another child. Who is the car-jacker? How is he choosing his targets? And - most urgent of all - can Caffery find the child? Before it's too late . . .

The first in New York Times bestselling author Michael Grant's breathtaking dystopian sci-fi saga, Gone is a page-turning thriller that invokes the classic The Lord of the Flies along with the horror of Stephen King. In the blink of an eye, everyone disappears. Gone. Except for the young. There are teens, but not one single adult. Just as suddenly, there are no phones, no internet, no television. No way to get help. And no way to figure out what's happened. Hunger threatens. Bullies rule. A sinister creature lurks. Animals are mutating. And the teens themselves are changing, developing new talents--unimaginable, dangerous, deadly powers--that grow stronger by the day. It's a terrifying new world. Sides are being chosen, a fight is shaping up. Townies against rich kids. Bullies against the weak. Powerful against powerless. And time is running out: on your birthday, you disappear just like everyone else. . . . "A potent mix of action and thoughtfulness--centered around good and evil, courage and cowardice--renders this a tour de force that will leave readers dazed, disturbed, and utterly breathless." -- ALA Booklist (starred review) Read the entire series: Gone Hunger Lies Plague Fear Light Monster Villain Hero

The first in New York Times bestselling author Michael Grant's breathtaking dystopian sci-fi saga, Gone is a page-turning thriller that invokes the classic The Lord of the Flies along with the horror of Stephen King. In the blink of an eye, everyone disappears. Gone. Except for the young. There are teens, but not one single adult. Just as suddenly, there are no phones, no internet, no television. No way to get help. And no way to figure out what's happened. Hunger threatens. Bullies rule. A sinister creature lurks. Animals are mutating. And the teens themselves are changing, developing new talents--unimaginable, dangerous, deadly powers--that grow stronger by the day. It's a terrifying new world. Sides are being chosen, a fight is shaping up. Townies against rich kids. Bullies against the weak. Powerful against powerless. And time is running out: on your birthday, you disappear just like everyone else. . . . "A potent mix of action and thoughtfulness--centered around good and evil, courage and cowardice--renders this a tour de force that will leave readers dazed, disturbed, and utterly breathless." -- ALA Booklist (starred review) Read the entire series: Gone Hunger Lies Plague Fear Light Monster Villain Hero