The Last of Its Kind: The Search for the Great Auk and the Discovery of Extinction by G铆sli P谩lsson has been shortlisted for the Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize 2024.
The Last of Its Kind blends evocative narrative with archival research and insights from ornithology, anthropology, and the author鈥檚 travels to tell the story of how the final days of the great auk 鈥� a flightless bird that bred primarily on the remote islands of the North Atlantic 鈥� exposed the reality of human-caused extinction. P谩lsson professor emeritus of anthropology at the University of Iceland, draws on firsthand, 19th century accounts from the Icelanders who hunted the last great auks and vividly recounts how British ornithologists John Wolley and Alfred Newton set out for Iceland to collect specimens only to discover that the great auks were already gone. At the time, the Victorian world viewed extinction as an impossibility or trivialized it as a natural phenomenon. P谩lsson chronicles how Wolley and Newton documented the fate of the last birds and how the naturalists鈥� Icelandic journey opened their eyes to the disappearance of species as a subject of scientific concern鈥攁nd as something that could be caused by humans.
In discussing the book’s shortlisting, the Prize’s judging panel notes: 鈥�The Last Of Its Kind tackles a huge topic 鈥� human-induced extinction 鈥� from a surprising and intimate perspective, with the case of the great auk becoming a microcosm for what we know, today, as a tragically widespread plight. It is well documented, well written and powerful, bringing together personal accounts and historical records, and reframes the topic of extinction in a moving and profoundly sad way by its focus on this one fascinating species.鈥�
Published in the United States in February, and in Europe in April, The Last of Its Kind has been hailed as, 鈥渁 fascinating, important, and timely book鈥� (Science), 鈥渆ngaging鈥� (New Scientist), 鈥淸a] thoughtful and melancholy account,鈥� and called, 鈥渁 murder-mystery where we know from the outset who did it鈥� (Times Literary Supplement).
Since its founding in 1988, the Royal Society Trivedi Science Book Prize celebrates, 鈥渙utstanding popular science writing for over 30 years.鈥� From PUP鈥檚 list, books previously honored include Jim Al-Khalili’s The World According to Physics, shortlisted in 2020, and Oliver Morton’s The Planet Remade, shortlisted in 2016.The 2024 Prize winner will be announced on October 24, in London.