Tigerland and Other Unintended Destinations

By Eric Dinerstein

Book Overview

In 1972, Eric Dinerstein was in film school at Northwestern University, with few thoughts of nature, let alone tiger-filled jungles at the base of the Himalayas or the antelope-studded Serengeti plain. Yet thanks to some inspiring teachers and the squawk of a little green heron that awakened him to nature's fundamental wonders, Dinerstein would ultimately become a leading conservation biologist, traveling to these and other remote corners of the world to protect creatures ranging from the striking snow leopard to the homely wrinkle-faced bat.

Tigerland and Other Unintended Destinations takes readers on Dinerstein's unlikely journey to conservation's frontiers, from early research in Nepal to recent expeditions as head of Conservation Science at the World Wildlife Fund. We are there as the author renews his resolve after being swept downstream on an elephant's back, tracks snow leopards in the mountains of Kashmir with a remarkable housewife turned zoologist, and finds unexpected grit in a Manhattanite donor he guides into the wildest reaches of the Orinoco River. At every turn, we meet professed and unprofessed ecologists who share
Dinerstein's mission, a cast of free-spirited characters uncommonly committed to-and remarkably successful at-preserving slices of the world's natural heritage.

A simple sense of responsibility, one feels, shines through all of Dinerstein's experiences: not just to marvel at what we see, but to join in efforts sustain the planet's exquisite design. Tigerland's message is clear: individuals make all the difference; if we combine science, advocacy, and passion, ambitious visions for conservation can become reality-even against overwhelming odds.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1597261521
• ISBN13: 9781597261524
• Release Date: April 2007
• Publisher: Island Press
• Length: 296 Pages
• Weight: 0.94 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.6" x 8.9"
• Age Range: 14 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 9 to 12

Customer Reviews

Excellent book for animal lovers

Tigerland is a wonderful book for an animal lover to read. If you enjoy going to national parks or traveling around the world to see exotic animals, this book is for you. Each chapter describes a different area of the world, from Nepal to New Caledonia (and the author believes you very probably don't know where New Caledonia is) to eastern Montana. If you have ever contributed money to the World Wildlife Fund or The Nature Conservancy, or any other such group, you can learn what groups like that do with your money by reading this book. Eric Dinerstein's book provides a personal view on wildlife extinctions and conservation. It is much more readable than the impersonal articles in the newsletters and magazines published by the wildlife conservation groups.

An inspirational story of discovery and environmental conservation issues

Eric Dinerstein was a film student who never thought he'd be tracking tigers in Nepal - but before he graduated he became interested in biology and conservation and would one day journey around the world studying nature. Tigerland And Other Unintended Destinations presents these journeys and studies, following his discoveries from Nepal to Montana and presenting his insights on each unique environment and its attributes. The insights on how fellow ecologists are working to preserve these natural wonders makes for an inspirational story of discovery and environmental conservation issues.