From Library Journal
The authors, who have worked with endangered species in their previous photographic work, Witness (Chronicle, 1994), here turn their cameras to Hawaii, home to over a quarter of the specimens on the U.S. Endangered Species List. As in Witness, they present most of their photographs in the form of stunning portraits of individual specimens against a stark black background. Each animal or plant appears almost jewellike in perfection of form or color. Some, like a pair of grinning monk seals or an inquisitive thrush, are playful as well. Over 140 portraits are presented, as are some scenes of unique terrain such as the Silversword Bog and the top of Mauna Kea. Brief articles detail the natural history of the islands, changes wrought by humans and introduced species, and the struggle to preserve fragile species. A foreword by the poet W.S. Merwin, who lives in Hawaii, and an afterword by Environmental Defense Fund Senior Ecologist David S. Wilcove round out the volume. An exhibition based on this book will travel to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC, the Honolulu Academy of Arts, and other locations in the United States. Despite the price tag, this is an important book for both conservation and photography collections. Recommended for most libraries. Beth Clewis Crim, Prince William P.L., VA Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
*Starred Review* Hawaii is home to the richest and most diverse collection of island flora and fauna on Earth--in fact, it has been said that more species have been lost from this island chain in the last 200 years than from the entire North American continent since Columbus made landfall. New species are still being discovered, even as other species' existence hangs by a mere thread. In glorious color, Liittschwager and Middleton's wildlife photographs show plants and animals teetering on the brink of extinction. They follow botanists as they rappel down sheer cliffs to pollinate rare plants whose pollinators are extinct or to collect specimens and seeds for propagation in botanical gardens. They are present at the discovery of new species, and their photographs become the first recording of these species. In fantastic close-ups, rare plants shimmer against black or white backgrounds (their trademark style) or are seen in situ; a portrait of a bat reveals cowlicked thick fur; honeycreeper finches show off their multitude of bill shapes; and caterpillars feed on leaves. Vignettes show the photographers at work, and the text provides both the ecological background for the rarity of Hawaii's living things as well as the travails of documenting them. Species profiles at the end give biological and photographic details for each portrait. This magnificent collection from our fiftieth state is highly recommended for all libraries. Nancy Bent
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Book Description
Renowned natural history photographers David Liittschwager and Susan Middleton have devoted the last decade to capturing images of endangered plants and animals in the United States. Remains of a Rainbow, their groundbreaking and unprecedented coverage of the Hawaiian Islands, transforms these statistics into living beings with faces, unique characteristics, and beauty, through vivid and poignant photographic portraits. With more than 300 images, this splendidly vibrant volume will be showcased in traveling museum exhibitions over the next three years at major natural history venues. Remains of a Rainbow focuses on the native species that have evolved on the islands of Hawai’i, one of the biologically richest places on Earth, and also one of the most threatened. Working closely with expert field biologists, Liittschwager and Middleton capture images of ecosystems full of new discoveries (species not yet known to science), rediscoveries (species thought to be extinct), and the exotic habitats in which these species fight to survive. The text and elegant photographs tell a powerful story—of the rare creatures of the world, of little-seen habitats in the wild, of human interference that threatens their survival, and of the people who devote their lives to preserving them.

FROM OUR EDITORS

Designed in typically radiant National Geographic style, Remains of a Rainbow greets you with the bright reds and yellows of Aloha State animals and plants. The descriptions are almost as enjoyable as the majestic photographs. We especially enjoyed the write-up of the flightless cone head katydid, one of 12 Hawaiian descendants of a katydid that somehow made it across the Pacific to the islands.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Remains of a Rainbow glories in flora and fauna found nowhere else on our planet, lush tropical blossoms bursting with color, tiny flowers so rare that scarcely a dozen wild specimens have been found; quick-footed beetles that sparkle like living jewels; fish that can climb 1,000-foot waterfalls, noble, magnificent birds -- more than 140 creatures and plants in all, each captured in fullcolor and black-and-white photographs and a concise yet detailed individual description. From the rainbow-eye damselfly to the Crested Honeycreeper, the Kamehameha butterfly to the hidden-petaled abutilon, the Mauna Loa vampire bug to the Laysan Finch, all are vulnerable and many are endangered. A few of these species are on the very brink of extinction. The delicate balance of their environment, intact for millions of years, has been upset by invaders from the outside world. As W. S. Merwin notes in his quietly urgent foreword, "It has been said that more species have been lost in Hawai'i during the past 200 years than in the whole of North America since Columbus." Shaped by countless centuries of isolation, Hawaiian wildlife has proved only too vulnerable to outsiders -- from whalers, sealers, and sandalwood loggers to alien stowaways, plant and animal alike. These forces have torn great rents in the delicate web of island ecology.

David Liittschwager and Susan Middleton, working in association with the nonprofit organization Environmental Defense, have photographed a tropical paradise unlike any other. By turns an eloquent environmental cautionary tale and a breathtaking gallery, Remains of a Rainbow captures the essence of Hawai'i. David Liittschwager and Susan Middleton have been photographing endangered animals and plants since 1986. Their collaborative work has appeared in Witness: Endangered Species of North America (Chronicle Books, 1994), and Here Today: Portraits of Our Vanishing Species (Chronicle Books, 1991). Middleton's and Liittschwager's photographs have been exhibited and published throughout the world, and they lecture widely about their work. They were the joint recipients of a 1999 Bay & Paul Foundations Biodiversity Leadership Award. Since 1998 Liittschwager and Middleton have been working in association with Environmental Defense to photograph rare plants, animals, and habitats of the Hawaiian Islands.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal