Though not as trumpeted as drugs, arms, or human trafficking, the illegal trade in wildlife is one of the largest contraband industries in the world. Our greed for animals—for medicine, meat, jewelry, pets, trophies, and fur—is driving a poaching epidemic and dooming countless species. A biologist turned science journalist, Rachel Nuwer has been investigating global wildlife trafficking for a decade. Here she takes readers to the killing fields in Africa, medicinal black markets in China, and wild meat restaurants in Vietnam, exploring the forces driving demand for animals and their parts while also meeting conservationists and activists who believe that elephants, rhinos, tigers, and other vital species can be saved.

"Nuwer's engaging and immersive reporting style … illuminates and animates the larger forces driving the trade that's wiping out our remaining wildlife."—Sierra

"Nuwer finds rays of hope in the park rangers and other conservation experts who are dedicating their lives to saving some of the earth's most majestic creatures."—Scientific American