Inspired by his childhood obsession with extinct species, Michael Blencowe ranges from the urban sprawl of San Francisco to an inflatable crocodile on Brighton's Widewater Lagoon to tell the stories of the creatures who have vanished. 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—this beautifully illustrated guide includes such animals as Steller's sea cow, the spectacled cormorant, Schomburgk's deer, and the butterfly known as Xerces blue.