Smithsonian Book of Giant Pandas. A Review

Smithsonian Book of Giant Pandas / by Susan Lumpkin

, John Seidensticker, and Lucy Spelman (Smithsonian Institution, 2002) Hardcover, 206 p. ISBN 9781588340382

Smithsonian Book of Giant Pandas provides a spectacularly illustrated and factually accurate portrayal of perhaps the most popular endangered species in the world. Ever since China lent two giant pandas to the Smithsonian's National Zoo, the gentle creatures have certainly captured the American imagination.

Because giant pandas have become so rare, Smithsonian Book of Giant Pandas necessarily concentrates on conservation efforts. While research at the various zoos that display the animals constitutes an importuned part of the conservation effort, Susan Lumpkin and her co-authors concentrate on fieldwork in China, sharing their own personal experiences. They also present an overview of the panda's history, including their finding that there were once two types of panda: a tropical variety now extinct, and the mountain/cold-climate panda known today.

The encroachment of humans on the panda's territory has not been kind to the panda. The good news in Smithsonian Book of Giant Pandas is that the Chinese government has worked hard to gain popular support for wildlife and environmental conversation and that organizations such as the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan have begun to develop environmentally sustainable methods of exploiting natural resources without further endangering the giant panda.

The authors have managed to present all of this information, at a depth not found in many of the numerous magazine and newspaper articles about the giant panda, in a way that is accessible both to adults and younger readers. The excellent photography in Smithsonian Book of Giant Pandas certainly helps. It shows giant pandas both in zoos and in their natural environment, and also newborn and baby pandas. All-Purpose Guru Alert selects and presents good books like this at a bargain prices, featuring one title every day. Stop by often to see what's new. It probably won't last long.

Smithsonian Book of Giant Pandas. A Review

By: All-Purpose Guru

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