The Living Wild celebrates the incredible diversity of wildlife that still inhabits the Earth at the beginning of this new century through the stunning photography of internationally acclaimed photographer Art Wolfe.

To complete this book, Wolfe set out on a three-year odyssey to photograph the world’s most spectacular animals. He traveled to more than forty different countries to record over 140 different species on film: from the Florida panther (reduced to only 50 animals) to the California condor (declared extinct in the wild in 1987 but successfully reintroduced) and the gray whale (which recovered from the brink of extinction thanks to conservation efforts).

In this century, we risk losing half of all the known species of animals; over 5,200 species are already in imminent danger of extinction. Nearly one-quarter of all the mammals—and half of all the monkeys and apes—are at risk. The four main threats are the same worldwide: habitat destruction, overhunting, the introduction of nonnative species, and disease.

In his introduction to The Living Wild, William Conway states, "Wildlife conservation is destined to be among the greatest challenges of the twenty-first century." While offering a sobering look at the status of each species today and describing the enormous threats to the world’s biodiversity, this book also offers hope. Essays by five of the world’s premier conservationists detail not only the very real threats to the Earth’s wildlife, but also the actions that can reverse the trends that have seemed so inevitable.

For this, his forty-second, book, Wolfe has chosen a new way of photographing his subjects. In recognition of the critical role that habitat preservation plays in wildlife conservation, wherever possible he includes the animal in a wide-angle view of its habitat. Wolfe goes on to describe how and why he took each photograph, offering personal anecdotes that give a behind-the-scenes view of this monumental undertaking and that will appeal to the photographer in each of us.

The Living Wild lavishly portrays a world few ever have an opportunity to see in person. And it is a bold and passionate call to action on behalf of all the species that we still have time to save.