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Nature 441, 286-287 (18 May 2006) | doi:10.1038/441286b; Published online 17 May 2006

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A single survivor

Rick Shine1

BOOK REVIEWEDLonesome George: The Life and Loves of a Conservation Icon

by Henry Nicholls

Macmillan Science: 2006. 256 pp. £16.99, $24.95

Conservation biology is a peculiar hybrid discipline, bounded on one side by hard empirical science and on the other by ageing actresses cuddling cute baby seals. As a result, conservation priorities reflect a sometimes bizarre balancing act between knowledge- and emotion-based perspectives of the natural world.