Excellent ... Slaght expertly captures the existential peril faced by the tigers and determined efforts to save them. Unusually for a conservationist, he is also particularly skilled at writing about people ... A rousing call ... This extraordinary book is testament, however, to the resilience and bravery of the men and women who laid the foundations for that success. Reading it, you may never wish to encounter one of these 'ice-fringed apparitions' in the forest – but you will be very glad that they are still there.
A deep look at the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Siberian Tiger Project ... [The tigers'] individual personalities and circumstances are at the heart of the best chapters, many of which read like thrillers ... Slaght again shines his scientific-yet-soulful spotlight on one of the world’s most amazing creatures ... [A] fascinating survival-revival tale.
[A] fine book ... Slaght...describes in spare, economical prose the privations Miquelle endured living off grid in the wilderness ... The Russian authorities banned the snares after a former student of Miquelle alleged tigers had died. Slaght skates over this important controversy too hastily, I feel ... An impressive addition to recent literature on big cat conservation.
Compelling ... Slaght, who has spent decades here himself, is a wonderful guide, his descriptions of this unique landscape bristling with detail and feeling. As I read, I ached to be there ... We become as wedded to the fortunes of the cats...as we do to the people who have dragged them back from the brink ... A timely reminder of what collaboration across borders can achieve.
Beautifully written ... Slaght spent many years working near the STP base in Siberia studying fish owls, and his love for the land and his respect for the team members is evident on every page. His descriptions of the tigers and their habitats are lyrical and evocative, while his accounts of the many dangers and near brushes with death the STP staff encountered are taut and spare.
It almost feels like a first-person account. You sense the silences and threats of the deep forest. You taste the pungently Siberian flavour of the desperately remote towns ... His human character portraits are rather wonderful too ... But it is the characterisation of the forest, and the tigers, that counts here. You definitely feel the vastness of the challenge ... Encounters are soaked in adrenaline ... The downside of all this immersion is that at too many moments I rather wanted to leave. Slaght has a somewhat relentless appetite for local detail, and the region sounds like an acquired taste ... Even if the efforts feel slightly exhausting, this book does offer that rarest and happiest of things in the world of nature conservation: a success story.
Immersive ... He offers a compelling view into the intersection between political turmoil, history, conservation, and ecological fieldwork, all while detailing the history of the longest-running tiger research initiative ... An informative and engaging narrative ... Despite the political and geographical challenges, it’s encouraging to see the researchers’ numerous accomplishments ... A well-researched and well-written account.
A well-crafted story of a successful conservation effort, against all the odds ... [A] fluent narrative ... As much about human history as it is about wild cats.
A captivating account ... Slaght sketches an empathetic portrait of these intrepid researchers as well as the imperiled creatures they studied ... Slaght brings their stories to life on the page with vivid detail and suspense. The result is a hopeful celebration of the fight to save a vulnerable species.
