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"The most important environmental book of our times"
•
"Racy, raucous, and riveting"
•
"Hilarious, wise, raw and inspiring"
•
"Storytelling at its finest"
•
"Astonishingly good"
•
"A Beautiful, terrible, humbling, hopeful, captivating and illuminating call to action"
•
"Makes you laugh and then makes you cry"
•
"Completely gripping"
•
"A must-read glimmer of hope"
•
"Part Shakespearean like tragedy, part bawdy romance, part political manifesto"
•
"Poetic, curious, and with a contagious sense of wonder"
• "The most important environmental book of our times" • "Racy, raucous, and riveting" • "Hilarious, wise, raw and inspiring" • "Storytelling at its finest" • "Astonishingly good" • "A Beautiful, terrible, humbling, hopeful, captivating and illuminating call to action" • "Makes you laugh and then makes you cry" • "Completely gripping" • "A must-read glimmer of hope" • "Part Shakespearean like tragedy, part bawdy romance, part political manifesto" • "Poetic, curious, and with a contagious sense of wonder"
"Hilarious, wise, raw and inspiring"
•
"Astonishingly good"
•
"The most important environmental book of our times"
•
"A Beautiful, terrible, humbling, hopeful, captivating and illuminating call to action"
•
"Storytelling at its finest"
•
"Racy, raucous, and riveting"
•
Makes you laugh and then makes you cry
•
"Part Shakespearean like tragedy, part bawdy romance, part political manifesto"
•
"A must-read glimmer of hope"
•
"Completely gripping"
"Hilarious, wise, raw and inspiring" • "Astonishingly good" • "The most important environmental book of our times" • "A Beautiful, terrible, humbling, hopeful, captivating and illuminating call to action" • "Storytelling at its finest" • "Racy, raucous, and riveting" • Makes you laugh and then makes you cry • "Part Shakespearean like tragedy, part bawdy romance, part political manifesto" • "A must-read glimmer of hope" • "Completely gripping"
NATURE’S LAST DANCE:
Tales of Wonder in an Age of Extinction.
This is nature writing like you’ve never seen before, diving headfirst into a fierce, funny, and provocative journey of power, politics, culture, and what it means to be human on a planet in crisis.
Amidst the tragedy of wild species extinction lies a hidden world of survival and wonder. Conservationists are locked in a high-stakes battle with the ghost of a drug lord and his herd of hippos. Scientists are fighting to save a flightless bird that romances rocks. Unconventional animals are upending 21st-century beauty standards, and financiers are betting on whale poo to make its debut on Wall Street.
This is a story of survival and extinction, of life and death, of curiosity and perversion, of unimaginable joy and harrowing sorrow.
Set against the backdrop of a rapidly unfolding mass extinction event, Nature’s Last Dance takes readers across hunting grounds, through jungles and oceans, inside communities, through courtrooms, and into the heart of battles to survive against all odds.
Award-winning environmentalist Natalie Kyriacou confronts the extinction crisis with courage and curiosity, charting a new course for nature and showing us why it is so worth fighting for.
Praise for Nature’s Last Dance…
“I loved this book. It’s that rare kind of work that is fascinating and full of insight while being genuinely important - all told in a way that’s completely gripping. A vital read."
Peter FitzSimons AM, Author & Journalist
“A lyrical call to awaken our love for the wild before the music stops."
Dame Christiana Figueres, Former Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC, architect of the Paris Agreement, Costa Rican diplomat
“Natalie Kyriacou nails it! Nature’s Last Dance is an astonishingly good book. Saving nature to the fore, it never gives up hope. I couldn’t put it down.”
Dr Bob Brown, Environmentalist & Former Leader of the Australian Greens Party
“A beautiful, terrible, humbling, hopeful, captivating and illuminating call to action. It’s also very funny. Please rush out and buy this wonderful book in bulk – then send one to every influential person you know.”
Professor Emerita Lesley Hughes, Climate Change Scientist, Academic & Author
“Nature's Last Dance is a bold and vibrant work, brimming with rigorous research and wise insights. This is storytelling at its finest, lyrically written with a sense of wonder and deep vein of humour. Natalie Kyriacou OAM has achieved an astonishing feat: creating a page-turner that reinvigorates the fight against climate change. But she doesn't stop there. Kyriacou dives into the patriarchal world of Charles Darwin, astutely questioning male dominance hierarchies, and celebrating matriarchal societies like the Bonobo apes. At its heart, this book is a love letter to the natural world; a rallying cry to save our precious planet. Put simply, this is the most important environmental book of our times.”
Tracey Spicer AM, Walkley award-winning author, journalist and broadcaster
“I didn’t expect a book to make me laugh out loud, feel deeply, and reimagine my relationship with nature but Nature’s Last Dance did just that. It’s hilarious, wise, raw and inspiring. Natalie Kyriacou brings a bold, fresh voice that speaks to the heart and the head. This book is a powerful reminder of what we stand to lose - and why it’s worth fighting for”
Judy Slatyer, President of WWF Australia
“Part Shakespearean like tragedy, part bawdy romance, part political manifesto, this engrossing, quirky, and at times risqué book is born out of and evokes curiosity. It makes you laugh and then makes you cry as it traces our dysfunctional relationship with nature; along with inspired efforts to mend it. In charting a creative course it offers a must-read glimmer of hope for the future of humanity.”
John E. Scanlon AO, Former, Secretary-General CITES, Director, IUCN Environmental Law Centre, Principal Advisor UNEP
“In this racy, raucous, and riveting new book, Natalie Kyriacou makes a compelling case for falling in love--with kakapos, rhinos, and nature in general. Genetically speaking, after all, we are related to everything from banana slugs to bamboo trees, so this is a clarion call to reimagine about how we think about, and how we treat, our extended family. As Kyriacou makes clear, either humans change our values, systems and behaviors, or we will join dodos on the list of extinct species. Magically, this book delivers a dire warning in ways that will make you laugh, the literary equivalent of medicine that actually tastes good.”
Dr. David R. Boyd, Former UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment
“With biting wit and boundless curiosity, Natalie Kyriacou brings both levity and urgency to one of the greatest crises of our time. Nature’s Last Dance is not just a catalog of extinction—it is a bold celebration of the creatures still with us, and a compelling reminder of how much we stand to lose. Kyriacou writes like a scientist with a soul and a storyteller with purpose.”
Cristina “Mitty” Mittermeier, Conservationist, Photographer & Author
“At a time where our instincts might tell us to look away from the devastating destruction of our planet, Natalie Kyriacou provides a stunning case for doing the opposite. Balancing loss and hope, destruction and resilience, Nature's Last Dance is an arresting love letter to the diversity of life on earth. Kyriacou has masterfully painted a world that feels impossible... and yet, it's ours. Poetic, curious, and with a contagious sense of wonder, Kyriacou is a unique voice for an environment worth fighting for. “
Clare Stephens, Writer, Podcaster and Author
“Natalie is a powerful voice for nature: fierce, funny, and unforgettable.”
Keith Tuffley AM, Explorer, CEO of Race to Belém, Board Director of the Villars Institute and the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation