Why We Went Extinct by Tadaaki Imaizumi & Takashi Maruyama

AGENT

Jeff Shreve

PUBLISHER

Quill Tree (HarperCollins)

PUBLICATION Summer 2023

STATUS

Proposal and sample spreads (in English); full Japanese page proofs.

LENGTH 350 pages

RIGHTS SOLD

• US & Canada (Quill Tree) • Japan, China and rest of East Asia reserved to the Japanese publisher (Diamond)

Why We Went Extinct

An Illustrated Encyclopaedia of the Species that Just Didn’t Make It

TADAAKI IMAIZUMI & TAKASHI MARUYAMA

Since life first arose on Earth, 99.9 per cent of all species that have ever lived have gone extinct

If your species happens to be alive right now – never mind just you specifically! –you are already among the very lucky. WHY WE WENT EXTINCT is an illustrated encyclopaedia of the animals that weren’t as lucky, that wound up on Darwin’s bad side through poor physical traits or unfortunate timing, or simply had the massive misfortune to run up against the rise of human civilization.

Readers learn about Platybelodon, an elephant ancestor whose jaw was too heavy to survive; Cameroceras, a cephalopod whose body was too straight to survive; the Laughing Owl, who went extinct because it laughed too loud; and a whole host of other mammals, reptiles, birds, amphibians and fish that just didn’t make it. These are sad stories, but the endearing illustrations and charming voices of the animals bring them back to life, if only briefly, to teach readers about their lives and times, and to give us all a deeper appreciation of life on Earth (especially as we face human-caused climate change, a driver of extinction that the book also fully addresses).

WHY WE WENT EXTINCT has become a huge phenomenon in Japan since it was first published in 2018, selling well over half a million copies. And with the recent wave of interest in palaeontology, WHY WE WENT EXTINCT is poised for breakout success around the globe.

Tadaaki Imaizumi graduated from Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology and studied mammal taxonomy and ecology at the National Science Museum of Japan. After working as an animal-science educator at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo, he is now councillor at the Tokyo Zoo Association. He likes cheetahs and leopards because they are independent, quiet, and are strict parents.

Takashi Maruyama is a zoology writer and creator of illustrated encyclopaedias. His favourite animal is the aardvark because it is the only remaining living species of the order Tubulidentata.