This is a hardcover, first edition, first printing of this exceptional 279-page work by the renowned author of 'Where the Wild Things Were.'

The original price, as shown on the dustjacket front flap, was $26.00.

From the dustjacket blurb:

“Rat Island rises from the icy gray waters of the Bering Sea—a tundra-covered mass of volcanic rock midway between Alaska and Siberia. Once a vibrant sanctuary for great flocks of seabirds, the island gained a grimmer reputation when shipwrecked rats colonized, savaging thousands of birds in the process. Now, on this and hundreds of other remote islands around the world, a massive—and controversial—wildlife rescue mission is under way.

“Islands, making up just 5 percent of Earth’s landmass, harbor more than half of its endangered species. Home to unique and naïve species that evolved in blissful isolation, island ecosystems in modern times have been shattered by mainland predators—rats and cats, goats and pigs, and a host of fellow invaders ferried around the globe by humans. To save the imperiled islanders, academic ecologists have teamed up with professional hunters and poachers in a radical act of conservation. Sharpshooters are sniping at goat herds from helicopters, and biological SWAT teams are blanketing mountainous isles with rat poison. Their mission: to annihilate the alien hordes.

“‘Rat Island’ reveals a little-known but highly contentious new tactic of today’s conservation movement. Following a ragtag crew of environmental fighters through exotic locales, William Stolzenburg gives us a story of perilous adventure and emotional conflict, blurring distinctions between hero and villain, the pristine and the plundered. And amid manifold threats to life on Earth, he gives us new reason to hope.”

And from the reviews”

“Stolzenburg brings a keen eye and thirst for adventure to the front lines of this controversial battle. This study brings important attention to a little known issue, and Stolzenburg probes the moral implications of saving one species by killing another with remarkable fair-mindedness and a temperance rare and needed in the passionate animal rights debate.”—Publishers Weekly

 “A tough, nuanced consideration of ethical issues that arise from mans relationship to nature.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Stolzenburg offers a fascinating, if occasionally grisly, peek into the emerging science of preservation through eradication.”—Salon

“[Stolzenburg] offers a solid historical background on the topic and effectively conveys the complicated nature of balancing a disrupted island ecosystem.”—Library Journal

“Gripping. . . . Rat Island is less a tragedy of paradise lost than an uplifting tale about the heroic struggle to regain indigenous habitats by exterminating the unwanted predators. [A] powerful book.”—Financial Times

“An extraordinary story”—Cleveland Plain Dealer

The book is in fine, collectible condition, with no torn or bent pages, no scratches, stains or inscriptions, no remainder marks, no price-clipping, no bookplate, no ex-library, no book club edition, no flaws of any sort. It is as new.