Extinction explores threatened and extinct species and the factors threatening them through a behind-the-scenes lens on one of the most important sets of natural history collections in the world.

The specimens revealed by photographer Marc Schlossman in this book are not on public display and the only way to see many of them is through these photographs, the result of ten years photographing key species from the museum’s zoology and botany collections. The images lead the reader to the species’ stories, promoting a greater understanding of mankind’s stewardship of life on Earth at a critical time in history.

Schlossman combines unique photographs of specimens from the Field Museum in Chicago with informative and insightful text about the species themselves, reasons for decline and the conservation efforts in place to prevent further extinction.

The book has been designed to have pages with black backgrounds for extinct species and white backgrounds for threatened species. A yellow flag highlights conservation successes, which are interspersed throughout. The conservation success stories highlight the positive work being done and the potential there is to prevent the extinction of these and other species.