Man and His Cow. The Fateful Expedition of Naturalist Georg Steller

This book is a biography of Georg Steller - an extraordinary scientist with insatiable curiosity, incredible diligence, and a rare breadth of interests. Steller was a naturalist in Vitus Bering's Great Northern Expedition and left us invaluable material about the... natural environment of Kamchatka, Alaska, and the Far East.

However, the work of Finnish writer and science popularizer Aura Koivisto is not only historical. First and foremost, the author's goal was to draw our attention to what is currently happening to nature and the environment in our lifetime. The cow discovered by Steller is an animal that disappeared from the face of the Earth in just 27 years. «The Steller's cow died, and the world became a little more lonely place again». This phrase belongs to marine zoologist Viktor B. Sheffer, and it is hardly possible to describe extinction better. Humanity's responsibility, its role and place among its neighbors on the planet - these are the themes that Koivisto raises in her book.

I would like to draw the reader's attention to the language and style of presentation of the book. The author managed to turn scientific material into an exciting, breathlessly readable novel.