Archipelago ─ Portraits of Life in the World's Most Remote Island Sanctuary

This new masterwork, by the creators of the acclaimed 2001 book, Remains of a Rainbow, showcases the unique flora and fauna of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, both terrestrial and marine. Nearly seventy percent of our nation's coral reefs are present in the NWHI chain. The rich diversity of these coral reefs, the "rainforests of the sea," supports a vast array of animals and plants, many existing nowhere else in the world. Although the ten NWHI are relatively small (comprising 0.1 of 1 percent of the land area of Hawaii) and unknown to most people (with the exception of Midway) they provide refuge for vibrant natural communities including monk seals, vast numbers of seabirds, plants, and invertebrates. Human culture is not the dominant presence here; wildlife reigns.

Through a succession of protective actions, the NWHI and their surrounding marine environment have virtually become off limits to people with the exception of occasional authorized research and conservation expeditions. The inaccessibility of the NWHI and the need to protect them from damage means that few people will ever be able to experience and see them directly, through an unmediated eye. This book is a way to share a national treasure and to reveal the richness and value of the NWHI through these inspired portraits.

David Liittschwager and Susan Middleton are well known internationally for their arresting portraits of endangered North American plants and animals. They have published three books, and they won an Emmy in 1997 for the National Geographic television documentary America's Endangered Species: Don't Say Goodbye. They have an active lecture schedule across the U.S., and their work has appeared in publications the world over and in many noted scientific works as well. Susan and David each live in San Francisco, California.