Some years after Douglas Adams had received world-wide renown from his quirky sci-fi concoctions, he hit upon the idea of a new project.  For this book, called Last Chance to See, Adams would travel round the world, visiting creatures which were not only endangered, but down to the last of their numbers.  Adams recognized quite well that his near universal celebrity was essential to the plan -- even if you're charged with keeping people away from the final example of some vanishing oddity, how can you resist showing it off to Douglas Adams?  And he took advantage of the opportunity to describe these animals, and their plight, with his signature mix of humor and insight.    

Since the book came out in 1992, at least one of the endangered creatures he visited may have lost its fight.  Just as sad, from my admittedly anthropocentric point of view, is that Adams himself has said his farewells.  Were he here today, Douglas Adams would not have had to travel so far to see creatures in danger of disappearing.  He'd only have to stroll down to the beach, because it now seems that the oceans are dying.