Click here to view an interview with the author

With over 100 glorious full-color photographs and insightful text, Kentucky's Last Great Places highlights the incredible natural beauty found in the Commonwealth's old-growth forests, prairies, wetlands, and other distinctive biological habitats. Many types -more than 3,000 vascular plants, 230 fish, 105 amphibians and reptiles, 350 birds, 75 mammals, and 12,000 insects- make Kentucky their home. Many of these species and their habitats are considered rare, threatened, or endangered. Overall, less than one percent of Kentucky is classified ecologically as being in a "pre-European" condition that deserves significant protection.

Award-winning photographer and author Thomas G. Barnes combines his striking photographs with essays describing the splendor found in more than forty of Kentucky's diverse natural preserves or ecological areas, including the old-growth Blanton Forest near Pine Mountain in Harlan County, Axe Lake Swamp in Ballard County near the Mississippi River, Red River Gorge, the Kentucky River Palisades, Mammoth Cave, and many others.

This spectacular oversized book explores the biodiversity of Kentucky, the challenges to protecting its biological heritage, and the ways that organizations such as The Nature Conservancy, Kentucky Nature Preserves Commission, the National Park Service, and others are continuing to protect the state's unique biological legacy.

Thomas G. Barnes, an associate extension professor of forestry at the University of Kentucky, is the author of Gardening for the Birds.

Reviews:

"One cannot leaf through the pages of this book without feeling a strong urge to see these wild places."--Indiana Magazine of History

"Anyone interested in Kentucky, natural history, or photography will find something to admire in this beautifully produced book."--Virginia Quarterly Review

"A beautiful pictorial and written work, the photographs alone tell the story of the diverse riches of our state and its fragile grace."--Chevy Chaser

"This is a book with a message, but it also is enlivened by Barnes' personal accounts of exploring the remaining undeveloped terrain."--Kentucky Monthly

"Documents in words and photos those areas of the state still untouched by development, mining, and other signs of human presence."-- Henderson Gleaner

"Beautiful just to look at."--Kentucky Kaleidoscope

"Does a great job of putting Kentucky's last great places on the map. Whether Kentuckians visit on foot or only through its pages, they will certainly see what there is to lose."--Lady-Slipper

"Filled with colorful images, from close-ups of rare plants to scenic photographs."--Louisville Courier-Journal

"I know of no other work that combines Kentucky's preservation history and natural history with outstanding nature photography."--Kentucky Living

"A must-see for any true-blooded Bluegrass enthusiast. Full page spreads of our rivers, forests and flora will have you searching your maps for their locations."--Southsider

"Barnes describes his visits to those places in such expert detail that if you've ever visited one of them, you want to go again after reading his account."--Lexington Herald-Leader

"Barnes documents in words and fabulous photographs those areas of the state still untouched by development, mining, and other marks of human interference."--Back Home in Kentucky

"While the book offers stunning landscapes and marvelous macro photography, it is also a vehicle for learning about Kentucky's precious natural areas around the state."-- Jackson County Sun

"Does substantial justice to the beauty and biodiversity of our commonwealth."--Louisville Courier-Journal