Summary Of Empire Of Extinction By Ryan Tucker Jones

Ryan Tucker Jones’ Empire of Extinction: Russians and the North Pacific's Strange Beasts of the Sea, 1741-1867, analyzes how animals can be studied in conjunction with the area that they disappear from as a reflection of the power and influence of the area itself.

Jones’ choice to use the Russia Empire is important for many reasons: the sea cow was the first animal to become extinct in the modern era, the North Pacific was a difficult area to study and map because of the unstable environment, and the text is analyzed in a period where major empirical changes were occurring across the world due to various revolutions. The Russian Empire was difficult to analyze through the traditional means that historians typically use, so Jones relies upon the information from natural historians and 19th century scholars and authors to analyze the hunted and killed animals.

One of the strengths of his text is Jones’ ability to challenge the biases and limitations of the natural historians’ information. Natural historians underestimated

This is a very interesting and thought-provoking discussion that Jones begins, but misses an opportunity to explore the beginnings of eco-tourism. Jones’ text is all about the exploitation of sea mammals for fur that led to their extinction and it would have been interesting for Jones to draw some parallels and connections from the exploitations of animals to the exploitation of land. Rather than focus on the eco-tourism aspect, Jones chooses to focus on the conservation efforts that were put into place and the preservation of empirical ideals that occurred after the extinction of the sea cow. This itself is not a weakness because he discusses the biases of authors who chose to ignore the extinction of the sea cow because it would not help to enhance the prominence and prestige of the Russian