Book excerpt: Not since the likes of Robert Bateman has there been a masterpiece such as African Menagerie--one of the largest and most ambitious paintings in the history of wildlife art--here reproduced in exquisite detail in this oversize volume with gatefolds. Depicting more than 220 African species, the stunning large-scale mural African Menagerie is artist Brian Jarvi's masterwork. Lavishly reproduced in an oversize format with a gatefold, this book brings this landscape masterpiece to the conservationist, lover of Africa, and fan of wildlife art. In oversized color reproductions, the book African Menagerie offers readers a look at the finer details of the realist renderings of the animals and birds across the seven panels and thirty feet. There are also reproductions of the animal studies Jarvi created in the seventeen years leading up to the final work. Measuring 28 feet across and a full one-story tall, and connected via seven interlocking panels, Brian Jarvi's painting includes more than 200 different African wildlife species, presented as if they are looking at us, the human viewers, seemingly challenging us to save this planet. Many of the species featured in Jarvi's painting are, according to experts, expected to be extinct in the wild by the middle of this century unless humankind takes bold action to ensure their continued existence. In oversized color reproductions, African Menagerie brings the masterpiece home in an accessible manner. The studies offer a glimpse into the work and mind of a creative genius. In addition, the book tells the story of the work, and tracks the evolution and unlikely journey of Jarvi--from once being a Duck Stamp artist to becoming one of the most notable wildlife painter of this generation.