Determined to document the vanishing riches of central Africa's last undeveloped reaches, National Geographic photographer Michael ''Nick'' Nichols set out with ecologist Mike Fay on the ''megatransect expedition,'' a grueling 456-day, 2,000-mile trek from Congo's deepest forest to Gabon's virgin shore. The result of their efforts is The Last Place on Earth, a startling and revealing work. This landmark book caused the government of Gabon to set aside 11 percent of the country's interior rain forest as national parkland, creating 13 new national parks to protect virgin lands and wildlife. This book is a joint venture between the National Geographic Society and the Wildlife Conservation Society and all proceeds go to Congo basin forest conservation.

• Watch Michael Nichols discuss The Last Place on Earth (Requires Quicktime 7)

  

• Volume I, 344 pages; Volume II, 128 pages; 250 photographs
• Vol I, 15'' x 10 3/4''; Vol II, 8 1/2'' x 11''
• Hardcover
• © 2005