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.

Volume I of The Last Place on Earth features the best wildlife images available today, shot by world-class photographer Nick Nichols. Using new technology that surpasses the telephoto lens, Nichols was able to achieve an intimacy heretofore unseen. His pictures of surfing hippos and sunbathing buffalos capture the rough and amazing beauty of central Africa’s wildlife and terrain.

In Volume II of the set, Fay enhances these images with a detailed journal that portrays the real-life drama of this historic expedition. Threats by armed poachers, disease, and despair are offset by moments of utter astonishment and beauty. Text by Fay and images by Nichols together provide readers with a stunning, suspenseful narrative sure to capture both the eye and the imagination.