Monarchs - by Jaime Rojo (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Prepare to be awed by the beauty and abundance of monarch butterflies, captured as never before in this large-format coffee table book from a National Geographic Explorer.

More than 140 breathtaking photographs fill this book, many unique glimpses of monarchs in the Mexico mountains where they overwinter. Page upon beautiful page, chock-full of glorious butterflies!

With a riot of color and incredible images of the beloved butterfly in all its stages and locations, Jaime Rojo's Monarchs--the first significant photographic book about the monarch butterfly--is the culmination of a 20-year-long quest by an award-winning photographer to reveal the migration, behavior, and fragility of this iconic species.

In words and pictures, Rojo tracks the journey that all North American monarchs follow--an amazing annual round-trip migration thousands of miles long. Rojo's personal narrative and unique photographs begin in the concentrated Mexican forests where millions of butterflies overwinter. From there, he travels to the American heartland, sharing both wonder and distress over the dwindling presence of milkweed, the monarch caterpillar's necessary food.

We meet not only the iconic butterfly but also the people along the way who treasure these beautiful creatures: Michoacan residents who adorn their Day of the Dead celebrations with monarch designs; scientists who are bringing cutting-edge technology to the study of this remarkable migration; and legions of Canadians and Americans who work together, planting pollinator gardens and raising, tagging, and releasing monarchs in a passionate effort to support the species.

For all who love the monarch butterfly--and everyone who marvels at the colors, patterns, and remarkable life cycles of nature--this beautiful book with its one-of-a-kind photographs will be a treasure enjoyed for years to come.

Review Quotes

"Both elegantly written and sublimely illustrated, Monarchs is as perfect a book about these beloved butterflies as one can imagine. Celebrated photographer Jaime Rojo treats us to wondrous stories spanning every glorious facet of the monarch's world." -- Mark W. Moffett, PhD, author of Adventures Among Ants and The Human Swarm

"I have seen hundreds of beautiful photos of monarchs over the years, but nothing like those throughout Jamie Rojo's Monarchs. This book will motivate a new generation of conservationists who will commit to safeguarding our most iconic insect." -- Douglas Tallamy, author of Bringing Nature Home and How Can I Help?

"Jaime Rojo's Monarchs is a clarion call to take action. His photography excels at conveying the importance and urgency of saving this iconic species. Featuring the heroic citizen scientists working from northern North America to Mexico for monarchs, this is an important and inspiring book." -- Kristine Tompkins, president and co-founder of Tompkins Conservation

About the Author

Jaime Rojo is a photographer and National Geographic Explorer with a background in environmental sciences who focuses on conservation stories about wilderness and wildlife. A senior fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers and trustee of the WILD Foundation, he has earned honors from World Press Photo and been honored as Wildlife Photographer of the Year. He also works as a communications advisor to environmental, educational, and government institutions and is a frequent speaker on visual storytelling for conservation. He lives in Spain with his wife and two daughters.

Elizabeth Kolbert, author of the foreword, is the best-selling author of The Sixth Extinction, for which she won a Pulitzer Prize; Under a White Sky, which was named one of the top 10 books of 2021 by the Washington Post; and, most recently, Life on a Little-Known Planet. For her work at The New Yorker, where she's a staff writer, she has received two National Magazine Awards and the Blake-Dodd Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. She lives in Williamstown, Massachusetts, with her husband and children.