Tigers Between Empires

a Best Book of 2025 per The Telegraph and BookPage

Out now! The true story of an international team of biologists who helped save the Amur tiger from extinction! Signed copies available from Moon Palace Books in Minneapolis.

Praise

“Pure widescreen epic” – Chicago Tribune

“A riveting account of survival in the face of long odds, beautifully written and unforgettable” – Andrea Pitzer, author of Icebound: Shipwrecked at the Edge of the World

“Captivating….with vivid detail and suspense.” – Publishers Weekly

“Slaght tells the tale from deep knowledge, in rich detail, with high skill.” – David Quammen, author of Breathless

“A huge adventure at the frontiers of conservation” – Adam Nicolson, author of Bird School

photograph © Wildlife Conservation Society

Deep in the forests of Northeast Asia roam secretive Amur tigers, more popularly known as ‘Siberian Tigers’. But in the final years of the Cold War, only a few hundred of these graceful animals remained. As the Soviet Union fell, catastrophe arrived, with poaching and logging taking a fast, astonishing toll on an already vulnerable species.

Taking us on a journey through remote frozen landscapes, conservationist Jonathan C. Slaght charts the incredible story of how Russian and American scientists came together to help save these magnificent, solitary creatures. He retraces their steps to show how this dedicated, fearless coalition laid the foundations of new tiger research across Asia, transforming public opinion around tigers from something to be feared and hunted, to creatures we must protect.

Today, tigers occupy 7% of the lands they did 100 years ago, disappearing in the wild from Bali to Iran. In the ongoing global crisis of species destruction, Slaght shows us that the revival of the Amur tiger can bring us hope for the future: a model for how to live alongside, and revive, the natural world.

Researchers with a tranquilized tiger, 1993. Photograph © Dale Miquelle

Reviews

The Telegraph, Five Star Review

18 November 2025

The Mission to save Putin’s favourite big cat

Engelsberg Ideas

13 November 2025

Tigers between the Great Powers

Interviews

The Observer

01 November 2025

I don’t like bears. They’re vindictive.

Orion Magazine

19 November 2025

Tiger Tiger, Burning Bright

BBC Radio 4: Start the Week

10 November 2025