Valmik Thapar’s new book, Wildfire, is a collector’s delight. Spread across 500 pages are Thapar's own experiences with the environment and wild animals across the country and historical narratives by greats, including Ibn Batuta and Pliny The Elder. The last section of the book is dedicated to rare, powerful images curated by the conservationist. Excerpts from an interview with Thapar:

Q. Why did you write Wildfire? What did you set out to say through the photographs and narratives in the book?
A. After working toward wildlife conservation for 40 years, having put down almost everything about the tiger, I wanted to write something that would include the very best of narratives about Indian wildlife and my own experiences of it. Wildfire is the second in the series (Tiger Fire, the first, released in 2013), and the third, which will focus on Indian birds. Cumulatively, I wanted these books to record and document the natural world from a historical point of view. I wanted to leave a pictorial record of the incredible beauty which is in danger from industrial development.