The WWF was established in 1961 spurred by the efforts of Max Nicholson, head of Britain’s Nature Conservancy Council, naturalist Peter Scott, and a series of articles written in the Observer by Julian Huxley, former head of UNESCO.

The book tells the story of the WWF’s battle to save the world’s wildlife, the work it has done to protect everything from tigers to marine life and, of course, pandas, as well as its campaigns to promote sustainable development and combat climate change. The author has access to the private papers of Prince Philip and Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, each of whom served as WWF president for 15 years and the book is lavishly illustrated throughout with exceptional photographs by world-famous wildlife and nature photographers. Also included are the earliest photographs taken of pandas in the wild and works produced for the WWF by such artists as Peter Blake and Tracy Emin.

This richly illustrated book encapsulates all the magnificence of the world’s wildlife - and why it must be treasured and preserved.