It could be none other than the dodo. The New York Times suggests the lame-duck sessions of the Congress might be better known as dodo sessions. I tend to agree. We see the dodo as the ultimate symbol of futility; destined to disappear as soon as the colonists arrived. George W. Bush and some of those outgoing Republicans don’t seem all that different these days. Borne of a political ideology that was doomed to fail.
But I also think the dodo has a terrible reputation. It’s completely lost control over its public image. I direct you to David Quammen’s The Song of the Dodo, a melodramatic look at the environmental crisis. 
My biogeography professor had our class read this in college. I believe I was the only one to finish the book. Because it’s pretty long, and as I said, exceedingly melodramatic. Quammen basically begins by telling you that you know next to nothing, even if you think you do, about the plight of endangered animals and the field of biogeography. You are in for well-over 600 pages of brain-bending knowledge!
The other book I would recommend pertaining to extinction is for kids. It was one of my favorites when I was smaller (in years, but probably not much in size). It’s called Puzzle Island — which I am sure my friends will read and find there is some sort of joke to be made. Puzzle ISLAND! or something like that.
As you can see, I had little intention of discussing the lame-duck/dodo Congress, because I’m sick to death of this long period between Election Day and the Inauguration. There’s not a good reason why it should be four months, and indeed has been shortened in the past (Inauguration Day used to be March 4th). And that’s why I’ve taken to recommending books for the young and the old.
Little Choward on the Prairie 
Nice shout out to biogeo and Song of the Dodo.
I most certainly did not finish the whole book. In fact I don’t think I finished even one whole chapter. But I definitely appreciated your summary’s of the reading on the way to our Friday 9am quizzes. Good times, good times…