Remains of a Rainbow exhibit on display at the Molokai Museum and Cultural Center

"We did not undertake this work to memorialize plants and animals that are destined to go extinct," said Liittschwager. "Quite the opposite. We have done it to call attention to their plight and with the hope that for most of them it is not too late."        

In addition to Remains of a Rainbow, Liittschwager and Middleton are the authors of three other acclaimed books on endangered species – Archipelago: Portraits of Life in the World's Most Remote Island Sanctuary, which focuses on the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, Witness: Endangered Species of North America, and Here Today: Portraits of Our Vanishing Species, which focuses on California. Their work has also been the subject of an Emmy Award winning-1997 National Geographic television documentary, America's Endangered Species: Don't Say Goodbye.

The R.W. Meyer Sugar Mill Museum, a.k.a. Molokai Museum and Cultural Center, on Kala‘e Highway, is open for tours Monday-Saturday, 10:00 am-2:00 pm for a small admission; admission to the cultural center is free.