| The Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinctions Contributor(s): Quammen, David (Author) |
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ISBN: 0684827123 ISBN-13: 9780684827124 Publisher: Scribner Book Company OUR PRICE: $20.70 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: April 1997 Annotation: Interweaving personal observation, scientific theory, and history, this beautifully written book takes the reader on a globe-spanning tour of wild places and ideas. "An epic adventure of the mind and spirit".--Robert Kanigel, "The New York Times Book Review". Maps. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Nature | Environmental Conservation & Protection - General - Science | Environmental Science (see Also Chemistry - Environmental) - Science | Life Sciences - Biology |
| Dewey: 574.91 |
| LCCN: 95044972 |
| Physical Information: 1.22" H x 6.2" W x 9.22" (1.71 lbs) 704 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: David Quammen's book, The Song of the Dodo, is a brilliant, stirring work, breathtaking in its scope, far-reaching in its message -- a crucial book in precarious times, which radically alters the way in which we understand the natural world and our place in that world. It's also a book full of entertainment and wonders. In The Song of the Dodo, we follow Quammen's keen intellect through the ideas, theories, and experiments of prominent naturalists of the last two centuries. We trail after him as he travels the world, tracking the subject of island biogeography, which encompasses nothing less than the study of the origin and extinction of all species. Why is this island idea so important? Because islands are where species most commonly go extinct -- and because, as Quammen points out, we live in an age when all of Earth's landscapes are being chopped into island-like fragments by human activity. Through his eyes, we glimpse the nature of evolution and extinction, and in so doing come to understand the monumental diversity of our planet, and the importance of preserving its wild landscapes, animals, and plants. We also meet some fascinating human characters. By the book's end we are wiser, and more deeply concerned, but Quammen leaves us with a message of excitement and hope. |
Contributor Bio(s): Quammen, David: - David Quammen's fifteen books include The Tangled Tree, The Song of the Dodo, The Reluctant Mr. Darwin, and Spillover, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle award. He has written for Harper's, The Atlantic, Rolling Stone, The New York Times Book Review, Outside, and Powder, among other magazines, and is a contributing writer for National Geographic. He wrote the entire text of the May 2016 issue of National Geographic on the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem--the first time in the history of the magazine that an issue was single-authored. Quammen shares a home in Bozeman, Montana, with his wife, Betsy Gaines Quammen, an environmental historian, along with two Russian wolfhounds and a cross-eyed cat. Visit him at DavidQuammen.com. |