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Version 1 Version 2
Welcome to The Galapagos Welcome to The Galapagos
(6 months later)
“The natural history “The natural history of these islands is eminentlycurious, and well deserves attention.” So wrote Charles Darwin of the Galapagos in the first edition of his Journal of Researches.
of these islands is eminently curious, and well deserves attention.” So wrote Charles Darwin of the I love this sentence. I love its modest, quintessentially Victorian style. I love its central observation (for the natural history of these islands is, indeed, eminently curious). But most of all, I love its prophetic take-home message that the Galapagos archipelago would prove to be a fruitful site for future research. Darwin, as ever, was spot on.
Galapagos in the first edition of his Journal Some of the earliest visitors to the Galapagos were horrified by what they found. For the Bishop of Panama, for instance, (who first discovered the islands in 1535), this rabble of raw, parched, Pacific volcanoes with their devil-like iguanas and gargantuan tortoises was like hell on earth. But for Darwin (and all those who came in his intellectual wake) the Galapagos archipelago proved to be more like paradise. It was for me.
of Researches. So when I was approached to write a new book on the Galapagos, I was only too delighted. As anyone who has taken the book-writing plunge will know, it can take a long time to figure out the right structure. It usually emerges slowly, organically after an awful lot of writing and overwriting, shuffling passages around and then moving them back. But in the case of The Galapagos, I quite quickly hit upon the simple idea of building up the ecology of the islands, chapter by chapter, from rocks, to the ocean, to seabirds, to plants, to invertebrates, to land birds, to reptiles and ultimately to humans. It’s an intuitive structure that helped a lot in the writing. I hope it will make for an informative and entertaining read
I love this sentence. In writing The Galapagos, one of my missions has been to mix up the natural and the human history of the archipelago. Most other books on the islands (of which there are many excellent examples) tend to dwell on either the rocks, plants and animals at the exclusion of the humans or vice versa. I wanted to create a single, accessible volume that does both, revealing much of the wonderful natural history but through the first-hand experiences of some of the islands’ most famous visitors (such as the Bishop of Panama, the American naval officer David Porter, Charles Darwin, Moby-Dick author Herman Melville and naturalist William Beebe) and through the work of dozens of scientists and conservationists who have dedicated their lives to the Galapagos over the past several decades. All these works have been a joy to read, to ponder and to write about.
I love its modest, quintessentially Victorian style. I love its central Immersing myself in all things Galapagos has also helped me clarify my thinking on why these islands matter so much, and not just to fans of the natural world or self-confessed Darwin nuts like me.
observation (for the natural history of these islands is, indeed, eminently curious). But most If my point is not yet clear, the Galapagos matters. If you go “Like” The Galapagos on my Facebook page, I’ll be very happy. If you buy a copy, I’ll love you forever.
of all, I love its prophetic take-home message that the Galapagos archipelago The Galapagos: A Natural History goes on sale in the UK today (Profile Books) and will appear in the US in April (Basic Books)
would prove to be a fruitful site for future research. Darwin, as ever, was
spot on.
Some of the earliest
visitors to the Galapagos were horrified by what they found. For the Bishop of Panama, for instance, (who first discovered the islands in 1535), this
rabble of raw, parched, Pacific volcanoes with their devil-like iguanas and
gargantuan tortoises was like hell on earth. But for Darwin (and all those who
came in his intellectual wake) the Galapagos archipelago proved to be more like
paradise. It was for me.
So when I was
approached to write a new book on the Galapagos, I was only too delighted. As
anyone who has taken the book-writing plunge will know, it can take a long time to figure out
the right structure. It usually emerges slowly, organically after an awful lot of writing
and overwriting, shuffling passages around and then moving them back. But in
the case of The Galapagos, I quite quickly hit upon the simple idea of building
up the ecology of the islands, chapter by chapter, from rocks, to the ocean, to
seabirds, to plants, to invertebrates, to land birds, to reptiles and
ultimately to humans. It’s an intuitive structure that helped a lot in the writing. I hope it will make for
an informative and entertaining read
In writing The
Galapagos, one of my missions has been to mix up the natural and the human
history of the archipelago. Most other books on the islands (of which there are
many excellent examples) tend to dwell on either the rocks, plants
and animals at the exclusion of the humans or vice versa. I wanted to create a
single, accessible volume that does both, revealing much of the wonderful natural history but
through the first-hand experiences of some of the islands’ most famous visitors
(such as the Bishop
of Panama, the American naval officer David Porter,
Charles Darwin,
Moby-Dick author Herman
Melville and naturalist William
Beebe) and through the work of dozens of scientists and conservationists
who have dedicated their lives to the Galapagos over the past several decades. All these works have
been a joy to read, to ponder and to write about.
Immersing myself in all things Galapagos has also helped me clarify my thinking on why
these islands matter so much, and not just to fans of the natural world or self-confessed Darwin nuts
like me.
If my point is not
yet clear, the Galapagos matters. If you go “Like” The Galapagos on my Facebook page, I’ll be very happy. If you buy a copy, I’ll love you forever.
The
Galapagos: A Natural History goes on sale in the UK today (Profile Books) and will appear in the
US in April (Basic Books)