The Voyage of the Beagle by The Man Himself. I look forward to the Galapagos with more interest than any other part of the voyage, wrote Darwin. And he was not disappointed. Darwin gives lots of anecdotes from the Beagle about the abundant life in the Galapagos: The Bay swarmed with animals; Fish, Shark & Turtles were popping their heads up in all parts. In fact, Galapagos tortoises were then so numerous that Darwin knew of one ship that caught 500-800 in only a short time.
Darwin's Fishes by Daniel Pauly. Darwin's keen interest in Galapagos fish is detailed in this encylopedia (due out soon in paperback). When Darwin returned to England he was very curious about his Galapagos fish specimens and asked to have "the few Galapagos fish looked at first". What Darwin learns from these first collections of fish results in the first bio-geographical notes on Galapagos marine environment. One fish, the Galapagos Sheepshead (Semicossyphus darwini), was named after him.
Tracks in Pardise by Hugo Idrovo. A nice historical overview of the islands that has been published in both English and Spanish. Idrovo also compiled lots of historical photographs (some of which were used in the Galapagos blogposts).
The Galapagos Affair by John Treherne--This factual account describes the mysterious events that occurred on the island Floreana between 1928 and 1934 with the first inhabitants. The original settlers seem almost fictional (such as the sensational Baroness in her riding clothes with her pearl pistol and her following of lovesick men).
Islands Born of Fire by Tui de Roy--Tui was born and raised in the Galapagos. This book combines her impressive photographs with her thoughtful text.
The Beak of the Finch by Jonathan Weiner--Pulitzer Prize winning account of the Grants' finch research and hard proof of natural selection.
Galapagos: The Islands that Changed the World by Paul Stewart. This book was released simultaneously with the BBC/National Geographic series on the Galapagos and the prose has the senstitivity of the series' cinematography.
Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut--Vonnegut uses the Galapagos as a backdrop for a delightful story.
Comments
I found Edward J. Larson's book "Evolution's Workshop" to be a great summary of the scientific history of the islands as well; definitely worth a look.
Posted by: Laelaps | May 21, 2007 11:01 AM
There are not many books that can stand up to nearly two centuries of the whirlwind course of history, human and otherwise. Darwin wrote more than his share of such classics and the Voyage of the Beagle is one of the jewels -- a great classic of nature writing and sheer adventure. I read this when I was a greenhorn (greenfin?) marine biology student, aged about 22, and it had a big effect on me. Not least because young Charles was not much (if any?) older than that himself when he embarked on the fateful voyage that would change the world forever. Still as fresh as ever.
Posted by: Emmett Duffy | May 31, 2007 6:44 PM