Darwin in Galápagos: Footsteps to a New World - Hardcover

Grant, K. Thalia; Estes, Gregory B.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0691142106 ISBN 13: 9780691142104

Publisher: Princeton University Press, 2009

Synopsis

Two leading naturalists retrace Darwin's legendary Galápagos voyage

In 1835, during his voyage on HMS Beagle, Charles Darwin spent several weeks in Galápagos exploring the islands and making extensive notes on their natural history. Darwin in Galápagos is the first book to recreate Darwin's historic visit to the islands, following in his footsteps day by day and island by island as he records all that he observes around him.

Thalia Grant and Gregory Estes meticulously retrace Darwin's island expeditions, taking you on an unforgettable guided tour. Drawing from Darwin's original notebooks and logs from the Beagle, the latest findings by Darwin scholars and modern science, and their own intimate knowledge of the archipelago, Grant and Estes offer rare insights into Darwin's thinking about evolution in the context of the actual locales that inspired him. They introduce Darwin as a young naturalist in England and onboard the Beagle and then put you in his shoes as he explores remote places in the islands. They identify the unique animals and plants he observed and collected, and describe dramatic changes to the islands since Darwin's time. They also explore the importance of Darwin's observations and collections to the development of his thinking after the voyage.

Ideal for visitors to Galápagos and a delight for armchair travelers, Darwin in Galápagos is generously illustrated with color and black-and-white photographs and line drawings, as well as detailed maps of Darwin's island itinerary and informative box features on the archipelago's natural history.

About this title

About the Author

K. Thalia Grant is a naturalist with extensive knowledge of Darwin and Galápagos. She has conducted ecological and historical research on the islands since 1973 and has lived there since 1995. Gregory B. Estes has worked as a naturalist in Galápagos since 1982, leading island trips, lecturing on Darwin, and conducting research. Grant and Estes organize educational trips to the islands and work as consultants for film groups.

From the Back Cover

"Grant and Estes, the world's authorities on Darwin in Galápagos, put readers in young Darwin's mind and meticulously trace his every footstep. They have the most intimate knowledge about this archipelago and a heartfelt friendship with its most famous visitor. Darwin comes alive in this carefully researched book. A book every Galápagos traveler should read, as should anyone who wants to understand how Darwin became the first evolutionary biologist."--Martin Wikelski, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology and Konstanz University

"This book is a tale of two journeys: Darwin's in the islands, and the authors' as they retraced his steps. Darwin's, of course, was one of the most important series of footsteps in the history of human exploration. And the journey that Thalia Grant and Greg Estes have made is impressive because they have done so much legwork in the islands and the libraries, and have spent so much of their lives working in the archipelago. Outdoors and indoors, it seems to have been a labor of love."--Jonathan Weiner, author of The Beak of the Finch

"This volume provides a timely and interesting account of a key moment in Charles Darwin's life--and, it might be said, in the history of evolutionary biology. It is especially valuable to encounter the deep local knowledge that the authors bring to the locations they describe. The route Darwin took around the islands comes alive in this book."--Janet Browne, author of Charles Darwin: The Power of Place

"This is an engaging tour of Darwin's explorations on Galápagos. This book provides the best description yet of Darwin's trip through the islands. The authors have a remarkable familiarity with the places Darwin visited, and ably share that knowledge."--Edward J. Larson, author of Evolution: The Remarkable History of a Scientific Theory

"Grant and Estes provide a vivid and accurate account of where Charles Darwin went on his 1835 visit to the Galápagos Islands. This is an important addition to the Darwin literature and to our knowledge of what Darwin did in--and how he was affected by--Galápagos."--Duncan M. Porter, coeditor of The Correspondence of Charles Darwin

"The authors have provided a richly detailed and evocative description of Darwin's route and experiences in the Galápagos Islands. In doing so they have made a significant contribution to Darwin studies and to the enjoyment of anyone who visits these places with their book in hand."--Sandra Herbert, author of Charles Darwin, Geologist

From the Inside Flap

"Grant and Estes, the world's authorities on Darwin in Galápagos, put readers in young Darwin's mind and meticulously trace his every footstep. They have the most intimate knowledge about this archipelago and a heartfelt friendship with its most famous visitor. Darwin comes alive in this carefully researched book. A book every Galápagos traveler should read, as should anyone who wants to understand how Darwin became the first evolutionary biologist."--Martin Wikelski, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology and Konstanz University

"This book is a tale of two journeys: Darwin's in the islands, and the authors' as they retraced his steps. Darwin's, of course, was one of the most important series of footsteps in the history of human exploration. And the journey that Thalia Grant and Greg Estes have made is impressive because they have done so much legwork in the islands and the libraries, and have spent so much of their lives working in the archipelago. Outdoors and indoors, it seems to have been a labor of love."--Jonathan Weiner, author of The Beak of the Finch

"This volume provides a timely and interesting account of a key moment in Charles Darwin's life--and, it might be said, in the history of evolutionary biology. It is especially valuable to encounter the deep local knowledge that the authors bring to the locations they describe. The route Darwin took around the islands comes alive in this book."--Janet Browne, author ofCharles Darwin: The Power of Place

"This is an engaging tour of Darwin's explorations on Galápagos. This book provides the best description yet of Darwin's trip through the islands. The authors have a remarkable familiarity with the places Darwin visited, and ably share that knowledge."--Edward J. Larson, author of Evolution: The Remarkable History of a Scientific Theory

"Grant and Estes provide a vivid and accurate account of where Charles Darwin went on his 1835 visit to the Galápagos Islands. This is an important addition to the Darwin literature and to our knowledge of what Darwin did in--and how he was affected by--Galápagos."--Duncan M. Porter, coeditor of The Correspondence of Charles Darwin

"The authors have provided a richly detailed and evocative description of Darwin's route and experiences in the Galápagos Islands. In doing so they have made a significant contribution to Darwin studies and to the enjoyment of anyone who visits these places with their book in hand."--Sandra Herbert, author of Charles Darwin, Geologist

Reviews

When we talk about Darwin and his theory of evolution, we must talk about the five-week visit to the Galápagos Islands in 1835 that helped foment that theory. Naturalists Grant and Estes are longtime researchers and residents of the Galápagos. They bring to this account of Darwin's adventures their intimate knowledge of the islands, enabling them to identify sites Darwin visited that previously were in doubt or misidentified. We often forget that much of Darwin's early fame was as a geologist. Grant and Estes describe in detail the islands' geographic and volcanic features as well as their many unique species of birds, reptiles and plants, both in Darwin's time and today. The book is in part a study of the decline of an ecosystem through the introduction of invasive plants and animals and how humans can undo the damage they have created. The final chapters on Darwin's career after leaving the Galápagos are slightly hurried, but all fans of the great scientist will find this an engrossing account of what was probably the most important period in his life. 201 color illus., 73 b&w illus., 4 maps. (Dec.)
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The most momentous voyage in modern history is Charles Darwin’s on HMS Beagle, and its acme, as he acknowledged to the end of his days, was the month-plus (September 15–October 20, 1835) spent at the equatorial Galápagos archipelago, during which he collected the specimens and observations with which he forged the cornerstone of evolutionary science, the theory of natural selection. Galápagos residents and researchers Grant and Estes trace Darwin’s steps on the islands more closely than has anyone else. After three exemplary chapters on Darwin before the Beagle, they devote four long chapters to his experience on the four large islands he visited, noting what he found and what he didn’t, or, at least, didn’t remark upon in his immediate journals, notes, and letters. They keep before us throughout the fact that Darwin had no epiphany about evolution at the time; that came later, gradually and subtly. A complement of 201 color and 73 black-and-white illustrations, not available for review, will most probably make this volume the fitting bibliographical capper to the 2009 Darwin bicentenary. --Ray Olson

Edition details

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0691142106
• ISBN 13: 9780691142104
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 376