The Song Of The Dodo - Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinctions (Paperback, Reissue)

Why have island ecosystems always suffered such high rates of extinction ? In our age, with all the world's landscapes, from Tasmania to the Amazon to Yellowstone, now being carved into islandlike fragments by human activity, the implications of this question are more urgent than ever. Over the past eight years, David Quammen has followed the threads of island biogeography on a globe-encircling journey of discovery. 'Not since Gerald Durrell's books 30 years ago have I encountered such writing about the natural World. The witty, pithy, modest prose and the clever interweaving of science and storytelling are of a quality unrivalled in the field' Matt Ridley, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH. 'Quammen's heroic, demanding book is a monument to scholarly rigour and scientific accuracy. Scientists are raving about it in the States, yet the lay reader too will be borne along by his engaging intelligence, his good-natured mix of learning and humour.' Alexander Frater, OBSERVER. 'This book is vital.' John Fowles, SUNDAY TIMES.