Quammen's resurrection of Alfred Russell Wallace was long overdue. Others have tried to bring this figure back into common knowledge, but the revival was either to accuse Darwin of plagiarism or taint Wallace's accomplishments with the flaws of penury and spiritualism. Quammen handles him as a total human being who achieved through inspiration in a delirium, what Darwin took two decades to accomplish. Quammen doesn't need to balance the two, he's more concerned with explaining the concepts in ways we can understand.

It's Quammen's ability to make you feel you are accompanying him on his quest to see how Nature that places him far above other science writers. He understands the issues, recognizes the value of the research being done and presents the methods and events alike with unblemished clarity. As a writer concerned with the impact of humanity on the world's environment, Quammen exhibits a unique talent. While the ongoing extinction of species remains the central issue of this book, Quammen is able to show how dedicated researchers given support from concerned and caring people can begin to slow that eradication of our fellow species. Quammen's concern doesn't translate into alarmist rhetoric. He calls to us softly but urgently: "There's work to be done. There's people out there doing it. Help them how you can. They're our symbol of hope." [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]


Island species are more vulnerable to extinction   May 18, 2005
 14 out of 14 found this review helpful

David Quammen can't tell us about the song of the dodo because it's a too late. The bird is extinct - they were all exterminated by 1690. Dodos were an island species - a big, flightless sort of pigeon. Sailors despised their apparent 'stupidity'. This stupidity or 'tameness', as we might also mistakenly think of it, is now recognised by modern naturalists as the naivety of animals that live on islands, which results from having no previous experience of predators. They didn't know they should avoid people or run away when approached, so it didn't take long to kill enough of them to ensure their extinction. Introduced species helped to bang the last few nails into the dodos' coffin lid. David Quammen could hardly have chosen a more symbolic creature than the dodo, for the title of his book on "island biogeography in an age of extinctions".

The author has a nice, laid-back writing style and has arranged some uncomfortable facts into an easy read. Here's an example. The voracious appetites of growing populations and industry put our natural environment under enormous pressure and cause habitats to be destroyed or divided into smaller and smaller pieces. So he asks us to imagine a fine Persian carpet - then to imagine it being chopped into pieces. What would happen? The edges would unravel and the bits that were left wouldn't be nearly so useful or so beautiful as the whole carpet had been. That's what happens to ecosystems when they're chopped into small pieces, like 'islands'. They unravel and decay. Island biogeography used to be just about proper islands - the sort that are surrounded by water - but it's now applicable to the islands scattered within continents. Continents have been criss-crossed by roads and rails, buried under cities, industrial estates, farms, quarries and so on, leaving tiny pockets of natural habitat isolated from other natural areas, like islands in a sea of agriculture or urban sprawl. From the point of view of the animals and vegetation that still manage to exist in these 'island' patches, the surrounding areas amount to a barren waste that cannot be crossed.

Quammen is understandably critical of the destructiveness of our species. He refers to the 'background' rate of extinction and the 'normal' rate of extinction, meaning: what the rate of extinction would be if it were not being driven by Homo sapiens. He says, for instance, it's estimated that the rate of extinction of birds and mammals alone, is about one hundred times the background level. And if that figure isn't staggering enough, he points out that Edward O Wilson's studies suggest the current loss of rainforest species, particularly invertebrates, is "at least a thousand times above normal". Quammen believes it would take this planet's ecosystems ten or perhaps even twenty million years to recover to previous high levels of diversity, if our species were to stop driving up extinction. He says that the difference between a normal extinction rate and the present human driven extinction rate is like the difference between having a pilot light permanently burning in the basement furnace and the house being on fire.

It's a big book (almost 700 pages), packed with interesting stories and information. There are ripping yarns (all true and documented!) about the intrepid chaps who started it all: Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace. And there are stories of the scientists who are working on island biogeography today, that are just as hair raising. I recommend this book to everyone who's interested in natural history and the environment.


Thoughtful, sincere and adventurous   November 26, 2004
 3 out of 4 found this review helpful

David Quammen has produced a book reminding us that biology, history and science are life's enjoyments. Not some abstract or sometimes notion. He brings a real sense that your surroundings are rich and potent. Song of the Dodo brings together travel and science, using humanity as its foil; rarely becoming 'liberal' or 'tree-hugging'. If you enjoy reasoned argument and wit, take the time to enjoy one of the most enjoyable books on offer. Always rewarding, and with the exceptional ability to make you feel smarter (the sign of a truly gifted science writer) Mr. Quammen brings a great voice to writing, biology and humanity.


A beautiful and complex song   September 16, 2004
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

I read this book whilst on holiday in western France in 1992. It completely blew me away. Up until that point I never imagined that a book dealing with very complex scientific ideas could be so entertaining. The story is beautiful but heartbreaking, according to Quammen natural habitats have been so fractured and reduced on the mainlands of the world that new species of large land mammals will never again emerge. The story of evolution on island habitats is fascinating and large chunks of travel writing nicley break up the scientific discourse. All in all a remarkable book.


Re-read with passion   May 11, 2004
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

This is one of those books for "have a go" scientists ie those of us who would like to be cleverer or better educated than we are. It's readable, facinating & for such a long book surprising in that it captures you & keeps you hooked without repeating itself.