'David Quammen has given usthe story of both our survival and demise as a species in THE SONG OF THE DODO. Through the brilliance and supple nature of his mind, we are allowed to glimpse the nature of evolution and extinction, and why biology matters in our concept of beauty, justice, and the sacredness of life. This is a stunning book with graceful reverberations. ' Terry Tempest Williams, author of REFUGE.
David Quammen is a recipient of the Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the author of five acclaimed natural history titles. His most recent book, The Song of the Dodo, won the BP Natural World Book Prize in 1996. He lives in Montana.
Not only is this book compulsively readable - a masterpiece - it is
maybe the masterpiece of science journalism
*Audobon Magazine*
A moving book... Quammen is a good writer who has taken the time to
master an important subject and do it justice
*The Times*
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 th field
*Sunday Telegraph*
Impressive and deeply moving...blends first-rate science journalism
with superb travel and nature writing
*Financial Times*
David Quammen is a brilliant young star of nature writing... His
book is an important example of the genre, written in an enchanting
style. His knowledge, based on years of research and adventure
around the world, is truly impressive
*Edward O. Wilson, author of 'The Diversity of Life'*
Quammen (Natural Acts) has successfully mixed genres in this highly impressive and thoroughly enjoyable work. The scientific journalism is first-rate, with the extremely technical field of island biogeography made fully accessible. We learn how the discipline developed and how it has changed conservation biology. And we learn just how critical this field is in the face of massive habitat destruction. The book is also a splendid example of natural history writing, for which Quammen traveled extensively. The Channel Islands off California and the Madagascan lemurs are captivatingly portrayed. Equally impressive are the character studies of the scientists who have been at the forefront of island biogeography. From his extended historical analysis of the journeys and insights of 19th-century biologist Alfred Russell Wallace to his field and laboratory interviews with many of the men and women who have followed in Wallace's intellectual wake, Quammen delightfully adds the human dimension to his discussion of science and natural history. Using a canvas as large as the world, he masterfully melds anecdotes about swimming elephants, collecting fresh feces from arboreal primates in Brazil and searching for the greater bird of paradise on the tiny island of Aru into an irreverent masterpiece. That a book on so technical a subject could be so enlightening, humorous and engaging is an extraordinary achievement. Author tour. (Apr.)
Not only is this book compulsively readable - a masterpiece - it is
maybe the masterpiece of science journalism -- Bill Mckibben
* Audobon Magazine *
A moving book... Quammen is a good writer who has taken the time to
master an important subject and do it justice -- Richard Dawkins *
The Times *
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 th field -- Matt Ridley * Sunday
Telegraph *
Impressive and deeply moving...blends first-rate science journalism
with superb travel and nature writing * Financial Times *
David Quammen is a brilliant young star of nature writing... His
book is an important example of the genre, written in an enchanting
style. His knowledge, based on years of research and adventure
around the world, is truly impressive -- Edward O. Wilson, author
of 'The Diversity of Life'
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