About this title: Novelist and essayist David Quammen takes on the fascinating topic of islands and the way the process of extinction operates within their limited confines--a process Quammen, armed with a Guggenheim Fellowship, spent eight years exploring in extensive travels around the world. The book was the winner of the 1997 New York Public Library Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism.
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Description: Good. 0684800837 Former library item may have library binding and show stamps, stickers or other marks. Items not meeting quality expectations may be returned. Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. read more
Description: Good. 1997-Paperback----Used-Good-Hall Street Books proudly ships from Brooklyn, NY. All orders are processed and shipped within 24 hours, M-F. 100% money back No-Worry guarantee with expedited delivery and delivery confirmation available. read more
Description: Good. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Scribner
Date Published: 4/14/1997
ISBN-13:9780684827124ISBN:0684827123
Description: Fine. 0684827123 NEW/UNREAD! ! ! Text is Clean and Unmarked! --Be Sure to Compare Seller Feedback and Ratings before Purchasing--Has a small black line on bottom/exterior edge of pages. May have light shelf wear to cover from storage, if any. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner
Date Published: 1996-04-12
ISBN-13:9780684800837ISBN:0684800837
Description: Good. Good Condition! Ex-library copy with normal library markings. Hardcover with glossy dust jacket! Mylar cover to protect dust jacket. Tight binding and clean pages! Minor corner/edge/shelf wear all around. read more
Description: Very Good. Hardcover w / dustjacket. Like new; no internal markings; has lost its "Brand New" shine but no obvious defects. DJ vg; no priceclip; edgewear. No remainder mark. Barcode on rear cover has been scratch away. Science Biology Animals 91709. In sealed plastic protection. 1996. Hardcover w / dustjacket. read more
Description: Very good. 1996 Scribner's Press Hardcover Edition. Some wear to Dust Jacket, small spots to page edges due to age, text clean with strong binding. Ships Fast! read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner, New York
Date Published: 1996
ISBN-13:9780684800837ISBN:0684800837
Description: Octavo, gold cloth/boards (hardcover), 702 pp. Good. Light edge wear. Small stains on bottom edge of side edges. Inked inscription on dedication page. Dust jacket-very good-light edge wear. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Scribner
Date Published: 1997-04-01
ISBN-13:9780684827124ISBN:0684827123
Description: NEW. Softcover. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9780684827124. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Scribner
Date Published: 1997
ISBN-13:9780684827124ISBN:0684827123
Description: New. Brand New! Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Scribner, NY
Date Published: 1996
ISBN-13:9780684800837ISBN:0684800837
Description: Advance Reader's Excerpt Glossy pictoral wraps. Perfect bound. Excerpt including "Thirty-Six Persian Throw Rugs" and "The Man Who Knew Islands. " Appx 80pp. Unread copy in Fine condition. Actual image of the book; not a stock photo. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Scribner Book Company
Date Published: 1996
ISBN-13:9780684800837ISBN:0684800837
Description: Nov1906. Very Good in Very Good jacket. Very Good in Very Good jacket Very Good in Very Good jacket Very good in very good dust jacket. Slight wear to extremities. Small remainder mark on bottom edge of text block. DJ has no tears. Sewn binding. Paper over boards. Audience: General/trade. Nov1906; Biogeography; Classroom Adoption; Ecology; Endangered species; Environmental Science; Extinction (Biology); General; Island ecology; Life Sciences; Nature; Non-Fiction; Science. read more
"An amazing book. The only negative thing to say about this book is that it is clear that Quammen is aware of his talents and intelligence and is smug about it (his arrogance often comes out in the book). It´s a fascinating read for anyone... but particularly people who are interested in biogeography. His accounts are based on personal experience by a biogeographer. You´ll learn a lot about the evolution of species by reading about specific accounts that Quammen writes about. It´s fabulous."
"I have owned a copy of "The Song of the Dodo" for several years but at 625 pages, 178 chapters it seemed a bit daunting to dive into. There never seemed to be enough hours in the day. But after reading Quammen's "The Reluctant Mr. Darwin," I felt it was time to give it a go. And go I did.
I think a good editor could have probably cut this tome down to 623 pages, which is my backhanded way of saying that "TSOTD" is a momumental book on natural history, well worth the time you need to invest into all 178 chapters. You'll never look at the natural world in the same way again.
Quammen does a skillful job of balancing scientific chapters with his worldly travels and adventures, taking us to exotic places around the globe with historical or environmental significance. But the real power in the book is his exploration into the development of ecology, basically beginning when the science found its chops, i.e. the data it had been collecting was actually put to use.
After finishing "The Song of the Dodo," I feel that I have earned the equivalent of a PhD in island biogeography. (I wonder if I can use this on my résumé?) If I had read this book 25 years ago, I would have found my way to an ecology department at some university.
Early in the book the author describes the stack of photocopies of scientific papers "weighing eighteen pounds including the staples," he has on his desk. By his own admission, he could have used the assemblage in the back of his truck to provide extra weight on icy roads in winter but instead, Quammen chose to read them and synthesize the information for us; presenting them in layman's terms, explaining the jargon: minimum viable population, area-species relationships, equilibrium theory, inbreeding depression, et cetera. Lucky for us he did.
By the end of the book we have a real sense of just how endangered endangered species really are. The dodo was only one of the first to go.
Powerful book. David Quammen can write compelling science with a sense of humor.
This is a six star book, but I only have five to award."
"I read this right as I was starting my Masters Program in Conservation Biology and it really set the stage for what I would be learning. It was a really good read without getting to involved in textbook biology. I recommend to non biologists."
"This is one of my all-time favorite books. It changed the way I look at the world. I read it while I was taking a graduate course in evolution and I think I learned more from this book than that course."
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