Guides to the Galapagos Islands
The following are all books and guides that will help you find out more about the Galapagos Islands before you travel and whilst you are there.
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Galapagos: A Natural History
By Michael H. Jackson; paper, 315 pp.
This is the best of three books with similar, or identical titles. It contains basic information about the archipelago’s geology, climate, and oceanic setting, as well as comprehensive overviews of the birds, reptiles, mammals, and plants. He also covers the arrival and establishment of plants and animals, as well as evolution, ecology, and conservation. This is not an academic tome, but written in a very readable and friendly style that everyone can enjoy. It’s not hard to believe that the author is a good school teacher.
Another good thing about Jackson’s book is that almost every page contains an illustration of some kind – whether a colour or black and white photo, a line drawing, a map or a table. This is in contrast with a book with the same title by John Kricher, which has many pages that are unadorned, and appear dense and hard to read due to a small type size and lengthy paragraphs. The text is well enough written, but the presentation is unappealing. Pierre Constant’s book, usually with the word Guide attached to the title, is not as good as either Jackson or Kricher.
Michael Jackson first visited Galapagos to work for a year as a naturalist guide between obtaining Masters degrees from the Universities of Cambridge, UK, and Calgary, Canada. He has been teaching sciences at a school in Victoria, British Columbia, since 1986, and continues to visit Galapagos whenever he can.
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Lonesome George:The life and Loves of the World's Most Famous Tortoise
By Henry Nicholls; hardback, 256 pp.
Science writer Henry Nicholls tells the story of this, the last surviving tortoise of his species in a fascinating, light-hearted, but ultimately serious style. George may be the last of the Pinta Island species, but ten quite closely related species still survive in the wild. Nicholls writes in a way somewhat similar to (but more readable than) the late Stephen J. Gould, in that he follows all manner of highways and byways in this entertaining account that roams in and out of subjects like evolution, genetics, biology, sex, conservation, and much else. Ten enthusiastic reader-critics on Amazon provide further encouragement to buy this book.
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Flowering Plants of the Galapagos
By Conley K. McMullen; paper, 370 pp.
Rather bulky and probably not essential for the non-specialist to carry around, but a treasure trove for the keen botanist. McMullen provides various aids to narrowing the choice when identifying a plant, such as leaf shapes, arrangements, and margins; simple plant descriptions, such as “shrubs with opposite leaves and white flowers”; and a very helpful list of the main visitor sites, and the plants likely to be seen at each; and, of course photos, which portray 266 of the species discussed.
Nearly all of the species are given English common names, and some also have Spanish names. And every species has a Comment section in the text which either contains some interesting botanical detail or sometimes a fascinating tidbit of information. Take the Passion flowers, of which there seven species in Galapagos. McMullen tells us that the name relates to Christ’s Crucifixion. “For example, the combination of sepals and petals represent the 10 disciples present (Judas and Peter were absent); the 3 styles represent the nails in Christ’s hands and feet; the 5 stamens represent the 5 wounds on Christ’s body; and the corona represents the crown of thorns. Even the tendrils are said to symbolize the whips used by the Roman soldiers.” This is a wonderful book. Conley McMullen is a Professor at James Madison University in Virginia, USA.
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Birds, Mammals & Reptiles of the Galapagos Islands
By Andy Swash & Rob Still; paper, 168 pp.
This is a simple identification guide, with each species given English, Spanish, and scientific names, and status, e.g. “common resident” or “uncommon migrant”, a rough population estimate, plus details of behaviour, voice, and features aiding identification. There is a photo of every species, and these are cleverly arranged with the aid of digital technology on an appropriate background, such as sandy beach, or lava rocks, as if they are all in the same photograph.
Where relevant, the photos may show male & female, as well as juveniles, etc. There are many thumbnail maps showing the resident species’ distribution in Galapagos. If you only need this kind of basic information, this book is the best. The authors are British naturalists with qualifications in ecology. A contribution is made to the Charles Darwin Foundation for every copy of this book that is sold.
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Galapagos: Islands Born of Fire
By Tui De Roy; hardback, 106 pp.
There have been a number of large-sized picture books show-casing the Galapagos Islands – several of them by Tui De Roy – and this is the best. Fortunately, it’s back in print, and available at a price to suit all budgets. Tui is the master photographer of these islands. Not quite born there, but having lived there from a very early age, she took to photography like a duck to water and her images are simply beautiful. The photographs are accompanied by Tui’s informative and very readable text. This book is one you can look at many times with undimmed enjoyment.
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