Galapagos: World's End Summary and Reviews

Galapagos: World's End
by William Beebe

Galapagos: World's End
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Book Summary Information

Author: William Beebe
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1988-05-01
ISBN: 0486256421
Number of pages: 442
Publisher: Dover Publications

Book Reviews of Galapagos: World's End

Book Review: An oldy but still very much a goody
Summary: 5 Stars

William Beebe's Galapagos: World's End was published in 1924, so it it is certainly not a substitute for more recent books such as Michael H. Jackson's Galapagos: A Natural History, Jonathan Weiner's The Beak of the Finch, Oxford and Watkins's Galapagos: Both Sides of the Coin, Jonathan Green's Galapagos: Ocean, Earth, Wind & Fire, or Tui de Roy's Spectacular Galapagos. However, Beebe's book contains a wealth of information about the history of the Galapagos, particularly that of the various pirates and privateers who used it as a base of operations, and of Porter's operations against the British whaling fleet during the War of 1812. Beebe's descriptions of what land exploration was like on the Galapagos back in those days(very, very rough) made me very appreciative of the excellent work Ecuador has done in making these fascinating islands readily accessible to elderly and creaky folks like me. I was quite interested to note the changes in our understanding of the biology and geology of these islands that have taken place between the time the book was written (1924) and the present; science, like life, evolves. The technologies of photography and photographic reproduction have also evolved, fortunately; some of the old black and white photographs reproduced in Beebe's book are almost unrecognizable.

Beebe visited the Galapagos long before they became a 'must see' holy site for those of us interested in geology and evolutionary biology; at that time a visit to the Galapagos was a major expedition requiring lots of money, a steam yacht, and lots of planning--definitely not a jaunt for a casual tourist. So, while he describes in some detail the devastating environmental impacts of pirates and privateers, whalers, rats, goats, and other exotic invaders, he makes no mention of the environmental impacts one might expect from large-scale tourism on these fragile islands. As a recent visitor, I must compliment Ecuador on its efforts to protect and preserve these islands while simultaneously allowing those of us who find them fascinating to make our visits.

If you are interested in the Galapagos or are actually planning a visit, Beebe's book definitely should be on your reading list, along with more current material.

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