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Title:
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A Sheltered Life : The Unexpected History of the Giant Tortoise |
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Authors:
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Paul Chambers |
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ISBN:
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0195223969 |
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Publisher:
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Oxford University Press, USA |
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Language:
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ENG |
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Price:
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$19.95 |
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Rating:
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Picture:
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Click on the picture to get further Informations for this book!
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Description:
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From Booklist
They seem the stuff of myths or legends--giant tortoises large enough to carry a human on their backs. In 1535 the first description of an actual giant tortoise reached the king of Spain when a Spanish vessel off the coast of South America noted the presence of giant tortoises on a group of "worthless" islands. At about the same time, tortoises were found on isolated islands in the Indian Ocean near Madagascar. So began the checkered relationship between giant tortoises and humans. Chambers, a scientist with London's Natural History Museum, recounts the often-tragic story of the giant tortoises in this highly readable account. To Charles Darwin the tortoises were seminal for his theory of evolution. In modern times, the remaining tortoises are being bred in captivity. Written in a conversational style that makes the science easy to understand, and full of engaging stories, this is the single best book on the subject available. Nancy Bent
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Book Description
For millennia the mighty giant tortoises lived in isolation on remote oceanic islands such as the Galapagos, Seychelles and Mauritius. Then in the sixteenth century sailors discovered that they were good to eat, and their strategic location led to a wholesale plunder of their population by
passing ships.
Later, many Victorian scientists became fascinated with these creatures, directly inspiring the first understanding of ecology and biogeography and Darwin's theory of natural selection. The giant tortoise was also the subject of the world's first conservation fight in the 1870s. Indeed many
people's lives have been touched by these gentle giants. The French were happy to surrender the island of Mauritius in 1810, but baulked at handing over their mascot tortoise, and the British and American governments were forced to concede the tortoises in a major Cold War incident. The twentieth
century saw the establishment of wildlife reserves in the Galapagos and elsewhere, but it has been too late for many species. However, modern genetics has been able to track down members of what were once believed to be extinct populations.
A Sheltered Life is a fascinating look at one of the world's strangest and most wondrous animals--whose significance in modern science and culture cannot be underestimated. |
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Reptile Books 