Archipelago: The Islands of Indonesia From the Nineteenth-Century Discoveries of Alfred Russel Wallace to the Fate of Forests and Reefs in the Twenty-First Century

This superbly illustrated volume takes us on Wallace's 14000 mile odyssey through unexplored parts of Indonesia, where during years of fieldwork he made his major discoveries in evolutionary biology. Alone on the tiny island of Gilolo, he drafted his theory of evolution and sent the manuscript to Darwin. This event led to the great Darwin-Wallace controversy, one which burns to this day. But this is much more than a retelling of 19th century natural history and exploration - the authors investigate the twin paradoxes of Indonesia's natural grandeur and present environmental degradation, and the simultaneity of Wallace's and Darwin's theory explaining the origins of living things. Large oblong format.
`The narrative is extraordinary for its storytelling quality, making even the collection of beetles seem like high adventure.'Frank Stewart, Author of A Natural History of Nature Writing