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The turtle is an ancient creature, once sharing the Earth with dinosaurs; for more than 100 million years, turtles have played a crucial role in maintaining healthy terrestrial and marine ecosystems. While it may not set records for speed on land, the turtle is exceptional at distance swimming and deep diving, and some are gifted with astounding longevity. In human thought, the animal’s ties to creativity, wisdom and warfare stretch back to the world’s earliest written records.
In Turtle, Louise M. Pryke celebrates the slow and unassuming manner of this doughty creature, which provides a living model of endurance and efficiency. In the increasingly fast-paced world of the twenty-first century, it has never been more important to consider the natural and cultural history of this remarkable animal.
Introduction
1 A Basic Guide to Turtle Zoology
2 Turtles in the Ancient World
3 Turtles, Culture and Community
4 Turtles, Trade and Technology
5 Modern Art and Literature
6 Turtle Power: Popular Culture and Turtles
7 The Turtle’s Tail: The Environment and the Future
Timeline
References
Bibliography
Associations and Websites
Acknowledgements
Photo Acknowledgements
Index
Louise M. Pryke is an Honorary Associate and Lecturer at the University of Sydney. She is the author of Scorpion (Reaktion, 2016), Ishtar (2017) and Gilgamesh (2019).
"An informative and entertaining book about one of the world’s most iconic creatures. Captivating illustrations and spectacular photographs augment scholarly but accessible writing to produce a perfect blend."
– Whit Gibbons, Professor Emeritus of Ecology, University of Georgia
