The Song of the Dodo - by David Quammen (Paperback)
Similar Products
Products of same category from the store
All
Product info
<p/><br></br><p><b> About the Book </b></p></br></br>Interweaving personal observation, scientific theory, and history, this beautifully written book takes the reader on a globe-spanning tour of wild places and ideas. "An epic adventure of the mind and spirit".--Robert Kanigel, "The New York Times Book Review". Maps.<p/><br></br><p><b> Book Synopsis </b></p></br></br>David Quammen's book, <i>The Song of the Dodo</i>, is a brilliant, stirring work, breathtaking in its scope, far-reaching in its message -- a crucial book in precarious times, which radically alters the way in which we understand the natural world and our place in that world. It's also a book full of entertainment and wonders. <br> In <i>The Song of the Dodo</i>, we follow Quammen's keen intellect through the ideas, theories, and experiments of prominent naturalists of the last two centuries. We trail after him as he travels the world, tracking the subject of island biogeography, which encompasses nothing less than the study of the origin and extinction of all species. Why is this island idea so important? Because islands are where species most commonly go extinct -- and because, as Quammen points out, we live in an age when all of Earth's landscapes are being chopped into island-like fragments by human activity. <br> Through his eyes, we glimpse the nature of evolution and extinction, and in so doing come to understand the monumental diversity of our planet, and the importance of preserving its wild landscapes, animals, and plants. We also meet some fascinating human characters. By the book's end we are wiser, and more deeply concerned, but Quammen leaves us with a message of excitement and hope.<p/><br></br><p><b> About the Author </b></p></br></br>David Quammen <p/> David Quammen was born in 1948, near the outskirts<br> of Cincinnati, Ohio, and spent much of his boyhood<br> in an eastern deciduous forest there. His interest in<br> the natural world -- hiking through woods, grubbing in<br> creeks, collecting insects, taking reptiles hostage and<br> calling them pets -- was so all-consuming that he<br> would eventually, during adolescence, need remedial<br> training in basketball. <p/> At an early age he learned the word herpetologist and<br> decided he might like to be one. But he had always been<br> interested in writing; and at the age of 17, he met Thomas G.<br> Savage, a Jesuit priest. Savage was to become a life changing <br> teacher, fostering Quammen's literary ambitions and<br> prospects, and encouraging him to attend college at Yale.<br> He knew that at Yale Quammen would find a superb English<br> department, and encounter people such as Robert Penn<br> Warren, a great American novelist, poet, and critic. Despite<br> his not having heard of Penn Warren, Quammen followed<br> the priest's advice and enrolled at Yale. Fools luck was <br> smiling on him, as were generous and trusting parents, and<br> three years later he found himself studying Faulkner at the<br> elbow of Mr. Warren, who became not just his second life <br> changing teacher but also his mentor and friend. Quammen<br> never forgot Thomas Savage's encouragement: <i>The Song of the<br> Dodo</i> is dedicated to this vast-hearted curmudgeon, who<br> died young in 1975. <p/> In 1970, Quammen published his first book, a novel titled<br> <i>To Walk the Line</i>, which had been steered toward daylight by<br> Mr. Warren. Also that year, he began a two-year fellowship at<br> Oxford University, England, where he continued studying<br> Faulkner, loathed the climate, loathed the food, loathed the<br> vestiges of upper-class snobbery, met a few wonderful<br> people, and spent much of his time playing basketball (the<br> remedial training had helped) for one of the university<br> teams. Promptly after Oxford, Quammen moved to Montana, <br> carrying all his possessions in a Volkswagen bus to this state<br> in which he had never before set foot. The attractions of<br> Montana were 1) trout fishing, 2) wild landscape, 3) solitude, <br> and 4) its dissimilarity to Yale and Oxford. The winters are<br> too cold for ivy. <p/> Quammen made his living as a bartender, waiter, ghost<br> writer, and fly-fishing guide until 1979. Since then he has<br> written full time. In 1982 he married Kris Ellingsen, a<br> Montana woman even more devoted to solitude than he is. <p/> His published work includes two spy novels (<i>The Zolta<br> Configuration, The Soul of Viktor Tronko</i>), a collection of short <br> stories about father-son relationships (<i>Blood Line</i>), two<br> collections of essays on science and nature (<i>Natural Acts, The<br> Flight of the Iguana</i>), several hundred other magazine essays, <br> features, and reviews, as well as <i>The Song of the Dodo</i>. From<br> 1981 through 1995, he wrote a regular column about science<br> and nature for Outside magazine, and in 1987 received the<br> National Magazine Award in Essays and Criticism for work<br> that appeared in the column. In 1994 he was co-winner of<br> another National Magazine Award. In 1996 he received an<br> Academy Award in literature from the American Academy of<br> Arts and Letters. He remains a Montana resident, despite the<br> arrival of cappuccino. <p/> In 1998 Scribner will publish <i>Strawberries Under Ice</i>, a new<br> collection of Quammen's magazine essays and features, subtitled <br> Wild Thoughts from Wild Places. The wild places in<br> question, from which he has drawn observations and<br> inspiration in recent years, include Tasmania, southern Chile, <br> Madagascar, the Aru Islands of eastern Indonesia, Los<br> Angeles, suburban Cincinnati, and of course, Montana. <p/> <p/><b><br>Reading Group Discussion Points <p/>Other Books With Reading Group Guides<br></b>
Price History
Price Archive shows prices from various stores, lets you see history and find the cheapest. There is no actual sale on the website. For all support, inquiry and suggestion messagescommunication@pricearchive.us