The Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinctions

844 Pages·1996·6.54 MB·English

by  David Quammen

ALSO BY DAVID QUAMMEN
NONFICTION
Monster of God
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FICTION
Blood Line
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SCRIBNER
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Copyright ©1996 by David Quammen
Maps copyright ©1996 by Kris Ellingsen All rights reserved,
including the right of reproduction
in whole or in part in any form.
First Scribner trade paperback edition 2004
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Quammen, David, date.
The song of the dodo: island biogeography in an age
of extinctions / David Quammen: maps by Kris Ellingsen.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Island ecology. 2. Endangered species. 3. Biogeography.
I. Title.
QH 541.5.I8Q35 1996
574.9’I—dc20 95-44972
CIP
ISBN 0-684-80083-7
0-684-82712-3 (pbk)
eISBN-13: 978-1-43912-496-3

TO
THOMAS G. SAVAGE, S.J.
1926-1975
VIVID IN MEMORY
CONTENTS
I Thirty-Six Persian Throw Rugs
II The Man Who Knew Islands
III So Huge a Bigness
IV Rarity unto Death
V Preston’s Bell
VI The Coming Thing
VII The Hedgehog of the Amazon
IX World in Pieces
X Message from Aru
GLOSSARY
AUTHOR’S NOTE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
SOURCE NOTES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX