Island Africa: The Evolution of Africa's Rare Animals and Plants
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Book Overview
The vastness of Africa and the variety of animals it contains overwhelm any visitor with colors and patterns. Contrary to superficial appearances, however, this monolithic continent is a complex mosaic of landlocked islands--islands which vary from isolated forests in oceans of grassland to lakes in seas of land. The flora and fauna of each of these islands represent a snapshot of millions of years of evolution and the biological reaction to the environment of the past. In this richly illustrated book Jonathan Kingdon takes these island communities one by one and delves back into their history to explain why and how they may have evolved as they have and thus the reason why the community is there. As the reader is led through continental Africa, a pattern begins to take shape, providing an understanding of Africa's complexities and putting the continent's biology in a new and dynamic perspective. Kingdon's book is also a fervent plea to conserve these "islands." It will be of surpassing interest to anyone concerned with working in African conservation as well as to a wide audience of other general readers.
Format:Hardcover
Language:English
ISBN:0691085609
ISBN13:9780691085609
Release Date:April 1990
Publisher:Princeton University Press
Length:287 Pages
Weight:0.85 lbs.
Dimensions:1.1" x 7.8" x 10.0"
Customer Reviews
1 rating
This is a great book for turning people on to nature
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 26 years ago
This is one of my all-time favorite books. It is not heavily scientific, but it packs quite a bit of information into a small space. Kingdon treats Africa as a series of ecological islands, each with their own history, geography, geology and organisms. The brilliance of this work is the incredible, original artwork, which Kingdon uses to illustrate his points. Kingdon is an excellent artist with beautiful work, but scientists also appreciate his art because of how he puts so much information into his pieces. In summary, it's a great way to look at Africa, it's a great way to get turned on to ecology, and I've often wished that somebody would do the same kind of thing for other parts of the world.
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