Books about Galapagos from Amazon.com

Rosemary and Peter Grant and those assisting them have spend twenty years on Daphne Major, an island in the Galapagos studying natural selection. They recognize each individual bird on the island, when there are four hundred at the time of the author's visit, or when there are over a thousand. They have observed about twenty generations of finches -- continuously.
Jonathan Weiner follows these scientists as they watch Darwin's finches and come up with a new understanding of life itself. .
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“Beautiful…provocative, arresting reading.”–USA Today

KURT VONNEGUT is a master of contemporary American literature His black humor, satiric voice, and incomparable imagination first captured America’s attention in The Sirens of Titanin 1959 and established him as “a true artist”* with Cat’s Cradlein 1963. He is, as Graham Greene has declared, “one of the best living American writers.”

Galápagos takes the reader back one million years, to a.d. 1986. A simple vacation cruise suddenly becomes an evolutionary journey. Thanks to an apocalypse, a small group of survivors stranded on the Galápagos Islands are about to become the progenitors of a brave new, and totally different human race. Here, America’s master satirist looks at our world and shows us all that is sadly, madly awry–and all that is worth saving.

“Vonnegut is a postmodern Mark Twain... Galápagos is a madcap genealogical adventure.”–The New York Times Book Review

* The New York Times.
Price: $7.89 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Climb the snow-capped peak of Volcán Chimborazo, the most distant point from the center of the Earth. Get up close and personal with capuchin monkeys in the central plaza of Misahuallí. Step back in time at Ingapirca, Ecuador’s finest example of Inca architecture. Take in the surf scene on the south coast. Sophisticated cities, glaciated volcanoes, the lush Amazon Basin – our inimitable guide gives you access to all the treasures of exotic Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands.

Go Wild– special chapter on Galápagos wildlife by noted nature writer David Andrew helps you identify the many species unique to the islands.

Venture Out– expanded focus on activities, adven­ture and ecotravel, plus a dedicated Itineraries chapter to help you explore this compact yet varied country.

Get Smart– comprehensive History and Culture chapters provide insight into Ecuador’s volatile political landscape and vital indigenous communities.

Walk The Walk– discover the colonial charms of Quito and Cuenca with our detailed maps and walking tour.
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Price: $14.24 [Notify me when price goes down.]

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Price: $19.48 [Notify me when price goes down.]

The Galápagos is a truly special place. Unlike the rest of the world's archipelagoes, it still has 95 percent of its prehuman quota of species Wildlife of the Galápagos is the most superbly illustrated and comprehensive identification guide ever to the natural splendor of these incomparable islands--islands today threatened by alien species and diseases that have diminished but not destroyed what so enchanted Darwin on his arrival there in 1835. Covering over 200 commonly seen birds, mammals, reptiles, invertebrates, and plants, it reveals the archipelago's striking beauty through more than 400 color photographs, maps, and drawings and well-written, informative text.

While the Galápagos Giant Tortoise, the Galápagos Sea Lion, and the Flightless Cormorant are recognized the world over, these thirty-three islands--in the Pacific over 600 miles from mainland Ecuador--are home to many more unique but less famous species. Here, reptiles well outnumber mammals, for they were much better at drifting far from a continent the archipelago was never connected with; the largest native land mammals are rice rats. The islands' sixty resident bird species include the only penguin to breed entirely in the tropics and to inhabit the Northern Hemisphere.

There is a section offering tips on photography in the Equatorial sunlight, and maps of visitors' sites as well as information on the archipelago's history, climate, geology, and conservation. Wildlife of the Galápagos is the perfect companion for anyone who wants to know what so delighted Darwin.

• Covers over 200 commonly seen species including birds, mammals, reptiles, invertebrates, plants, and coastal and marine life
• Illustrated with over 400 color photographs, maps, and drawings; includes maps of visitors' sites
• Written by wildlife experts with extensive knowledge of the area
• Includes information on the history, climate, geology, and conservation of the islands
• The most complete identification guide to the wildlife of the Galápagos

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Price: $12.42 [Notify me when price goes down.]

V!VA Travel Guides: Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands provides the most comprehensive and up-to-date coverage of Ecuador´s most popular destinations. Written by a team of travel writers who have lived and traveled throughout this fascinating country, the guide contains extensive coverage of the Galápagos Islands including reviews of over 80 Galápagos boats and more than 30 maps of the visitor sites and islands. The book details more restaurants and hotels in Quito than any other guidebook, plus our community of writers have found the top eco-lodges and tours for an unforgettable stay in the Amazon rainforest and tips on visiting the jungle. A special Adventure Travel section provides detailed information about rafting, climbing, riding, mountain biking and hiking around Quito. In addition to coverage of the not-to-be-missed destinations of Otavalo and Baños, this edition includes sections on Cuenca, the Southern Andes and the Coast. V!VA Travel Guides has re-designed the travel guide book from the ground up using the internet, community participation and online geographic databases. All V!VA Travel Guide's books begin as web sites, collecting reviews, comments, rants and raves, suggestions, and updates from travelers like you. The community´s favourites are then compiled into a book. Most guide books rely on the opinions and research of one single person who may or may not share your tastes. V!VA Guides, on the other hand, rely on unbiased first-hand accounts from fellow travelers. This process guarantees that you have the most up-to-date, accurate information available for planning your travels..
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Charles Darwin's experiences in the Galápagos Islands in 1835 helped to guide his thoughts toward a revolutionary theory: that species were not fixed but diversified from their ancestors over many generations, and that the driving mechanism of evolutionary change was natural selection. In this concise, accessible book, Peter and Rosemary Grant explain what we have learned about the origin and evolution of new species through the study of the finches made famous by that great scientist: Darwin's finches.

Drawing upon their unique observations of finch evolution over a thirty-four-year period, the Grants trace the evolutionary history of fourteen different species from a shared ancestor three million years ago. They show how repeated cycles of speciation involved adaptive change through natural selection on beak size and shape, and divergence in songs. They explain other factors that drive finch evolution, including geographical isolation, which has kept the Galápagos relatively free of competitors and predators; climate change and an increase in the number of islands over the last three million years, which enhanced opportunities for speciation; and flexibility in the early learning of feeding skills, which helped species to exploit new food resources. Throughout, the Grants show how the laboratory tools of developmental biology and molecular genetics can be combined with observations and experiments on birds in the field to gain deeper insights into why the world is so biologically rich and diverse.

Written by two preeminent evolutionary biologists, How and Why Species Multiply helps to answer fundamental questions about evolution--in the Galápagos and throughout the world.

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