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Summary: PUTTING MADAGASCAR ON THE MAP FOR EVERYONE !
Review: I can't more heartily recommend this book if you have even a smidgeon of interest or curiosity in Madagascar! No nature writer has yet compiled so much information into such a readable format. The author tends to veer off his researcher accounts into side topics with regularity, all the while skillfully relating them and never failing to lead us back into his main subject. The way he weaves the history and culture of the Malagasy people into his narratives is clever and accurate. If you are considering a personal visit to what is truly the last 'Lost World' on our planet, absorbing the information in this superb work is the single best way that I can suggest to prepare for the experience!
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Summary: Incredible Introduction to Madagascar
Review: I have come away from this book with a strong desire to visit Madagascar and a good understanding of the country's wonders and challenges. In a very entertaining style recounting his travels and sharing tales of the island's lore, Peter Tyson gives us an overview of both the Malagasy people and fauna ( and somtimes flora ) and how they relate in light of its conservation issues. He also outlines the limited knowledge that exists as to how this unique island has come to be so different from anywhere else on Earth, opening the scope for unlimited wonder and whetting a thirst to find out more. A great starting point for an interest in Madagascar and a thoroughly enjoyable read.
I would recommend reading Mike Eveleigh's, Maverick in Madagascar, after this.
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Summary: An excellent book about the natural history of Madagscar
Review: Madagascar in my mind has always been one those wild exotic places. This book does a very good job of introducing the place and providing insights into wildlife, culture, orgins, and a possible plan for the future of conservation in Madagascar. It reads well and doesn't bog down very often. The chapters about the herps of Madagascar were my favorite, but I am biased towards herps. The conservation issues are presented in a balanced way, and the opposing opinions about the success or failure of the Community development/national park conservation plans are pretty well explained. I recommend this book to anybody wanting to learn more about Madagascar, it is a great introduction would be a worthwhile read if you wanted to travel to Madagascar and be more than just a bumbling tourist.
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Summary: I love this book
Review: Madagascar is like Australia in some ways - a sort of zoological attic, filled with animals the rest of the world forgot about or never met. Tyson has probed the fauna of this island for many years, and his doscoveries, adventures, and insights make for a most informative book. Some of the most interesting passages deal with his inquiries into animals reported by some of the indigenous people but not yet confirmed by science. Tyson doesn't take all the animal stories he hears at face value, but he doesn't discount them, either. He believes we have more to learn about the creatures of this island - and we must learn it quickly. Development and other pressures are eroding the island's biodiversity at a frightening rate. Tyson conveys that urgency along with the wonder of this unique and special place.
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Summary: You feel like you're there with the author!
Review: This book makes you feel like your on the trip through Madagascar with the author. Very detailed and explanatory.
Very fun to read!
Rating:
Summary: You feel like you're there with the author!
Review: This book makes you feel like your on the trip through Madagascar with the author. Very detailed and explanatory.
Very fun to read!
Rating:
Summary: truly excellent natural history and travel book
Review: This is a truly great book, very well written, well researched, and a joy to read. Tyson shows us a virtual continent that is largey unknown to the rest of the world, home to bizarre wildlife found nowhere else on earth and enigmas that still confound researchers. Tyson addresses many issues relating to Madagascar. Why are so many plants and animals unique to Madagascar? Why did they speciate so wildly? How did they get there to begin with? Describing in detail the extinct megafauna of Madagascar - giant lemurs, giant tortoises, pygmy hippos, and the mighty elephant bird - he addresses issues of how they lived, research relating to them, and how they became extinct - if all of them are indeed extinct, as some may still exist in unexplored corners of the giant island. Tyson also addresses the history of the island, from its original settlement apparently around the time of Christ to the present day. The origin of the Malagasy people is still a mystery, and Tyson explores Indonesian, Africa, and Arabian (as well as later European) influxes and influences on the island, not only in terms of history and archeology but also religion, culture, society, psychology, and how the people of the island make a living. The Malagasy are a fascinating blend of Indonesian, African, and Arabian peoples, showing diverse traits from these cultures and providing a continual mystery to researchers. Tyson closes the book with a detailed and comprehensive look at the effort to save the last wild areas of Madagascar. Showing how a new national park is working, he shows that much has been accomplished on the island, but much remains to be done, and the preservation effort is fraught with peril. If conservationists are to save the unique chameleons, geckos, tenrecs, lemurs, serpent eagles, and other wildlife of Madgascar, as well as its unqiue flora, Tyson shows how they must address basic issues of human dignity, the economy, land rights, and basic education as well. A truly great book, a wonderful introduction to Madagascar that I just can't recommend highly enough!
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Summary: narrative non-fiction at its absolute best
Review: Tyson takes us along on an adventure-filled, wonderful trek through the rainforests of Madagascar. The discoveries of new animals are chronicled, breathlessly, as if you are a member of the team. This is one of those important books that will be on my "special" shelf for a long time to come. The chapter "Search for the Pygmy Hippo" is bound to become a classic among cryptozoologists! This is a great book.
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