On the Backs of Tortoises
Darwin, the Galapagos, and the Fate of an Evolutionary Eden

The natural (and unnatural) history of the Galapagos Archipelago recounted through a timeline of giant tortoise mistreatment, exploitation, and (eventual) husbandry. Elizabeth Hennessy shatters the image of the “pristine islands,” as portrayed in some nature documentaries and travel brochures, and w......more

This book is a masterpiece. It disaggregates the history of conservation in the Galapagos and in doing so it shows how “the long arrow of time” is actually a series of entanglements among people, power, culture, history and turtles. In showing how our views of Galapagos tortoises have shifted over t......more

This is an important read for anyone considering visiting the Galapagos. Ideas herein, bigger than the tortoises themselves, merit our consideration.......more

I was expecting to love this book. I agree with most of its major points: conservation is often a colonial force, must involve humans/local communities for success, and cannot have a goal of returning to a "pristine state". Invasive species removal and other conservation activities have ethical impl......more

This is a great overview of the history of the Galapagos, centered on the tortoises. Hennessy tries very hard to be even-handed, but the repetitive asides on the negative influence of outsider scientists, trying to restore an evolutionary Eden, become tiresome. While useful to know the disruptions t......more