Synopses & Reviews
For millennia the mighty giant tortoises lived in isolation on remote oceanic islands such as the Galapagos, Seychelles and Mauritius. Then in the sixteenth century sailors discovered that they were good to eat, and their strategic location led to a wholesale plunder of their population by passing ships.
Later, many Victorian scientists became fascinated with these creatures, directly inspiring the first understanding of ecology and biogeography and Darwin's theory of natural selection. The giant tortoise was also the subject of the world's first conservation fight in the 1870s. Indeed many people's lives have been touched by these gentle giants. The French were happy to surrender the island of Mauritius in 1810, but baulked at handing over their mascot tortoise, and the British and American governments were forced to concede the tortoises in a major Cold War incident. The twentieth century saw the establishment of wildlife reserves in the Galapagos and elsewhere, but it has been too late for many species. However, modern genetics has been able to track down members of what were once believed to be extinct populations.
A Sheltered Life is a fascinating look at one of the world's strangest and most wondrous animals--whose significance in modern science and culture cannot be underestimated.
Synopsis
The contrast between religion and law has been continuous throughout Muslim history. Islamic law has always existed in a tension between these two forces: God, who gave the law, and the state--the sultan--representing society and implementing the law. This tension and dynamic have created a very particular history for the law--in how it was formulated and by whom, in its theoretical basis and its actual rules, and in how it was practiced in historical reality from the time of its formation until today. That is the main theme of this book.
Knut S. Vikor introduces the development and practice of Islamic law to a wide readership: students, lawyers, and the growing number of those interested in Islamic civilization. He summarizes the main concepts of Islamic jurisprudence; discusses debates concerning the historicity of Islamic sources of dogma and the dating of early Islamic law; describes the classic practice of the law, in the formulation and elaboration of legal rules and practice in the courts; and sets out various substantive legal rules, on such vital matters as the family and economic activity.
Table of Contents
Part One: Discovery
1. A Sheltered Life
2. The Worthless Islands
3. Here Be Giants
Part Two: Inspirarion
4. Just One Species?
5. A Tortoise for Each Island
6. Revelation
7. Ironies
Part Three: Decimation
8. The Indian Ocean Tortoises
9. The Safe Haven
10. The Arrival of the Whaling Fleet
11. Settlers
Part Four: Obsession
12. La Mare aux Songes
13. A Champion for the Tortoises
14. Understanding the Tortoises
15. Save the Tortoises!
16. The Final Showdown
17. Galapagos or Bust
18. The Errant Playboy
Part Five: Pets
19. The Well-Travelled Tortoises
20. Darwin's Missing Tortoise
21. Digging into Harriet's Past
22. The Fate of the Beagle Tortoises
23. Marion's Tortoise
Part Six: Recovery
24. Lumpers and Splitters
25. The Tortoises Origins
Epilogue