Synopses & Reviews
David Quammen's book, andlt;Iandgt;The Song of the Dodoandlt;/Iandgt;, is a brilliant, stirring work, breathtaking in its scope, far-reaching in its message -- a crucial book in precarious times, which radically alters the way in which we understand the natural world and our place in that world. It's also a book full of entertainment and wonders. andlt;BRandgt; In andlt;Iandgt;The Song of the Dodoandlt;/Iandgt;, we follow Quammen's keen intellect through the ideas, theories, and experiments of prominent naturalists of the last two centuries. We trail after him as he travels the world, tracking the subject of island biogeography, which encompasses nothing less than the study of the origin and extinction of all species. Why is this island idea so important? Because islands are where species most commonly go extinct -- and because, as Quammen points out, we live in an age when all of Earth's landscapes are being chopped into island-like fragments by human activity. andlt;BRandgt; Through his eyes, we glimpse the nature of evolution and extinction, and in so doing come to understand the monumental diversity of our planet, and the importance of preserving its wild landscapes, animals, and plants. We also meet some fascinating human characters. By the book's end we are wiser, and more deeply concerned, but Quammen leaves us with a message of excitement and hope.
Synopsis
"Compulsively readable--a masterpiece, maybe the masterpiece of science journalism." --Bill McKibben, Audubon A brilliant, stirring work, breathtaking in its scope and far-reaching in its message, The Song of the Dodo is a crucial book in precarious times. Through personal observation, scientific theory, and history, David Quammen examines the mysteries of evolution and extinction and radically alters our understanding of the natural world and our place within it.
In this landmark of science writing, we learn how the isolation of islands makes them natural laboratories of evolutionary extravagance, as seen in the dragons of Komodo, the elephant birds of Madagascar, the giant tortoises of the Galapagos. But the dark message of island studies is that isolated ecosystems, whether natural or human-made, are also hotbeds of extinction. And as the world's landscapes, from Tasmania to the Amazon to Yellowstone, are carved into pieces by human activity, the implications of this knowledge are more urgent than ever.
An unforgettable scientific adventure, a fascinating account of an eight-year journey of discovery, and a wake-up call for our time, David Quammen's The Song of the Dodo is an exquisitely written book that takes the reader on a globe-circling tour of wild places and extraordinary ideas.
Synopsis
David Quammen's book,
The Song of the Dodo, is a
brilliant, stirring work, breathtaking in its scope,
far-reaching in its message -- a crucial book in
precarious times, which radically alters the way in
which we understand the natural world and our place
in that world. It's also a book full of entertainment
and wonders.
In The Song of the Dodo, we follow Quammen's keen
intellect through the ideas, theories, and experiments
of prominent naturalists of the last two centuries.
We trail after him as he travels the world,
tracking the subject of island biogeography, which
encompasses nothing less than the study of the origin
and extinction of all species. Why is this island
idea so important? Because islands are where
species most commonly go extinct -- and because, as
Quammen points out, we live in an age when all of
Earth's landscapes are being chopped into island-like
fragments by human activity.
Through his eyes, we glimpse the nature of evolution
and extinction, and in so doing come to understand
the monumental diversity of our planet, and
the importance of preserving its wild landscapes,
animals, and plants. We also meet some fascinating
human characters. By the book's end we are wiser,
and more deeply concerned, but Quammen
leaves us with a message of excitement and hope.
About the Author
David Quammenandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt; David Quammen was born in 1948, near the outskirtsandlt;BRandgt; of Cincinnati, Ohio, and spent much of his boyhoodandlt;BRandgt; in an eastern deciduous forest there. His interest inandlt;BRandgt; the natural world -- hiking through woods, grubbing inandlt;BRandgt; creeks, collecting insects, taking reptiles hostage andandlt;BRandgt; calling them pets -- was so all-consuming that heandlt;BRandgt; would eventually, during adolescence, need remedialandlt;BRandgt; training in basketball.andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt; At an early age he learned the word herpetologist andandlt;BRandgt; decided he might like to be one. But he had always beenandlt;BRandgt; interested in writing; and at the age of 17, he met Thomas G.andlt;BRandgt; Savage, a Jesuit priest. Savage was to become a life changing andlt;BRandgt; teacher, fostering Quammen's literary ambitions andandlt;BRandgt; prospects, and encouraging him to attend college at Yale.andlt;BRandgt; He knew that at Yale Quammen would find a superb Englishandlt;BRandgt; department, and encounter people such as Robert Pennandlt;BRandgt; Warren, a great American novelist, poet, and critic. Despiteandlt;BRandgt; his not having heard of Penn Warren, Quammen followedandlt;BRandgt; the priest's advice and enrolled at Yale. Fools luck was andlt;BRandgt; smiling on him, as were generous and trusting parents, andandlt;BRandgt; three years later he found himself studying Faulkner at theandlt;BRandgt; elbow of Mr. Warren, who became not just his second life andlt;BRandgt; changing teacher but also his mentor and friend. Quammenandlt;BRandgt; never forgot Thomas Savage's encouragement: andlt;Iandgt;The Song of theandlt;BRandgt; Dodoandlt;/Iandgt; is dedicated to this vast-hearted curmudgeon, whoandlt;BRandgt; died young in 1975.andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt; In 1970, Quammen published his first book, a novel titledandlt;BRandgt; andlt;Iandgt;To Walk the Lineandlt;/Iandgt;, which had been steered toward daylight byandlt;BRandgt; Mr. Warren. Also that year, he began a two-year fellowship atandlt;BRandgt; Oxford University, England, where he continued studyingandlt;BRandgt; Faulkner, loathed the climate, loathed the food, loathed theandlt;BRandgt; vestiges of upper-class snobbery, met a few wonderfulandlt;BRandgt; people, and spent much of his time playing basketball (theandlt;BRandgt; remedial training had helped) for one of the universityandlt;BRandgt; teams. Promptly after Oxford, Quammen moved to Montana,andlt;BRandgt; carrying all his possessions in a Volkswagen bus to this stateandlt;BRandgt; in which he had never before set foot. The attractions ofandlt;BRandgt; Montana were 1) trout fishing, 2) wild landscape, 3) solitude,andlt;BRandgt; and 4) its dissimilarity to Yale and Oxford. The winters areandlt;BRandgt; too cold for ivy.andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt; Quammen made his living as a bartender, waiter, ghostandlt;BRandgt; writer, and fly-fishing guide until 1979. Since then he hasandlt;BRandgt; written full time. In 1982 he married Kris Ellingsen, aandlt;BRandgt; Montana woman even more devoted to solitude than he is.andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt; His published work includes two spy novels (andlt;Iandgt;The Zoltaandlt;BRandgt; Configuration, The Soul of Viktor Tronkoandlt;/Iandgt;), a collection of short andlt;BRandgt; stories about father-son relationships (andlt;Iandgt;Blood Lineandlt;/Iandgt;), twoandlt;BRandgt; collections of essays on science and nature (andlt;Iandgt;Natural Acts, Theandlt;BRandgt; Flight of the Iguanaandlt;/Iandgt;), several hundred other magazine essays,andlt;BRandgt; features, and reviews, as well as andlt;Iandgt;The Song of the Dodoandlt;/Iandgt;. Fromandlt;BRandgt; 1981 through 1995, he wrote a regular column about scienceandlt;BRandgt; and nature for Outside magazine, and in 1987 received theandlt;BRandgt; National Magazine Award in Essays and Criticism for workandlt;BRandgt; that appeared in the column. In 1994 he was co-winner ofandlt;BRandgt; another National Magazine Award. In 1996 he received anandlt;BRandgt; Academy Award in literature from the American Academy ofandlt;BRandgt; Arts and Letters. He remains a Montana resident, despite theandlt;BRandgt; arrival of cappuccino.andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt; In 1998 Scribner will publish andlt;Iandgt;Strawberries Under Iceandlt;/Iandgt;, a newandlt;BRandgt; collection of Quammen's magazine essays and features, subtitled andlt;BRandgt; "Wild Thoughts from Wild Places." The wild places inandlt;BRandgt; question, from which he has drawn observations andandlt;BRandgt; inspiration in recent years, include Tasmania, southern Chile,andlt;BRandgt; Madagascar, the Aru Islands of eastern Indonesia, Losandlt;BRandgt; Angeles, suburban Cincinnati, and of course, Montana.andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;br clear=allandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;a href="http://www.simonsays.com/titles/0684827123/RG_0684827123.html"andgt;Reading Group Discussion Pointsandlt;/aandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;a href="http://www.simonsays.com/reading/guides"andgt;Other Books With Reading Group Guidesandlt;/aandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;/bandgt;
Table of Contents
andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Bandgt;CONTENTSandlt;/Bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;I andlt;Iandgt;Thirty-Six Persian Throw Rugsandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;II andlt;Iandgt;The Man Who Knew Islandsandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;III andlt;Iandgt;So Huge a Bignesandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;IV andlt;Iandgt;Rarity unto Deathandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;V andlt;Iandgt;Preston's Bellandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;VI andlt;Iandgt;The Coming Thingandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;VII andlt;Iandgt;The Hedgehog of the Amazonandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;VII andlt;Iandgt;The Song of the Indriandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;IX andlt;Iandgt;World in Piecesandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;X andlt;Iandgt;Message from Aruandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;GLOSSARYandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;AUTHOR'S NOTEandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;ACKNOWLEDGMENTSandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;SOURCE NOTESandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;BIBLIOGRAPHYandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;INDEX
Reading Group Guide
Reading Group Discussion Points
- Discuss the ways in which Quammen's The Song of the Dodo is part adventure story, part scientific study, part travelogue, part murder mystery, part history book, and part biography.
- Comment on Quammen's writing style and his ability to impart difficult scientific material in both an interesting and understandable way.
- Why do you think Quammen chose to use as his title figure the dodo bird, a large-headed, big-butted, lumbering, flightless bird? What does the dodo bird represent in the book? Why in particular did he choose to mention the song of the dodo? What resonance does this have?
- Why do you think Quammen invests so much time dispelling the fictional stories of science, stories based more on convenience and tidiness than on the truth -- such as Darwin being portrayed as the sole mind behind the theory of evolution, when in fact there was another man named Wallace who came upon it on his own?
- The Tasmanian Aborigines were driven to the brink of extinction by the colonial settlers in the late 19th century. Compare their fate to the extinction of the dodo bird in the 1600s. Why is it so resonant? How is it haunting? What implications does it have for the human race?
- Why is Quammen's book so powerful? In what ways did it change your view of the natural world? Did it in any way alter your perspective on your own life and on life itself? If so, how?
- Near the end of The Song of the Dodo Quammen writes, "Yes, Simberloff predicts, the current cataclysm of extinctions is indeed likely to stand among the worst half-dozen such events in the history of life on Earth. This time around, we're the Death Star. But with a difference. Our own devastating impact on the biosphere will probably be a singular event, not part of a recurrent pattern. Why? Because we probably won't survive long enough, as a species, to find out." Do you believe the extinction of our species is, and always was, inevitable, or do you believe we have the ability to turn the tide and should, in fact, intercede on our planet's behalf?
- What is conservation biology and how important does Quammen lead us to believe it is in the prevention of animal and plant extinction? Discuss the conservation biology work that is being done, and its rate of success. For example, review Carl Jones's work with the kestrel in Mauritius, and Lovejoy's experimental work in the Amazon.
- At the end of The Song of the Dodo, Quammen returns to Aru to find the bird of paradise which Wallace had described so poignantly a century ago. "Even before we have reached the lekking tree on the second ridge" Quammen writes, "my question about Aru has been answered. The sad, dire things that have happened elsewhere in so many parts of the world ... haven't yet happened here. Probably they soon will. Meanwhile, though, there's still time. If time is hope, there's still hope." What, in the content of this paragraph, alters the ominous foreboding of The Song of the Dodo? Do you believe there is still hope? What do you think needs to be done in the time we have left?
- Did reading this book make you want to help in some way to preserve our world? If so, what way or ways did you consider? Would it alter the way in which you live your life?
- Did The Song of the Dodo spur you to travel, to find yourself on a boat chugging up some distant river to catch a glimpse of the indri or to hear the song of the cenderawasih? Where did it tempt you to go and what did you imagine you'd like to see?
Recommended Readings Anthropologist on Mars, Oliver Sacks
Arctic Dreams, Barry Lopez
Broadsides from the Orders: A Book of Buys, Sue Hubbell
The Control of Nature, John McPhee
Dwellings: Reflections on the Natural World, Linda Hogan
Field Notes: The Grace Note of the Canyon Wren, Barry Lopez
The Last of the Tasmanians, David Davies
The Malay Archipeligo, Alfred Wallace
My Life: A Record of Events and Opinions: Vols. I and II, Alfred Wallace
The Ninemile Wolves, Rick Bass
The Origin of Species, Charles Darwin
The Voyage of the Beagle: Charles Darwin's Journal of Researches, Charles Darwin