South Sea Islands: A Natural History: Amazon.ca: Rod Morris, Alison Ballance: Books

Book Description

Publication Date: Sep 6 2003

The fascinating truth behind paradise.

This beautiful and absorbing book is a celebration of the history and exotic ecosystems of the South Seas Islands: Easter Island, New Zealand, Fiji, Hawaii, Madagascar, French Polynesia, Galapagos, Komodo, Sulawesi, New Guinea, Tasmania, Lord Howe, Phillip, and New Caledonia.

Today, these islands exist in isolation and act as real-time laboratories where lifeforms adapt and change to survive in various circumstances. The islands are home to astonishing wildlife such as the Komodo dragon, Tasmanian devil, and predator marsupials.

The book features the human follies and accidents that caused devastating ecological disasters on some islands and records the dramatic measures used to recover and repopulate the islands that were long considered ecologically lost.

Spectacular color photography captures the stunning vistas and natural beauty of these unique islands. Images include pristine rainforests, striking wildlife, exotic reptiles and insects such as an eight inch centipede, brilliant flowers, the ancient quarries of Easter Island where its colossal statues were produced and many more.

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The fascinating truth behind paradise.

This beautiful and absorbing book is a celebration of the history and exotic ecosystems of the South Seas Islands: Easter Island, New Zealand, Fiji, Hawaii, Madagascar, French Polynesia, Galapagos, Komodo, Sulawesi, New Guinea, Tasmania, Lord Howe, Phillip, and New Caledonia.

Today, these islands exist in isolation and act as real-time laboratories where lifeforms adapt and change to survive in various circumstances. The islands are home to astonishing wildlife such as the Komodo dragon, Tasmanian devil, and predator marsupials.

The book features the human follies and accidents that caused devastating ecological disasters on some islands and records the dramatic measures used to recover and repopulate the islands that were long considered ecologically lost.

Spectacular color photography captures the stunning vistas and natural beauty of these unique islands. Images include pristine rainforests, striking wildlife, exotic reptiles and insects such as an eight inch centipede, brilliant flowers, the ancient quarries of Easter Island where its colossal statues were produced and many more.

Product Description

From Publishers Weekly

With iguanas that blend into their surroundings so well they're difficult to see and mountains made entirely of volcanic rock eroded by wind and rain, the islands of the South Seas are filled with wondrous sights. New Zealand filmmakers Balance and Morris present an island-by-island view of the region's flora and fauna, explaining their attributes and origins. They cover 13 major islands, including Fiji, Madagascar, Hawaii, New Guinea, Tasmania and Easter Island. Balance's unfussy prose explains the sights to a general audience (e.g., "We usually think of parrots as bright, tropical birds, but... parrots such as the mountain kea and its forest cousin the kaka are quite drab"). Morris shares 150 full color photos, portraying such dazzling images as a monkey grasshopper with huge eyes and pink wings; and a finch that has evolved a honeyeater's bill feeding on the beautiful flowers of the koli'i plant. Their volume makes a lovely, and informative, introduction to this famous region.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

The South Sea Islands are the stuff of romantic fantasies as well as the site of Darwin's paradigm-altering discoveries and some of today's most challenging environmental conundrums. They are also, according to New Zealand naturalists Morris and Ballance, "crucibles of life" and "essential reservoirs of biological diversity." The truly astonishing beauty and botanical and zoological splendor of 14 South Sea Islands are given their due both in Morris' breathtaking photographs, which range in focal point from close-ups of tiny, intricately patterned geckos to voluptuous landscapes, and in Ballance's concisely informative yet descriptively lush commentary. Each island is "biologically unique," and each provides vivid lessons in the wonders of adaptation. The tour begins on Fiji, where the authors report on ants outfitted with "spikes, flanges, and even tiny antlers." Madagascar is a magical world unto itself; Hawaii's gorgeous birds and flowers have coevolved to an amazing degree. Sulawesi teems with unknown invertebrates, and Lord Howe and Phillip Islands are topologically extraordinary. Ultimately the reader realizes that each jade and turquoise outpost is exquisite, vulnerable, and precious. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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South Sea Islands: A Natural History [Hardcover]