The Malay Archipelago (Stanford Travel Classics) - Softcover

Alfred Wallace

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1906780315 ISBN 13: 9781906780319

Publisher: John Beaufoy Publishing Ltd, 2010

Synopsis

An intrepid explorer who earned his living by collecting bird skins, Wallace also catalogued the vast number of plant and animal species that inhabited this unique geographical area. In addition he includes numerous observations on the people, their languages, and ways of living and social organisation as well as geological insights into the nature and activity of volcanoes and the destructive force of nature. Colourful personal anecdotes based on experiences during his travels also pepper the text. First published in 1869, The Malay Archipelago provided some of the initial evidence of the modern theory of evolution. Discursive, captivating, occasionally offensive, but always wonderfully descriptive, it remains one of the most extensive works of natural history ever compiled. ABOUT STANFORDS TRAVEL CLASSICS Hailing from both sides of the Atlantic, the authors included are as diverse as Edith Wharton, Henry James, Ernest Shackleton and Alfred Russel Wallace. Every title has been reset in a contemporary typeface, and has been printed to a high-quality production specification, to create a series that every lover of fine travel literature will want to collect and keep

About this title

Review:

"One of the great classics of travel literature. It is indeed good news that Oxford University Press has now made available a handsome new edition of the book . . . . Natural scientists and anthropologists, in addition to being entertained, will find a vast store of scientific facts, many of which can no longer be observed firsthand." --Science Books and Films

Book Description:

This is one the first and most important books about 18th century Malaysia and covers a wide array of topics from Malaysian culture and history to nature and wildlife. it is essential reading for anyone interested in Malaysia.

A century and a half after it was first published, this book remains one of the great classics of natural history and travel—perhaps the greatest. Alfred Russel Wallace (1823–1913) deserves equal billing with Charles Darwin for his independently drawn but parallel conclusions on the theory of evolution. Darwin himself called Wallace "generous and noble" and referred favorably to his work in later editions of The Origin of Species.

The Malay Archipelago is an extraordinarily accessible book. There is a wealth of detail about pre–modern life in the indonesian archipelago which Wallace accumulated on over 60 separate journeys spanning 14,000 miles. He was equally fascinated by the exotic peoples, flora and fauna he encountered in his epic travels. A mark of his achievement lies in the size of the collections he bequeathed to british museums—some 125,000 specimens ranging from large mammals to tiny insects, exotic butterflies and splendid birds of paradise.

His basic thesis stands to this day: that two separate biological zones border these islands, separated by the deep–water channel now known as the Wallace line, running between bali and Lombok, which only a relative handful of species have crossed. The islands east of bali in effect form a transitional zone where some of the world's strangest creatures are found.

About this edition

• Publisher: John Beaufoy Publishing Ltd
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 1906780315
• ISBN 13: 9781906780319
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 564