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tific voyage of discovery made early last century that vindicated Charles Darwin's theory of tion. Examining the 1905-1906 collection trip to the Galapagos ...
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w: Collecting Evolution by James

ution, by Sonoma State University Professor Matthew J. James, is a fascinating look at a e of discovery made early last century that vindicated Charles Darwin's theory of mining the 1905-1906 collection trip to the Galapagos Islands by a team from the emy of Science, this book takes aim at the seemingly conflicting concepts of collection on, and places this expedition in a context that demonstrates its importance to science 110 years later. The voyage occurred at a time when the ideas put forth in n of the Species had not been completely accepted by the scientific community. Certainly re very influential, but the truth of the concept Darwin had proposed was not yet fully asserts that, excepting the voyage of the Beagle itself, this expedition did more to theories than had any other to that time.

etus for the journey and collection trip was to save for science creatures whose existence d by humans and the non-native species that mankind had introduced on these volcanic alapagos were threatened, and it was necessary to preserve, quite literally preserve, as ecies as these scientists could before the flora and fauna of the Islands disappeared mporary conservationist thought is that preservation is the act of providing an n which nature can continue to exist, in which threatened plants and animals can survive. e case at the turn of the last century. It was then felt that to save as many specimens as entific posterity was the greatest good that could be achieved, and in many ways it was. pecimens were collected, including 266 tortoises. “Restraint in collection', James writes, f the group's vocabulary or part of their plan.”

known at the time that the expedition left San Francisco for the Galapagos was that r and one day that the scientific crew spent traveling between the Islands on their an earthquake would shatter the city on the bay and destroy the collection that the massed since its founding as a scientific community in 1854. James quotes one member er he had learned of the disaster, as saying “We are the Academy now.”

gards the convention of adhering to a strict timeline, but operates as a series of essays h the 1905-1906 expedition as the thread linking them together. Often concepts that ored in earlier chapters, and even whole sentences, are repeated verbatim through the an editorial flaw. Rather it is an indication that this is not a strict cover to cover read, but avored and enjoyed in segments, to be explored and reflected upon. The chapters lf-contained segments with endnotes, encapsulate complete portions of the story ames elaborates upon, creating a text that is useful in academic research as well as while fitting into a larger narrative.

ead. James has meticulously researched the book through the diaries and letters of the m the museum, and contemporary scholarship, and presents his research with a lyrical writes: “The islands and their fauna lend themselves to hyperbole, perhaps because ganisms seem to be exaggerations of the truth. Swimming lizards, tropical penguins, at can't fly, fish-eating snakes, and tool-using and blood-eating finches all inhabit the

icture-postcard-perfect beaches and shorelines can reek of selective death, which is harles Darwin had in mind." Speaking of the crew he writes: “They disassociated intrinsic ientific necessity.”

n book takes the reader to those islands and places them into the expedition's journey thout disassociating beauty from science. The fruits of the voyage, the specimens that alifornia Academy of Science in San Francisco, are still as valuable today as when they om the nests, beaches, waters, skies, and lands of the islands. Matthew J. James gives men who collected these specimens, and brings to light a scientific voyage whose seem to far from what we understand conservation to be, but that left a legacy whose not fully sounded. He writes: “In the Galapagos, Darwin is not arcane or obscure. He's e book Collecting Evolution makes 'Darwin's of us all.

ution by Matthew J. James xford University Press 4.95

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