Book Review: Galápagos by Josef Litt

Peter Rowlands · Issue 101, Mar/Apr 2018 · pp. 61–81

Products mentioned: Galápagos by Josef Litt

Book Review Galápagos by Joseph Litt by Peter Rowlands I don’t think there can be any doubt that the most significant place in the whole of the natural history world has to be the Galápagos Islands where less than 200 years ago the young Charles Darwin observed how similar life varied from island to island. This led to the development of his theory of natural selection explaining evolution, which was presented in The Origin of Species in 1859. The rest is, shall we say, natural history. Fast forward 150 years and the very essence of it’s attraction was fast becoming it’s undoing with a major tourist onslaught both above and below the water. Very careful and considered controls were put in place to protect this fragile ecosystem yet keep it available for those who wanted to experience such a unique location. I have never visited the Galápagos Islands and doubt if I ever will but Josef Lit…