Evolution鈥檚 Workshop: God and science on the Galapagos Islands by Edward
Larson, Basic Books, $27.50, ISBN 0465038107
STRANGE though it seems, there may be Galapagos tortoises alive today that
were strutting their stuff when Charles Darwin was still wearing nappies. A
Galapagos tortoise must have witnessed a few changes over its 200-year lifespan.
Alas, these recollections remain out of our reach. So instead we have Edward
Larson鈥檚 Evolution鈥檚 Workshop: God and science on the Galapagos
Islands.
Larson has told a scientific story of this remote Pacific archipelago, from
its discovery by the Spanish in 1535 to its present incarnation as the capital
of ecotourism. Of course, it was Darwin and his visit aboard the Beagle in 1835
that made the Galapagos famous. But where Darwin trod, many have followed,
updating and refining his evolutionary ideas along the way.
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With more quotations than strictly necessary, Larson charts the progress of
Galapagos science in meticulous detail, showing why these islands have become a
holy place for biologists.
Despite what we have learned from the Galapagos islands, however, Larson鈥檚
history paints a depressingly familiar story. There may be a few ancient
tortoises that are still alive today. But most of their relatives were
slaughtered a long time ago for fun, food and even science.