Archipelago : Islands of Indonesia

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In the mid-1850s, a young English naturalist named Alfred Russel Wallace journeyed to the Malay Archipelago, where he would spend eight years in what he later called "the central and controlling incident" of his life. Collecting data on the plant and animal life of the then-remote islands, Wallace slowly formulated ideas of the origins and divergence of species. In 1858, he sent a manuscript containing some of those ideas to Charles Darwin, who incorporated Wallace's work in his theory of natural selection--and who, some critics have charged, appropriated many of Wallace's discoveries as his own.

In this richly illustrated book, historian Gavan Daws and biologist Marty Fujita follow Wallace's trail through the islands of Indonesia, visiting the Moluccas, Bali, Irian Jaya, and other extraordinary treasuries of biological diversity--for, as they point out, although Indonesia comprises only 1.3 percent of the world's surface, it harbors nearly a quarter of the world's species. Their naturalistic travelogue includes a careful discussion of Wallace's ideas and of how he came to hold them through the course of his remarkable body of fieldwork. In doing so, they emphasize the importance of Wallace's contributions to demographics, the theory of island biodiversity, and other tenets of modern biological thought. The result is an unusually instructive, and unusually handsome, book of scientific adventure. --Gregory McNamee

Book Description

The Indonesian archipelago is a land of timeless natural beauty that in the twenty-first century faces unprecedented environmental degradation. It was also the biological laboratory of Alfred Russel Wallace, who, working independently of Charles Darwin, discovered the theory of evolution by natural selection.
Wallace, who traveled for eight years in the archipelago, was one of the greatest field naturalists and nature writers of his century. No one was more skilled in observing and describing living things. A prodigious collector, he was the first to bring living birds of paradise to the West. And he was a great thinker, a theorist as formidable as any on earth. This magnificent account of a true explorer sweeps from the time of Wallace's nineteenth-century discoveries in biogeography to the looming biodiversity crisis of the twenty-first century--from the exploration of natural wonders to the exploitation of natural resources. The result is a history that powerfully portrays the intricate connections of human life and natural life.
This unique story, published by the University of California Press in cooperation with The Nature Conservancy, is resplendently presented with maps, archival materials, and more than 200 color photographs.
A portion of the proceeds from this book will go toward conservation efforts in Indonesia

Customer Reviews:

Magnificent book!.......2005-07-27

The books goes through all the major parts of Indonesia and shows plenty of well-selected pictures of amazing flora and fauna of the archipelago. Pictures are 70% of the book, but it also provides a good scientific description of how the archipelago formed (10% of the book), explaining how so unique species developed and survived untouched. Around 10% of the book is devoted to the explorers, like Wallace, who first discovered the uniquness of the islands and tried scientifically describe what they found - some early maps of the region and pictures of explorers are presented. Last 10% expresses the concerns about the impact of the modern Indonesia on the nature of the region. Book is published by UC Berkeley/LA, which can only be a further recommendation.

pleasing eye candy and substance.......2002-10-06

Archipelago is an excellent book on several levels. First, as a photo essay of the biota of the Indonesian islands it must be beyond compare. The photos are simply awesome, leaf through it and see for yourself. Second, it tells the story of one of the worlds least known but greatest scientists, Alfred Wallace. Wallace was just as responsible for developing the theory of evolution through natural selection as Charles Darwin. If you are interested in the history of science or a biology student at any level you should be aware of Wallace's work. This is as good a book to learn about it as any. One slight complaint, in reading this book I felt that the authors felt that Wallace received a raw deal from Darwin and the rest of the scientific community. I don't know if it's true or if the truth will ever be known. I know that Wallace didn't feel that way so why include it here? Third, this book is so much a trip through time. Each chapter on Wallace in the islands is mixed with modern essays on life in the islands and what is happening to the environment there. As an environmentalist "call to arms" it is great, because it is backed by better science through a broader range of disciplines than any I have seen.

I'm not a big fan of the "Coffee Table Book" but this is an exception. While it might be tempting to only look at the pictures, the text is in such a interesting format that reading it turns out to be such a breeze that you will be done before you notice.

a very special and threatened place.......2001-09-18

this is a great book. It covers in detail the jouneys of that great explorer/naturalist/thinker Alfred E. Wallace through Indonesia and addresses the current state of affairs and threats to its natural treasures.

Tropical splendor and historical significance........2000-10-28

This beautiful coffee table book goes far beyond presenting the tropical and exotic beauty of this complex archipelago. True, outstanding photos highlight the natural splendor, rich culture and exotic architecture. But the authors also explore its historical significance, beginning with Wallace's 19th century discoveries in biogeography, continuing through the current, looming ecological crisis wrought by exploitation of the islands' natural resources. For those who have traveled to Indonesia, or have ever wished to, this book is a must.

Wild Profusion: Biodiversity Conservation in an Indonesian Archipelago (In-formation)

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Wild Profusion: Biodiversity Conservation in an Indonesian Archipelago (In-formation)
Celia Lowe
Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books

Conservation | Environment | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

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Southeast Asia | Asia | History | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0691124620

Book Description

Wild Profusion tells the fascinating story of biodiversity conservation in Indonesia in the decade culminating in the great fires of 1997-98--a time when the country's environment became a point of concern for social and environmental activists, scientists, and the many fishermen and farmers nationwide who suffered from degraded environments and faced accusations that they were destroying nature. Celia Lowe argues that biodiversity, in 1990s Indonesia, implied a particular convergence of nature, nation, science, and identity that made Indonesians' mapping of the concept distinct within transnational practices of nature conservation at the time.

Lowe recounts the efforts of Indonesian biologists to document the species of the Togean Islands, to "develop" Togean people, and to turn this archipelago off the coast of Sulawesi into a national park. Indonesian scientists aspired to a conservation biology that was both internationally recognizable and politically effective in the Indonesian context. Simultaneously, Lowe describes the experiences of Togean Sama people who had their own understandings of nature and nation. To place Sama and scientist into the same conceptual frame, Lowe studies Sama ideas in the context of transnational thought rather than local knowledge.

In tracking the practice of conservation biology in a postcolonial setting, Wild Profusion explores what in nature can count as important and for whom.

Bali and Angkor;: Or, Looking at life and death

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Bali and Angkor;: Or, Looking at life and death
Geoffrey Gorer
Manufacturer: Little, Brown
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Extremes in the Archipelago: Trade and Economic Development in the Outer Islands of Indonesia, 1900-1942.(Book Review): An article from: ASEAN Economic Bulletin

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Extremes in the Archipelago: Trade and Economic Development in the Outer Islands of Indonesia, 1900-1942.(Book Review): An article from: ASEAN Economic Bulletin
Anthony L. Smith
Manufacturer: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from ASEAN Economic Bulletin, published by Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) on December 1, 2003. The length of the article is 966 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Extremes in the Archipelago: Trade and Economic Development in the Outer Islands of Indonesia, 1900-1942.(Book Review)
Author: Anthony L. Smith
Publication: ASEAN Economic Bulletin (Refereed)
Date: December 1, 2003
Publisher: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS)
Volume: 20 Issue: 3 Page: 304(2)

Article Type: Book Review

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Rescuing a 'lost' masterpiece coffee. (Kalosi line of coffee from Sulawesi, an island in the Indonesian archipelago, brought back from near extinction ... An article from: Tea & Coffee Trade Journal

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Rescuing a 'lost' masterpiece coffee. (Kalosi line of coffee from Sulawesi, an island in the Indonesian archipelago, brought back from near extinction ... An article from: Tea & Coffee Trade Journal
Richard Clark
Manufacturer: Lockwood Trade Journal Co., Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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Book Description

This digital document is an article from Tea & Coffee Trade Journal, published by Lockwood Trade Journal Co., Inc. on June 1, 1992. The length of the article is 699 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Rescuing a 'lost' masterpiece coffee. (Kalosi line of coffee from Sulawesi, an island in the Indonesian archipelago, brought back from near extinction by a Japanese-Indonesian company, P.T. Toarco Jaya)
Author: Richard Clark
Publication: Tea & Coffee Trade Journal (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 1, 1992
Publisher: Lockwood Trade Journal Co., Inc.
Volume: v164 Issue: n6 Page: p32(2)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Indian Ocean, Australia--Indonesia, Melville Island to Dampier Archipelago, including the off-lying islands and reefs (SuDoc D 5.356:74015/995)

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Indian Ocean, Australia--Indonesia, Melville Island to Dampier Archipelago, including the off-lying islands and reefs (SuDoc D 5.356:74015/995)
U.S. Dept of Defense
Manufacturer: The Agency NOAA Distribution Branch, N/CG33, National Ocean Service, distributor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
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New species of scincid lizards from the islands of the Lesser Sunda Archipelago (east Indonesia) (Smithsonian herpetological information services)

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New species of scincid lizards from the islands of the Lesser Sunda Archipelago (east Indonesia) (Smithsonian herpetological information services)
I. S Darevskiĭ
Manufacturer: Division of Reptiles and Amphibians, United States National Museum
ProductGroup: Book
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Zeespiegels, riffen en kustvlakten in zuidwest Sulawesi, Indonesie: Een morfogenetisch-bodemkundige studie (Utrechtse geografische studies)

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Zeespiegels, riffen en kustvlakten in zuidwest Sulawesi, Indonesie: Een morfogenetisch-bodemkundige studie (Utrechtse geografische studies)
L. G. de Klerk
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ASIN: 906266038X

Product Description

- Want the very best of Melbourne in one glam little pocket/purse-size companion? - Want to find troves of fab vintage clothes and a huge range of antiques? - Want to find Melbourne's best restaurants and even learn to cook with their chefs? - Want to yacht around the bay and dive with sea dragons, dolphins and seahorses? - Want your shoes and hats made to order? - Want to jump in a Porsche and discover the beautiful wine country in style? - Want to find the finest shops, restaurants, spas, bars and services and to avoid the rest? Well now you can. Whether you have a few hours or a few days, LUXE is all you need. Succinct, smart and crammed with priceless information, distilled from the favourite places of over twenty city residents, specially selected for their style, knowledge and expertise. LUXE chooses only the very best, so you choose only the very best. - Invaluable half-day shopping and activity itineraries for you to mix and match. - Hidden places to relax in, the very latest stunning places to dine, drink and dance. - Shops you'd simply never find as a visitor. - The most beautiful spas and salons. - Services you can't find in any other guide. - And what's more, LUXE is updated twice a year, so you're always in the know.

Customer Reviews:

Compact but thorough, serious but fun.......2007-08-23

A travel-agent friend of mine put me onto these guides and suggested I get the one for Melbourne, Australia where I was planning to visit. The people behind these guides have managed to come up with a format (compact, fold out, about the size of an airline ticket - back when airlines actually printed out tickets!) that is both easy to carry and is PACKED full of very well researched, updated info for the traveller looking for the best experience, not the cheapest. These guides have a definite emphasis on shopping and eating, and will lead you to all sorts of places you might not find on your own. It also covered hotels, sightseeing, spas, and other highlights all in a fun, kicky, irreverent, slightly mad style. I'm a big fan of travel guide books and I am a big fan of these ones now.

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State-of-the-art perspectives on biology theory.......1999-01-19

Disregard the innocuous title. This is a fascinating text for those interested in exploring biological theory and the emergence of life from the perspective of dynamical systems. The book contains contributions of 14 authors from all over the world discussing leading edge theory from macromolecules to "evolvability" in complex systems.

Thinking About Biology: An Invitation to Current Theoretical Biology (Santa Fe Institute Studies in the Sciences of Complexity : Lecture Notes, Vol)

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Thinking About Biology: An Invitation to Current Theoretical Biology (Santa Fe Institute Studies in the Sciences of Complexity : Lecture Notes, Vol)
Wilfred D.; Varela, Francisco J. Stein
Manufacturer: Perseus Books (Sd)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OLIFOS

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Thinking About Biology: An Invitation to Current Theoretical Biology (Santa Fe Institute Studies in the Sciences of Complexity : Lecture Notes, Vol)
Wilfred D. Stein
Manufacturer: Addison Wesley Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OLFE74

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Introductory Photochemistry
Alan Cox , and T.J. Kemp
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill Education
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 0070941769

Book Description

This monograph provides a tool-set for hybrid estimation that can successfully monitor the behavior of complex artifacts with a large number of possible operational and failure modes such as production plants, automotive or aeronautic systems, and autonomous robots. For this purpose, ideas from the fields of System Theory and Artificial Intelligence are taken and hybrid estimation is reformulated as a search problem. This allows to focus the estimation onto highly probably operational modes, without missing symptoms that might be hidden among the noise in the system. Additionally a novel approach to continue hybrid estimation in the presence of unknown behavioral modes and to automate system analysis and synthesis tasks for on-line operation are presented. This leads to a flexible model-based hybrid estimation scheme for complex artifacts that robustly copes with unforeseen situations.

Book Description

A collection of witty, irreverent essays on subjects running the gamut from the space program to airport bans on smoking are included in this anthology. Written by Spider Robinson, The Crazy Years takes its name from Robert A. Heinlein's designation of the last years of the 20th century and contains essays from Robinson's tenure as op-ed columnist for The Globe and Mail and from Galaxy Online. Environmentalists that place the survival of earth before the survival of humanity, the idiocy of computer designs, and the downsides of the Internet are among the subjects Robinson uses to take the world to task.

Customer Reviews:

Reflections from a sensible mind.......2007-09-22

I've always enjoyed Spider Robinson's work. Here, we have a collection of columns published over the years that reflect his sense, his humor and his mass of insights. His philosopher side shows through with great talent and strength; I refer to this one often when I'm feeling a bit off. Wisdom doesn't have to be ancient to be true:)

A mixed bag of old newspaper columns. 2.5 stars.......2007-07-24

I finally got around to reading (part of) this collection of some of his columns for the Toronto Globe and Mail. I used to really enjoy Spider's book reviews, and I like the capsule reviews (usually for music) that he slips into his fiction, or afterwords, or whatever. Unfortunately, this collection is basically Spider's views on politics, life and such, which I didn't find very interesting or readable. And column collections always suffer from short shelf-life -- many of the older ones here are pretty dated. YMMV, but not of much interest for me. I note that the Globe & Mail has since dropped his column.

Happy reading (something else?)--
Peter D. Tillman

Spider Essays.......2007-03-12

While I don't agree with Spider Robinson on most things political, I enjoy reading him because he never wastes my time. His writing is concise, his opinions clear, his energy evident.

Spider at his best!.......2007-01-11

Thhis collection of Spider's Columnns [not previously seen in the US] is a wonderful collation of his wit, predictions, and social observations.

Catch and Release 22.......2006-04-24

It is a reflection of the "interesting times" in which we live that Spider's collection of common sense essays are viewed by some as controversial.

The subjects range from pro-cigarette diatribes (nicotine is addictive but harmless, while tars are harmful but not addictive), marijuana (good), politics (bad), religion, Hollywood, global warming, computers, pre-emptive wars, the natural moral superiority of Canadians... All stuff you'd expect from his novels, which touch on such everyday morality but never really come out and slap it on the counter.

Here, Spider brings the fish out from its display case.

It's a brave move, prairie-dogging in the shooting gallery*. Lesser men have lost ears, and you won't be hearing from THEM again. But Spider (despite his name) has some kind of aversion to webs of deceit ("What kind of spider understands arachnaphobia," sang Robert Wyatt) and insists on "telling it like it is" -- despite the fact that right this minute Valentine Michael Smith is probably testing the grandfather paradox with Winston Smith.

What was it Yossarian said? When everyone around you is crazy, acting sane is the best way to get put away (or something like that... ask Klinger).

* - I never metaphor I didn't like, sorry.

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