Beebe, William
Average customer rating:
- Still Pertinent after all these years...
|
Galapagos: World's End
William Beebe
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Ecuador
| South America
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Travel
| Writing
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Nature & Ecology
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Natural History
| Nature & Ecology
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Essays & Travelogues
| Reference & Tips
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
Ecuador & Galapagos Islands
| South America
| Latin America
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Travel
| Subjects
| Books
Reference
| Outdoors & Nature
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside History Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside Outdoors & Nature Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside Reference Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Look Inside Travel Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
- Galapagos: A Natural History
- Galapagos Wildlife, 2nd: A Visitor's Guide (Bradt Travel Guide)
- The Voyage of the Beagle: Charles Darwin's Journal of Researches (Penguin Classics)
- Evolution's Workshop: God and Science on the Galápagos Islands
- Wildlife of the Galapagos (Princeton Illustrated Checklists)
ASIN: 0486256421 |
Book Description
More than 100 splendid illustrations enhance this fascinating firsthand account of a 1923 expedition to survey the wildlife of the Galápagos Islands. Beebe, a renowned biologist and explorer, combines literary skill with careful research to produce an exceptionally readable book. "High romance, exact science, fascinating history, wild adventure." — Nation.
Customer Reviews:
Still Pertinent after all these years..........1997-11-02
In anticipation of a forthcoming trip to the Galapagos a visit to the local library turned up this 1924 book by Wm Beebe. Somewhat to my astonishment, the book captivated me. Wm Beebe (1877-1962) was not (as I heretofore had thought) merely a one-dimensioned, deep sea explorer. World traveler, naturalist, director of the NY Zoological Society -- he wrote books ranging from birding to jungle exploration. Beebe turns out to have been an early 20th century Loren Eiseley. This book records a 1923 trip undertaken by fourteen scientists from New York to the Galapagos in a steam power yacht, provided by a wealthy patron. They were later to learn that it was more suited to ladies "sipping tea" than oceanic cruising. They discovered to their astonishment that it was "neither an inexhaustible reservoir of fresh water, nor a floating coal mine". They had to cut short their Galapagos collecting and beat an unplanned retreat to Panama for more provisions. Beebe is a very readable author, with many a well turned phrase sprinkled thru the book. He describes the ocean voyage as, "... driving a momentary wedge thru sunshine, wind, and water..." Later, in a small boat, going ashore in the Galapagos, he describes the gentle swell "...which rose and fell as if the Pacific were breathing quietly and regularly." Accordingly, when it came time to jump, he appropriately waited for the ocean to "exhale". He finds both comfort and wonder in contemplating the Darwinian explanation of all he sees. For Beebe, there is an "honour of being one with all about me and in a small way to have at least an understanding..." He marvels, for example, in picking up a crustacean's shell, that having parted ways uncountable millions of years previously, now, quite by accident, they cross again. Beebe deplores both the early sailing depredations of the tortises and the wholesale slaughter of animals by previous scientific expeditions (how many flightless cormorants do you need to get an accurate description?). This expedition restricts themselves to capturing various specimens, which they hauled back to the NYC Zoo. They also took back sacks full of lava rocks, sand, plants, etc with which to make scenic dioramas in the AM Museum of NH. On page 265 one comes across the single most arresting observation in this book. As usual, profundity lies hidden in the details. It seems that Beebe "secured" (his euphimism for collecting) several specimens of different Darwin finches on Daphne, and found to his astonishment that their crops all contained identical food items, despite their differing bill shapes. All, even the heavy beaked birds, for exaple had uncrushed seeds in their crops. He repeated this observations several times, always with the same results. So there is more to the oft repeated, now almost cannonical evolutionary explanation of the differing finch beaks. The various finches are all eating the same things! Natural selection provides what appears to be a reasonable hypothesis to explain the various beaks, but what is really going on? I can think of no less than four explanations, but that is another tale. If anybody reads this and is curious, I am at proode@pol.net.
Average customer rating:
|
High Jungle
William Beebe
Manufacturer: Duell, Sloan and Pearce
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000HEUPZ4 |
Average customer rating:
|
Trader Vic's Book of Food & Drink (First Edition)
Victor Sperandeo
Manufacturer: Doubleday
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Similar Items:
- Trader Vic's Tiki Party!: Cocktails & Food to Share with Friends
ASIN: B000HUDUNC |
Average customer rating:
- Glad to find it!
- Good reprint of a classic
|
A Monograph of the Pheasants (Four Volumes Bound As Two/Volumes III and IV)
William Beebe
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Birdwatching
| Outdoors & Nature
| Subjects
| Books
Reference
| Outdoors & Nature
| Subjects
| Books
Ornithology
| Zoology
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Look Inside Outdoors & Nature Books
| Trip
| Specialty Stores
| Books
Similar Items:
- PHEASANTS OF WORLD 2E
- Extraordinary Pheasants
ASIN: 0486265803 |
Book Description
Volume 2 of the monumental illustrated study of the pheasants of eastern Asia includes information on plumage, songs, courtship, nests, eggs, more. Total in set: 90 full-color plates. 184 photographs. 20 distribution maps, diagrams of feathers.
Customer Reviews:
Glad to find it!.......2007-04-12
I had looked for this item for a long time before finally locating it on Amazon. It is a very good resource to have. In fact, I prefer these editions over the previous volumes that I purchased. Very informative.
Good reprint of a classic.......2001-04-10
This great work is the result of an expedition across most of Asia in the years just before World War I. It is not just a dry ornithological survey, although all the necessary apparatus is there, but is packed with superb descriptions of the landscape and wildlife. It is a work of literature as well as science. The colour plates are from paintings by Thorburn, Lodge, Fuertes, etc and are well reproduced from the original books - not as good as modern colour printing, but good enough. The photographs are rather grey, as they are in the original printing. The text is an exact facsimile, of the excellent typography.
Average customer rating:
|
Exploring with Beebe
William Beebe
Manufacturer: E. M. HALE AND COMPANY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000O9M3EI |
Average customer rating:
|
Adventuring with Beebe;
William Beebe
Manufacturer: Duell, Sloan and Pearce
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
General
| Zoology
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: B0007DXM64 |
Average customer rating:
|
Jungle Days
William Beebe
Manufacturer: Kessinger Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Zoology
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Zoology
| Biological Sciences
| Professional Science
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
Similar Items:
- Edge of the Jungle
ASIN: 1417928794 |
Book Description
1923. With seven illustrations. William Beebe was one of this century's leading pioneers into the oceanic world. The Brooklyn, New York, native possessed an unrelenting curiosity about the natural world around, and beneath, him. Through his dozens of books describing his various expeditions, Beebe brought the average citizen in closer touch with the natural world. Beebe turned his focus away from pheasants to the tropical jungle and became director of the Zoological Park's new Department of Tropical Research. Contents: A Chain of Jungle Life; My Jungle Table; A Midnight Beach Combing; Falling Leaves; The Jungle Sluggard; Mangrove Mystery; The Life of Death; Old-Time People; and The Bird of the Wine-Colored Egg. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing.
Average customer rating:
|
Adventuring with Beebe: Selections from the writings of William Beebe
William Beebe
Manufacturer: Viking Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
General
| Zoology
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Natural History
| Nature & Ecology
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Similar Items:
- The Remarkable Life of William Beebe: Explorer and Naturalist (QSI Series)
ASIN: B0007HEES0 |
Authors:
- Behan, Brendan
- Behn, Aphra
- Bell, Madison Smartt
- Bell, Marvin
- Bell, William
- Bellairs, John
- Bellamann, Henry
- Bellamann, Katherine Jones
- Bellamy, Edward
- Belloc, Hilaire
Authors
Authors