ON THE BACKS OF TORTOISES: Darwin, the Galapagos, and the Fate of an Evolutionary Eden

Tells the story of the island's namesakes--the giant tortoises--as coveted food sources, objects of natural history and famous icons of conservation and tourism. By doing so, Hennessy brings into stark relief the paradoxical, and impossible, goal of conserving species by trying to restore a past state of prehistoric evolution. Illus.