Island: A Story of the Galápagos (review)

Chin follows up his explorations of Redwoods and Coral Reefs (BCCB 12/11) with a treatment of that most historic of ecosystems, the Galápagos Islands. It's a chronicle of a life cycle that takes the ecological long view, starting six million years ago with the birth of a volcanic island, following it through "Childhood" ("Five Million Years Ago"), "Adulthood" ("Three Million Years Ago"), and "Old Age" ("One Million Years Ago"), when the island finally "sinks below the waves forever." What this really is, though, is a visually eloquent, marvelously compact explanation of evolution, focusing on the islands that first set the concept in motion for Darwin (who appears in an epilogue). The art is masterful in its combination of realism and artistic flow; the layout complements sweeping full-page, full-bleed landscapes with carefully controlled panel sequences that provide additional focus on a process or creature, so the evolution of larger finches' beaks, for instance, is clearly demonstrated and explained. The reasons why the Galápagos are a great biological lab are made clear, and the examples of evolution are effectively illustrative. This will be superbly useful as a science text, but readers in general, especially animal lovers, will be lured in by the accessible format and crystal-clear explanations. End matter includes an overview of Darwin's experience on the islands, a brief encyclopedic description of the place, and an explanation of species unique to the Galápagos; endpapers include a gallery of species and a map.