Overview

This book follows the epic voyages of natural history of Continent Australia, Joseph Banks, Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace. The voyage of Continent Australia after it breaks away from Antarctica 50 million years ago with its raft of Gondwanaland flora and fauna, and begins its journey north towards the equator. The voyage of Joseph Banks on the Endeavour, who, with Daniel Solander, became the first trained naturalist to describe the unique flora and fauna of Continent Australia that had evolved during its 30 million years of isolation. The voyage of Charles Darwin on the Beagle, who, after his observations in South America and the Galapagos Islands, sat on the banks of the Coxs River in New South Wales and tried to rationalise his belief in the idea of biblical creation and understand the origin of species. The voyage of Alfred Russel Wallace, who realised that the Lombok Strait in Indonesia represents the biogeographical boundary between the fauna of Asia and those of Australasia. It was tectonic plate movement that brought these disparate worlds together and it was Alfred Russel Wallace's 'Letter from Ternate' that forced Charles Darwin to finally publish his landmark work 'On the Origin of Species'.

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9780645106886

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Reviews

This book is the story of how continental drift has created the world in which we live, and, in particular, the unique and fascinating archipelago of Indonesia, a string of islands which spans Europe and Australasia, a volatile and diverse region. The book is also a wonderful retelling of the tales of three great British naturalists: Joseph Banks who charted the east coast of Australia with Cook; Charles Darwin, whose youthful voyages on the Beagle resulted in our modern understandings of the natural world, and the lesser-known Alfred Russel Wallace, whose wanderings across what is now the Indonesian archipelago, led to his own theory of natural selection..The writing is a robust; no-nonsense. It is the writing of a man who means business, and it builds trust. The story is light and entertaining yet full of insight. Through the frequent use of excerpts from Banks, Darwin and Wallace's own writing, we get to see the world through their eyes. And through this, we get occasional glimpses of a wry, understated humour.These were men of the world; artists, writers, scientists, adventurers, seafarers. It raises the question, where are these men and women today? After reading this book I am inclined to answer that Ian Burnet may be one of them - a scientist, an historian, a traveller and a fine writer.- Mark Heyward - The Jakarta Post

Author Information

Ian Burnet grew up in South Gippsland, Victoria, Australia and has a degree in Geology and Geophysics from Melbourne University. He has spent more than thirty years living, working, and travelling in Indonesia, and his books show his fascination with the diverse history of the vast archipelago to the north of Australia.

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