---
product_id: 3254361
title: "The Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinction"
brand: "david quammen"
price: "VT6797"
currency: VUV
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 10
url: https://www.desertcart.vu/products/3254361-the-song-of-the-dodo-island-biogeography-in-an-age
store_origin: VU
region: Vanuatu
---

# The Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinction

**Brand:** david quammen
**Price:** VT6797
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** The Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinction by david quammen
- **How much does it cost?** VT6797 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.vu](https://www.desertcart.vu/products/3254361-the-song-of-the-dodo-island-biogeography-in-an-age)

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- david quammen enthusiasts

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## Description

The Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinction

## Images

![The Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinction - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71XH6VUh4aL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    Science Journalism?  Yeh, it rules!
  

*by R***T on Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2007*

This is the first book I've read by Quammen, an imminently talented journalist who perfectly balances the information and writing style of the book.  He follows a chronological progression of island biogeography from Darwin through Jared Diamond (who became hugely famous shortly after the release of this book).  Quammen's travelogues are excellent, combining a sympathetic, open perspective that is adventurous and engaged.  Late in the book, Quammen describes a climb to the nest of a Mauritius kestrel: "When I'm thirty feet up, a tree branch flicks off my glasses, which drop to the ground.  I could go down and retrieve them, sure, that would be sensible, but I'd fall too far behind the cheerful maniacs...'Do you trust this vine?' I call up to Jones.  Gangly but tall, he must weigh two hundred pounds, and from this angle I can appreciate the size of his feet.'Not greatly.'We ratchet our way upward, slowly, on the cliff face.  It isn't Half Dome but it's more perilous than the average birdwatching stroll.  We rise out above the valley.  As we move beyond the treetops, I give myself an explicit mental reminder: Fall from here and you don't go home.  Finally, Jones and I catch up with Lewis on a narrow rock shelf, like a window ledge ten stories above Lexington Avenue...I gaze out at the panorama--the forested canyon below us, the deer ranch beyond, and the cane plantation beyond that, all spreading westward for five miles to the crescent of beach and then the great turquoise plane of the Indian Ocean." (562-3)It's Quammen's excitement and sensitivty that inspire the reader to continue and to care, to take notice of humanity's influence: carving nature into islands, resulting in astonishing rates of extinction and ecosystem decay.  But Quammen urges us to cling to hope, not despair, because "besides being fruitless it's far less exciting than hope, however slim." (636)

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    A book covering a wide-range or related topics
  

*by K***M on Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2014*

Quammen is truly becoming one of my favorite authors. As a naturalist, the topics he writes about are interesting to me, but that's only a fraction of his charm. He also has a very anecdotal and "friendly" writing style that I find very engaging. How can I not be charmed by a man who concludes his chapter on biogeographic logarithms with, "Hello, are you still with me? Sorry about all that." He knows his audience.It took me a long time to read this book not because it wasn't interesting, but because it covered a wide-range of related topics. It was as if several good books had been rolled into one.The book focuses on biogeography. Quammen talks about the great people who've contributed to the field (beginning with Darwin and Wallace, of course,) and also talks about island extinctions (as they have been much more numerous than continental extinctions).I found the stories about Darwin and Wallace fascinating. The chapters on rare, extinct, and (unfortunately) introduced species were the best part of the book for me. He also talks about recent studies and debates like SLOSS. Then Quammen ends the book with his own trip to Aru after years of carrying around a copy of Wallace's The Malay Archipelago.My one criticism is in regards to the Kindle edition due to the page numbers and percentage. When I finished the book, it said I was only 60% done even though the chapters before the glossary end around page 600 out of 695. That's not 60% Kindle.I recommend this book to anyone with interest in islands, habitat carrying capacity, and the history of natural sciences. It's a sober topic and an eye-opening read, but Quammen throws in some of his charm and wit as needed and expected.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    The book has interesting information, very well researched by the author
  

*by S***R on Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2023*

Enjoyed the information, especially as I had read another book by this same author previously.The used book I received had a musty ordor, so it ended up being disposed of afterwards, which is just what one gets sometimes when buying second hand.

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*Product available on Desertcart Vanuatu*
*Store origin: VU*
*Last updated: 2026-03-04*