An intrepid explorer who earned his living by collecting bird skins, Wallace also catalogued the vast number of plant and animal species that inhabited this unique geographical area. In addition he includes numerous observations on the people, their languages, and ways of living and social organisation as well as geological insights into the nature and activity of volcanoes and the destructive force of nature. Colourful personal anecdotes based on experiences during his travels also pepper the text. First published in 1869, The Malay Archipelago provided some of the initial evidence of the modern theory of evolution. Discursive, captivating, occasionally offensive, but always wonderfully descriptive, it remains one of the most extensive works of natural history ever compiled. ABOUT STANFORDS TRAVEL CLASSICS Hailing from both sides of the Atlantic, the authors included are as diverse as Edith Wharton, Henry James, Ernest Shackleton and Alfred Russel Wallace. Every title has been reset in a contemporary typeface, and has been printed to a high-quality production specification, to create a series that every lover of fine travel literature will want to collect and keep
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"One of the great classics of travel literature. It is indeed good news that Oxford University Press has now made available a handsome new edition of the book . . . . Natural scientists and anthropologists, in addition to being entertained, will find a vast store of scientific facts, many of which can no longer be observed firsthand." --Science Books and Films
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From the Back Cover
Much as Charles Darwin's name is inextricably associated with the Galapagos, Alfred Russel Wallace's is deeply associated with Indonesia. A British biologist and explorer--and a contemporary of Darwin who developed his own theory of evolution in parallel--Wallace spent eight years in the region, covering 14,000 square miles in his expeditions, amassing an unparalleled collection of 125,000 specimens of local insects and animals, and becoming the first European to set foot in many of the exotic places in which he tarried to study.
Considered one of the 19th century's greatest scientific and travel books, this classic volume details his journeys and intellectual endeavors, from his friendships with the natives to his startlement at the strange creatures who lived there.
This replica of the 1890 tenth edition, complete with all the beautiful original line drawings and maps, will thrill students of natural history, armchair travelers, and anyone fascinated by the human urge to explore.
--This text refers to an alternate
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First Sentence
IF we look at a globe or a map of the Eastern hemisphere, we shall perceive between Asia and Australia a number of large and small islands, forming a connected group distinct from those great masses of land, and having little connexion with either of them. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
IF we look at a globe or a map of the Eastern hemisphere, we shall perceive between Asia and Australia a number of large and small islands, forming a connected group distinct from those great masses of land, and having little connexion with either of them. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By A. J. Watson
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
Although the author himself says he is no writer, he is patently wrong - this book is full of wonderful descriptive, poetic passages, which underline this charming man's love of nature and dedication to the truth of scientific study, as opposed to the accepted 'truths' of the day.
An interesting insight into the groundwork that helped to develop the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection, it also compares the British and the Dutch methods of colonisation, and controversially comes out on the side of the Dutch - against all current (and our received) perceptions of the Dutch as ruthless, money-grubbing opportunists.
Wallace was also unusual in using geographic and geological features combined with population spreads (human & biological) to support the new theories of continental drift and a world older than the Biblical model.
I'm lost in adsmiration for the way he managed to survive depravation, lack of company, housing, support, money and produce the finest collection of birds and insects that the world had ever seen; make comparative studies of the linguistic traits of all the major tribes; keep a detailed diary of all his travels ... all this in a known area of cannibals and head-hunters with only 3 or 4 assistants and he the only white person for hundreds of miles. Compare this to other explorers like Richard Burton who needed an entourage of several hundred for all their 'essentials'.
This book is a very readable profile of an enignatic Victorian naturalist at a crucial period in scintific history - would that I could have met him!
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
By Ringouzel
Format:Paperback
A chronicle of the travels of an under-rated Scientist/Explorer, Alfred Russel Wallace who did much to make the origin of species from his viewpoint and with discussions with Darwin, the great 'discovery' of the our time. A must read for all who have an interest in great travel exploits and all those who have an interest in natural history and evolution.
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
By Alby
Format:Paperback
This is the most gorgeous and incredible book. Wallace is becoming more and more famous as the man who shares credit with Darwin for the theory of natural selection, although that might be a bit strong. Certainly, Darwin's ideas were more developed, and he seems to have appreciated the idea of natural selection and evolution a bit more than Wallace, who was something of a spiritualist. But never mind that.
Wallace should be more famous, but so should this entire part of the world. Wallace travelled through island South-East Asian, excepting a number of islands including the whole of the Philippines, in several trips in an effort to find new species of bird and animal. He stayed in Maluku. He stayed on the west of New Guinea. He spent a great deal of time in Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Sulawesi, and Timor. He collected innumerable specimens, and saw innumerable wonders. And in this book, with an illustrator, he logged and wrote about them all. Birds of paradise, Papuan tobacco pipes, the cuscus, Dayak rope bridges, Javanese mountains - it's all here.
That alone should be enough to entice any reader. What you will find is a compassionate, knowledgeable man, talking about beautiful islands, different groups of people, and colonialism, as well as flora and fauna, and hopefully your appreciation for the diversity and beauty of these islands should increase. I actually don't know how to sum up the book, not really. It's rather large, and brilliantly written. It's wonderful to sit and read with a cup of tea. And it has the capacity to make you want to book a ticket to Jakarta, so you can travel about just as he did.
Anyway, a note on this edition: the paper is of fantastic quality, and the bindings are great. The type and images are perfect. Like most Periplus books, it is an excellent production. The book also bears the original dedication - to Darwin, of course, his friend.
I'd recommend it to literally anyone who can read English and has an interest in people, places, and animals.
Wallace should be more famous, but so should this entire part of the world. Wallace travelled through island South-East Asian, excepting a number of islands including the whole of the Philippines, in several trips in an effort to find new species of bird and animal. He stayed in Maluku. He stayed on the west of New Guinea. He spent a great deal of time in Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Sulawesi, and Timor. He collected innumerable specimens, and saw innumerable wonders. And in this book, with an illustrator, he logged and wrote about them all. Birds of paradise, Papuan tobacco pipes, the cuscus, Dayak rope bridges, Javanese mountains - it's all here.
That alone should be enough to entice any reader. What you will find is a compassionate, knowledgeable man, talking about beautiful islands, different groups of people, and colonialism, as well as flora and fauna, and hopefully your appreciation for the diversity and beauty of these islands should increase. I actually don't know how to sum up the book, not really. It's rather large, and brilliantly written. It's wonderful to sit and read with a cup of tea. And it has the capacity to make you want to book a ticket to Jakarta, so you can travel about just as he did.
Anyway, a note on this edition: the paper is of fantastic quality, and the bindings are great. The type and images are perfect. Like most Periplus books, it is an excellent production. The book also bears the original dedication - to Darwin, of course, his friend.
I'd recommend it to literally anyone who can read English and has an interest in people, places, and animals.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
Poor reproduction
This book is a scanned copy of the notebooks so not only contains all the idiosyncracies of Wallace's originals (acceptable) but also because of the non uniform nature of the... Read more
Published 16 hours ago by Mr S Andrews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Truly Woeful
Awful print quality which has clearly been copied so cheaply that even the margins have comments and ticks from the original copy. Read more
Published 4 days ago by A Whitehill
1.0 out of 5 stars
Don't buy this version....!
The book does not contain the ilustrations and the layout is shocking...really does spoil a wonderfully written book, what a shame, what a waste of money, what a rip-off :(
Published 5 days ago by brendan
1.0 out of 5 stars
Full of printing errors
This book has been produced by scanning an original version, running the scan through some (not very good) text recognition software, and then printing it - the text frequently... Read more
Published 11 days ago by CharlieF
1.0 out of 5 stars
Awful recreation of original book
This book has been produced using computer software that is meant to recognise and recreate the contents of the original book. It did a pretty rubbish job at it. Read more
Published 12 days ago by A.Milan
1.0 out of 5 stars
Do NOT buy this book
This edition is riddled with typos and mis-prints (I frequently mis-printed as 1 etc). I found it completely impossible to read. Buy a different edition of this work!
Published 12 days ago by anniebee
2.0 out of 5 stars
Incredibly poor page layout making it 90% unreadable.
There are paragraph separations mid-sentence and random numbers and symbols dispersed throughout the text. Read more
Published 13 days ago by Mr C F Acres
1.0 out of 5 stars
Do not buy this book
This book is completely mis-printed.
There are countless spelling errors, mis-prints and grammer errors, and all the chapters do not start in the correct place... Read more
There are countless spelling errors, mis-prints and grammer errors, and all the chapters do not start in the correct place... Read more
Published 4 months ago by N Starr
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Must Have
This book is a must have. It arrived in excellent condition and was well packaged.
It is a very good read, written in a very good easy to read style.
It is a very good read, written in a very good easy to read style.
Published 9 months ago by Batpip
5.0 out of 5 stars
This book is a milestone
After reading this book, this is definitely my favorite book about insular South-East Asia. A.R. Wallace traveled the Malay archipelago and the Malay peninsula in his naturalist... Read more
Published on 13 Oct 2009 by Roiko
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