Among the islands : [adventures in the Pacific

Tim Flannery is one of the world’s most influential scientists, credited with discovering more species than Darwin. In Among the Islands Flannery recounts a series of expeditions he made at the dawn of his career to the strange tropical islands of the South Pacific, a great arc stretching nearly 4,000 miles from the postcard perfection of Polynesia to some of the largest, highest, ancient, and most rugged islands on earth.Flannery was traveling in search of rare and undiscovered mammal species, but he found much more: wild, weird places where local taboos, foul weather, dense jungle, and sheer remoteness made for difficult and dramatic exploration. Among the Islands is full of fascinating creatures—monkey faced bats, giant fats, gazelle-faced black wallabies, and more—and the adventure of discovery. This is an idea read for anyone who has ever imagined voyaging to the ends of the earth to uncover and study the rare and the wonderful. A story of science and discovery that's “part travel diary and part field notebook... like what you'd get if Charles Darwin starred in an Indiana Jones flick” (Audubon Magazine). Credited with discovering more species than Charles Darwin, Tim Flannery has been hailed as “the rock star of modern science.” Here, he recounts a series of expeditions he made early in his career to the islands of the South Pacific, a great arc stretching nearly 4,000 miles from the postcard perfection of Polynesia to some of the largest, highest, and most rugged islands on earth (Jared Diamond, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Guns, Germs, and Steel). Originally traveling in search of rare and undiscovered mammal species, Flannery found much more: fascinating places where local taboos, foul weather, dense jungle, and sheer remoteness made for dramatic exploration; strange creatures such as monkey faced bats, giant rats, gazelle-faced black wallabies; and human cultures far removed from our own. This “rollicking good adventure-science read” is a must-have for anyone who has ever imagined voyaging to the ends of the earth to uncover and study the rare and the wonderful (Audubon Magazine).

Tim Flannery is one of the world’s most influential scientists, credited with discovering more species than Darwin. In Among the Islands Flannery recounts a series of expeditions he made at the dawn of his career to the strange tropical islands of the South Pacific, a great arc stretching nearly 4,000 miles from the postcard perfection of Polynesia to some of the largest, highest, ancient, and most rugged islands on earth.

Flannery was traveling in search of rare and undiscovered mammal species, but he found much more: wild, weird places where local taboos, foul weather, dense jungle, and sheer remoteness made for difficult and dramatic exploration. Among the Islands is full of fascinating creatures—monkey faced bats, giant fats, gazelle-faced black wallabies, and more—and the adventure of discovery. This is an idea read for anyone who has ever imagined voyaging to the ends of the earth to uncover and study the rare and the wonderful.

Twenty-five years ago, a young Australian museum curator named Tim Flannery set out to research the fauna of the Pacific Islands. Starting with a survey of one of the most inaccessible islands in Melanesia, the young scientist found himself ghost whispering, snake wrestling and Quadoi hunting in search of a small bat that turned out not to be earthshatteringly interesting. With accounts of discovering, naming and sometimes eating new mammal species; being thwarted or aided by local customs; and historic scientific expeditions, Flannery, now one of the world's top environmentalists, takes us on an enthralling journey through some of the most diverse and spectacular places on earth. Twenty-five years ago, a young curator of mammals from the Australian Museum in Sydney set out to research the fauna of the Pacific Islands. With accounts of discovering, naming and sometimes eating new mammal species; being thwarted or aided by local customs; and historic scientific expeditions, Tim Flannery takes us on an enthralling journey A scientist credited with discovering more species than Darwin recounts the first major trips of his career, several expeditions to often remote Pacific islands where he found amazing animals, harsh weather, strange local taboos, and dense jungle.