Elsewhere in “The Shifting Earth,” a little more note-comparison digs up a little biographical dimension chronicling “Darwin’s jackhammer,” when having come ashore from the Beagle in 1835 near the Chilean town of Concepcion, the pioneering biologist endured an extremely strong earthquake, much stronger than the one Wills experienced. Darwin, Wills writes, was so overwhelmed by the destructive force of the compression waves generated that Darwin described the geologic vibration as something akin to being “shivered as if they had been blasted by gunpowder.”
In fact, notes Wills, “It is a good thing that scuba gear was not available in 1835, or Darwin might have been collecting specimens underwater, where he would almost certainly have been killed by those compression waves.”
emphasis on Australasia
Cohesive, highly structured — but not too tightly wound — The Darwinian Tourist is an engaging read for those with discriminating wanderlusts, while degrees in genetics or biology are unneeded in order to appreciate. The many color photographs are an added bonus. The book’s publication also coincides with the International Year for Biodiversity, a multifaceted program of research and education about the world’s ecosystems.
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