The Spice Islands Voyage: The Quest for the Man Who Shared Darwin's Discovery of Evolution

I read this book as part of preparation for teaching my ISLAND LIFE course, which examines the role of islands in ecology, conservation and biogeography. Although not, as other reviewers have pointed out, a scientific treatise, Severin's VOYAGE is a very nice way to "get into" both the ecology of an amazing part of the globe (southern Indonesia) and the life and work of the truly amazing Alfred Russell Wallace. While Severin can't refrain from some minor Darwin-bashing (Wallace, among MANY other contributions was the co-discoverer of Evolution by Natural Selection) he is much less nasty than some other popular authors, and (thank goodness) gets on with discussing both Wallace's travels in Malaysia and his own attempt to follow Wallace's path. This makes for both fun story-telling & some fascinating glimpses of a world that many of us will never get to see -tropical islands now all too endangered by the growth of modern "civilization". With his keen interest in boats & boat-building Severin takes us through the construction of the locally built craft that mimics the sort of boat that Wallace might have encountered more than 150 years ago & also discusses regional forms of navigation & seamanship. I passed the book on to my historian father & he was equally enthused. Overall a delightful read that will leave you hungry for more on Wallace & Wallacia

Beginning naturalists like me need enjoyable, readable books such as this to help us learn about our field. I had been interested in Alfred Wallace from the time I first learned of him as the guy who thought up the theory of evolution and survival of the fittest at the same time as Darwin. I wanted more information and looked for a biography of Wallace. Someone suggested The Spice Islands Voyage instead of a traditional biography. The first time I approached the book, I plunged in craving a biography and didn't get past chapter 3 because I felt bogged down by all Severin's detailed descriptions of boat building. I put the book down for over a year, unsatisfied, still wanting to know Wallace. I finally came back to the book with more realistic expectations, understanding that I would read not only about Wallace, but also about Severin's team's journey to retrace his footsteps. Once I began to read with more patience I was pleased with the book. I found out what I wanted to know about Wallace and got the bonus of learning a lot about Indonesia and sailing. Severin is a traveling sailor-amateur naturalist-author, who is writing to appeal to a large audience, so I wouldn't expect a scholarly, scientific work. As an introduction to Wallace and Indonesia for someone who has a beginning interest, I feel the book is valuable. Most other complaints about the hardcover edition can probably be attributed to cost cutting measures in publication. Artwork that was almost certainly created in watercolors looses much of its pizzazz when displayed in black and white. Color photos cost less when grouped in the center pages, but are never as effective as they would be when integrated with the text. Multiple and detailed maps are another expense. College students often complain about the cost of textbooks for some of these very reasons. This is not a textbook, so I feel the readers should be willing to make allowances for cost. It is clear that Severin is a fan of Wallace and aims to give him more recognition. To achieve this goal he does downplay Darwin a tad bit overmuch. To a naturalist reader already grounded in Darwin, this is no harm. To a reader from that wider audience approaching with perhaps a sailing interest in Indonesia, reading about Darwin for the first time, this may be a slightly unfair depiction. However I would rate the danger as only minimal. I was intrigued by Wallace when I began reading, and came away a full-fledged fan. I definitely recommend this book.

I thought this book kept it's promise. It was part scientific, part historical, part travelogue. I would give it a 4.5 out of 5. I look forward to reading other books by Tim Severin. He has a deft way of braiding in adventure with history. He obviously spends a lot of time researching his material.