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As eloquent as it is alarming, Carol Ann Bassett’s portrait of today’s Galápagos depicts a deadly collision of economics, politics, and the environment that may destroy one of the world’s last Edens. For millions, the Galápagos Islands represent nature at its most unspoiled, an inviolate place famed for its rare flora and fauna. But soon today’s 30,000 human residents could surpass 50,000. Add invasive species, floods of tourists, and unresolved conflicts between Ecuadorian laws and local concerns, and it’s easy to see why the Galápagos were recently added to UNESCO’s World Heritage in Danger list. Each chapter in this provocative, perceptive book focuses on a specific person or group with a stake in the Galápagos’ natural resources—from tour companies whose activities are often illegal and not always green, to creationist guides who lead tours with no mention of evolution, from fishermen up in arms over lobster quotas, to modern-day pirates who poach endangered marine species.



About the Author

Carol Ann Bassett

Carol Ann Bassett grew up in the snowy mountains of Northern Honshu in Japan and the dry plateaus of Spain. She is the author of three works of literary nonfiction: Galapagos at the Crossroads: Pirates, Biologists, Tourists, and Creationists Battle for Darwin's Cradle of Evolution (National Geographic Books) -- a finalist for the Oregon Book Award (OBA) in Creative Nonfiction; A Gathering of Stones: Journeys to the Edges of a Changing World, also a finalist for the OBA (Oregon State University Press), and Organ Pipe: Life on the Edge, part of the Desert Places series (University of Arizona Press). Her essays have been anthologized in the American Nature Writing series. Bassett focuses on natural history, the environment, marine biology, and traditional cultures in transition. She was a regular contributor to The New York Times and Time-Life, Inc., an independent producer for National Public Radio, and editor of the alternative newspaper, The Tucson Weekly. Her work has appeared in The Nation, The Los Angeles Times, Mother Jones, Conde Nast Traveler, science magazines, and numerous other national publications. She has taught journalism workshops on four continents, mostly in South America. Bassett is a professor of environmental writing & literary nonfiction at the University of Oregon. Her interests include sea kayaking, hiking, camping, organic gardening, and her first love: Poetry.



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