Madagascar Books

The Natural History of Madagascar

Amazon Price: $41.07 List Price: $50.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: University Of Chicago Press Amazon Marketplace: 6 new & used starting at $37.29

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Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Separated from the mainland of Africa for 160 million years, Madagascar has evolved an incredible wealth of biodiversity, with thousands of species that can be found nowhere else on earth. For instance, of its estimated 12,000 plant species, nearly 10,000 are unique to Madagascar. Malagasy animals are just as spectacular, from its almost forty currently recognized species of lemurs—a primate group found only here—to the numerous species of tiny dwarf chameleons. With astounding frequency scientists discover a previously unknown species in Madagascar—and at almost the same rate another natural area of habitat is degraded or destroyed, a combination that recently led conservation organizations to name Madagascar one of the most important and threatened conservation priorities on the planet.

The Natural History of Madagascar provides the most comprehensive, up-to-date synthesis available of this island nation's priceless biological treasures. Contributions by nearly three hundred world-renowned experts cover the history of scientific exploration in Madagascar, its geology and soils, climate, forest ecology, human ecology, marine and coastal ecosystems, plants, invertebrates, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Detailed discussions of conservation efforts in Madagascar highlight several successful park reserve programs that could serve as models for other areas. Beautifully illustrated throughout, the book includes over one hundred color illustrations, with fifty color photos by nature photographer Harald Schütz, as well as more than three hundred black-and-white photographs and line drawings.

The Natural History of Madagascar will be the invaluable reference for anyone interested in the Malagasy environment, from biologists and conservationists to policymakers and ecotourists.

“For those who are serious about getting to know this fascinating island, there is no better resource.”—Tim Flannery, Nature

“A magnificent overview of one of the strangest and most glorious chunks of the planet.”—Adrian Barnett, New Scientist

“A scientific milestone and by far the largest synthesis of tropical biology research ever.”—Science

Lords and Lemurs: Mad Scientists, Kings With Spears, and the Survival of Diversity in Madagascar

Alison Jolly

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Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

In southern Madagascar is a place called Berenty, where Tandroy tribesmen, French lords, mad scientists, and two or three species of lemurs may be found gathered peacefully under a single tamarind tree. The owner of Berenty, Jean de Heaulme, arrived there in 1928 as a six-month-old baby, in the sidecar of his father"s Harley-Davidson. He and his family lived through war and revolution, Madagascar"s independence (which they supported) and imprisonment. Through it all they devoted themselves to preserving the natural diversity of Berenty and to helping the Tandroy maintain their culture.
The Tandroy originally lived by cattle-raiding, clan warfare, and slavery. Now, although they have given up slavery and many of them work on plantations, they still live in traditional villages surrounded by walls of thorns. They have kept their cult of cattle and other customs, including their exuberant funerals, with gunfire, dancing, sex, and sacrifices to the Ancestor.
Forty years ago scientist Alison Jolly was the first outsider to attend a Tandroy funeral. She went to Berenty to study lemurs and has been enthralled by the place ever since. In Lords and Lemurs she tells the story of Berenty, its people, and its other animals. Poignant and colorful, tragic and funny, it is a remarkable tale of one of the last great places on earth.

The Eighth Continent: Life, Death and Discovery in the Lost World of Madagascar

Peter Tyson

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Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Lying some 250 miles off the east coast of Africa, Madagascar is the world's fourth-largest island. It is quite unlike the neighboring continent, and, for that matter, quite unlike any other landmass on the planet. Its plant life is almost wholly endemic: eight out of 10 plants there grow naturally only on Madagascar, and it has an entire ecosystem, the spiny desert, that is found nowhere else on earth. Many of its animal species, too, seem to have emerged from some evolutionary track that runs parallel to the rest of the world's; here can be found lemurs that will fit into a human palm, dwarf hippos, giant chameleons, and other rarities.

These plants and animals constitute an extraordinary diversity, writes science journalist Peter Tyson in this engaging book, and the island's richness of life has long intrigued scientists, who have proposed several theories to explain it. Those scientists, some of whom Tyson profiles at work in the field, are racing against time to catalog island life before it disappears, for Madagascar's human population is rapidly growing, and with that growth, the island's forests and other habitats are falling. The urgency may abate, Tyson writes, with guarded optimism, now that the island's current president has proposed that all of Madagascar be considered as a United Nations World Heritage Site, which would help provide funds to prevent further loss of habitat and diversity. Though this proposal is controversial, Tyson makes a good case for why it should be taken up--and he shows just how high the stakes are.

Throughout his narrative, Tyson mixes scientific reportage with a nicely rendered travelogue that guides readers across the island while outlining key concepts of island biogeography and conservation biology. His book is a worthy companion to David Quammen's Song of the Dodo, and valuable reading for anyone concerned with the world environment. --Gregory McNamee

Madagascar Safari Companion (Safari Companions)

Alain Pons, Christine Baillet

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Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Great work 5 out of 5 stars.
11 of 12 people found this review helpful.

I did not expect much from this book. What was my surprise when I finally have a look at it! Composition of the pictures, lighting, colors and what is very important - quality of the print - is excellent! Photos are taken with all kind of lenses: from macro to telephoto. Commentary provided to each chapter is short but informative enough. If you are planning trip to Madagascar this book could help decide which national parks to visit. There are also some general traveling (what to take, when and where to go) tips.

Editorial Review:

Madagascar, which lies off the east coast of Africa is the world's fourth largest island. It is home to many enchanting animals including lemurs and chameleons. The deserts, wetlands and rainforests are brought to life by the photography in this book. The giant baobab trees are a wonderful feature of many landscapes across the country. All in all, this is a fine destination for all who love to explore and photograph the natural environments. As with all books in this series, the authors offer travel advice and photographic tips to help in planning the safari.

The Aye-Aye and I: A Rescue Journey to Save One of the World's Most Intriguing Creatures from Extinction

Gerald Durrell

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Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Here is the riveting tale of Gerald Durrell's adventures and misadventures in the enchanted forests of Madagascar, in search of the elusive Aye-aye.

Once thought to be extinct, the Aye-aye, the beast with the magic finger, still lurks, though in fast dwindling numbers, in the forests of Madagascar. Durrell's mission to help save this strange creature turns into a madcap journey in which you will meet not only the enigmatic Aye-aye, but the catlike Fosa, the Flat-tailed tortoise, the Gentle lemurs of Lac Alaotra, and the Malagasy chameleons, among others. Truly nothing escapes Durrell's sharp eye, whether he is describing the great zoma (market), the village dances, the treacherous bridges and river crossings, the strange foods and stranger music, or the vagaries of local officialdom.

As the San Francisco Chronicle noted, "It is impossible for Gerald Durrell to write anything that is less than exuberant, eccentric, and amusing." And in his account of this "rescue mission", Durrell is, quite simply, at his superb best.

The Swahili: The Social Landscape of a Mercantile Society (Peoples of Africa)

Mark Horton, John Middleton

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Editorial Review:

This wide-ranging volume integrates documentary sources and contemporary archaeological evidence to provide a comprehensive and up-to-date account of Swahili history, anthropology, language and culture.

The Road to Clarity: Seventh-Day Adventism in Madagascar (Contemporary Anthropology of Religion)

Eva Keller

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Editorial Review:

In recent years, millions of people have joined churches such as the Seventh-day Adventist which prosper enormously in different parts of the world. The Road to Clarity is one of the first ethnographic in-depth studies of this phenomenon. It is a vivid account based on almost two years of participation in ordinary church members' daily religious and non-religious lives. The book offers a fascinating inquiry into the nature of long-term commitment to Adventism among rural people in Madagascar. Eva Keller argues that the key attraction of the church lies in the excitement of study, argument, and intellectual exploration. This is a novel approach which challenges utilitarian and cultural particularist explanations of the success of this kind of Christianity.

Vichy in the Tropics: Petain's National Revolution in Madagascar, Guadeloupe, and Indochina, 1940-44

Eric Jennings

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This book examines the role of the Vichy regime in bringing about profound changes in the French colonial empire after World War II. In the war’s aftermath, the French colonial system began to break down. Indochina erupted into war in 1945 and Madagascar in 1947, while Guadeloupe chose an opposite course, becoming territorially part of France in 1946.

The book traces the introduction of an integralist ideology of “National Revolution” to the French colonial realm, shedding new light on the nature of the Vichy regime, on the diversity of French colonialism, and on the beginnings of decolonization. Encompassing three very different regions and cultures, the study reveals both a unity in Vichy’s self-reproduction overseas and a diversity of forms which this ideological cloning assumed.

World War II is often presented as an agent of change in the French colonial empire only insofar as it engendered a loss of prestige for France as colonizer. The author argues that Marshal Philippe Pétain’s Vichy regime contributed to decolonization in a much more substantial way, by ushering in an ideology based on a new, harsher brand of colonialism that both directly and indirectly fueled indigenous nationalism.

The author also rejects the popular notion that Nazi pressure lurked behind the Vichy government’s colonial actions, and that the regime lacked any real agency in colonial affairs. He shows that, far from allowing the Germans to run French colonies from behind the scenes, Vichy leaders vigorously promoted their own undiluted form of ultra-conservative ideology throughout the French empire. They delivered to the colonies an authoritarianism that not only elicited fierce opposition but sowed the seeds of nationalist resurgence among indigenous cultures. Ironically, the regime awoke long-dormant nationalist sentiments by introducing to the empire Pétain’s cherished themes of authenticity, tradition, folklore, and völkism.

A History of Madagascar

Mervyn Brown

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Editorial Review:

Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world. It is a unique blend of Asian and African culture and is well known as the home of some of the world’s most unusual and most endangered flora and fauna, from lemurs to giant tortoises. Although so close to the east coast of Africa where traces of human existence go back hundreds of thousands of years, Madagascar was uninhabited until about two thousand years ago. How it came to be inhabited by seafaring peoples from present-day Indonesia is just one of the many fascinating aspects of this book. A History of Madagascar examines the origins of the Malagasy, the early contacts with Europeans and the struggle for influence in the nineteenth century between the British and the French. It also covers the colonial period from 1896 to 1960, the recovery of independence and subsequent history up to the early 1990s.

Seed from Madagascar (Southern Classics Series)

Duncan Clinch Heyward

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