Darwin's Dreampond: Drama in Lake Victoria - Softcover

"The biological story itself is fascinating, and Mr. Goldschmidt tellsit well. But the genius of his book lies in the way he has combinedthe science with travel writing. He interleaves the two in a highlyreadable way, so that his Tanzanian experiences lighten thescience... the book should give universal pleasure." Mark Ridley , The New York Times Book Review "Tijs Goldschmidt has trapped a ghost image in this solid and highlyperceptive work - the glorious, haunting, and indecipherable complexity ofbiological life. Goldschmidt also shows us, however, that the human desireboth to understand and to exploit such life is equally thought-provoking.Thus does Darwin's Dreampond become a first rate account of a modernscientist's field work among the cychlids and the Sukuma people of LakeVictoria." Barry Lopez, author of Arctic Dreams

This book tells the evolutionary story of the extraordinary "furu" and the battlefield leading to extinction.Darwin's Dreampond tells the evolutionary story of the extraordinary "furu" and the battlefield leading to extinction. Tijs Goldschmidt skillfully blends a masterful discussion of the principles of neo-Darwinian evolution and speciation with a history of Lake Victoria's ecosystem. The science unfolds in the context of the engaging first-person narrative of Goldschmidt's adventures and misadventures as a field researcher. An astute observer and a clear and witty writer, he warmly portrays the colors and textures of the landscapes and the lives of the local people as he interacts with them during the course of his fieldwork.