The Land and Wild-life of Tropical Asia [antikvár]

Introduction It is perhaps a little out of fashion, in these cosmo-astronautic times, to come down to earth flatly and boast on a mere subcontinental scale. But right here let it be declared that South-East Asia has, on any count-down, as varied and exotic plants, as wide (and wild) an assemblage of animals as can be found anywhere in this known world. Up until now, no one book has successfully painted across this vivid canvas. It has not been possible—either for the naturalist or plain looker-on—to get a proper view. The natural history of other continents is becoming well known, but this huge slice of Asia has remained an area of remarkable biological ignorance and frequently actual misinformation. This ignorance is not confined to persons outside South-East Asia. Those who live here—as I have for 19 years—find it tremendously difficult to see the woods for the giant trees; to achieve any kind of familiarity with a forest that is drenched by 100 or more inches of rain a year; to get to know animals that are active only at night—as are tarsier and loris, frog and frogmouth, civet, civet cat and flying lemur. This book, therefore, pioneers to a double purpose. It tells the Westerner about nature in South-East Asia. It tells South-East Asia about its own somewhat underestimated natural self. It is compulsory reading in Borneo as much as in Brooklyn, along the Irrawaddy as much as beside the Thames. The author, S. Dillon Ripley, is a distinguished ornithologist and is one of the few long-time, deep and intimate experts and lovers of Asian wild-life. It is appropriate that while actually writing this book, he was appointed to the top post in the world of international natural history: Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.G. Yet he maintains close field contacts with those of us who stay and sweat it out down in the region—as even we in this small, remote land know from his continued encouragement and personal generosity. Probably only Time-Life Books and he could have gathered, inside one cover, the many facts and the beautiful and informative pictures that this book contains. Tom Harrisson Director, Sarawak Museum Kuching, Malaysia