BOOK
Published by Yale University Press, October 2019.
The Galápagos archipelago is often viewed as a last foothold of pristine nature. For sixty years, conservationists have worked to restore this evolutionary Eden after centuries of exploitation at the hands of pirates, whalers, and island settlers. This book tells the story of the islands’ namesakes—the giant tortoises—as coveted food sources, objects of natural history, and famous icons of conservation and tourism. By doing so, it brings into stark relief the paradoxical, and impossible, goal of conserving species by trying to restore a past state of prehistoric evolution. The tortoises, Elizabeth Hennessy demonstrates, are not prehistoric, but rather microcosms whose stories show how deeply human and nonhuman life are entangled. In a world where evolution is thoroughly shaped by global history, Hennessy puts forward a vision for conservation based on reckoning with the past, rather than trying to erase it.
Finalist for a 2020 PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award
Teaching Guide for On the Backs of Tortoises!
Reviews
“On the Backs of Tortoises is the best history of the Galápagos archipelago that I’ve ever read, but it’s also something more argumentative: a postmodern critique of certain prevailing myths about the Galápagos Islands and what Hennessy posits to be the guiding (but misguided) principles of conservation biology, as applied to those islands and elsewhere throughout the world.”
“On the Backs of Tortoises offers a ... carefully researched, nuanced, and crafted sort of environmental history. It reminds us that here, in the 21st-century Anthropocene, Galápagos tortoises are emblematic of how we think about and consume the world. This isn’t new; it has been the case for centuries.”
“Hennessy lays bare the many intertwined issues that confront us as we attempt conservation efforts in complex situations, while faced with a sweeping ecological crisis... a gripping history.”
“Fresh, insightful... Hennessy’s melding of human and natural history makes for thought-provoking reading. ”
“Wonderfully interesting, informative, and engaging, as well as scholarly.”
“Hennessy’s book isn’t just about the controversial efforts to preserve the world’s most famous tortoises—it also provides an expansive tour de force of Darwinian ideas, the Galapagos, human entanglements in evolution, and the risks of icon-making.”
“Timely, fresh, and compelling...a must-read for anyone interested in the environmental history of the Galapagos and tortoise conservation.”