Vietnam: A Natural History
WARNING
You are viewing an older version of the Yalebooks website. Please visit out new website with more updated information and a better user experience: https://www.yalebooks.com
Eleanor Jane Sterling, Martha Maud Hurley, and Le Duc Minh; with illustrations by Joyce A. Powzyk
View Inside
Format: PaperPrice: $27.50
A country uncommonly rich in plants, animals, and natural habitats, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam shelters a significant portion of the world’s biological diversity, including rare and unique organisms and an unusual mixture of tropical and temperate species. This book is the first comprehensive account of Vietnam’s natural history in English. Illustrated with maps, photographs, and thirty-five original watercolor illustrations, the book offers a complete tour of the country’s plants and animals along with a full discussion of the factors shaping their evolution and distribution.
Separate chapters focus on northern, central, and southern Vietnam, regions that encompass tropics, subtropics, mountains, lowlands, wetland and river regions, delta and coastal areas, and offshore islands. The authors provide detailed descriptions of key natural areas to visit, where a traveler might explore limestone caves or glimpse some of the country’s twenty-seven monkey and ape species and more than 850 bird species. The book also explores the long history of humans in the country, including the impact of the Vietnam-American War on plants and animals, and describes current efforts to conserve Vietnam’s complex, fragile, and widely threatened biodiversity.
To learn more about the organization's research and projects in Vietnam or view an interactive online exhibition, visit the website for The Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, American Musuem of Natural History.A majority of the authors' royalties earned from sales of this book will be contributed to an educational fund supporting Southeast Asian students working in biodiversity conservation.
The authors gave a lecture on Vietnam's natural history at the American Museum of Natural History. Listen to the podcast here: AMNH Podcasts Selected Lectures.
"Elegant, authoritative and full of surprises, Vietnam: A Natural History does not simply do justice to a neglected subject. It establishes Vietnam's living environment as one of quite exceptional interest and, as a survey, it sets a new standard in the interpretation and presentation of a country's fauna and flora. Quite outstanding."—John Keay, author of Mad About the Mekong: Exploration and Empire in South East Asia
"Long shrouded by a veil of politics, Vietnam and its magnificent biodiversity are revealed in this exciting new natural history volume. From cycads to pangolins, Vietnam: A Natural History is required reading for all tropical biologists as well as for natural history enthusiasts."—Margaret Lowman, author of It's a Jungle Up There
"A most welcome addition to the natural history reference material for South East Asia."—Noble Proctor, ornithologist
"A clear, well written survey of the fauna and flora of Southeast Asia as manifested in Vietnam, especially useful for those with scant experience of a region rich in habitats and species."—Peter Matthiessen, author of The Snow Leopard
"This book does a fine job of describing the biodiversity of Vietnam, and an even better job of documenting the threats to biodiversity and the opportunities for conservation."—Phan Ke Loc, Hanoi University of Science
"Vietnam: A Natural History unlocks the door to the fascinating geological, biological, and cultural diversity of a remarkable region of the world. This comprehensive but highly readable volume will be welcomed not only by conservation biologists and ecologists but by the merely curious as well."—Philip Rundel, University of California, Los Angeles
"Long shrouded in mystery and inaccessible for more than half a century, Vietnam's natural history is presented brilliantly in this stunning and exciting new volume. A must for every naturalist, tourist, and conservationist."—Thomas E. Lovejoy, President, The Heinz Center for Science, Economics and the Environment
"Everyone knows the Amazon and the Serengeti, but who knows the Annamites and the Red River Delta? This book opens the door to a new ‘lost’ world."—Barney Long, World Wildlife Fund Greater Mekong—Vietnam Programme
Publication Date: November 27, 2007
22 b/w + 54 color illus.
