Ghosts of Gondwana

作者:George W Gibbs

页数:367

出版时间:2017-1

价格:$93

isbn号码:9781877333484

具体描述

- Revised edition of Montana Book Award winner, that has become a New Zealand classic

- Highly readable and entertaining explanation of the science that investigates the history and distribution of life-forms around the planet

- Summarises the deep geological story of present-day New Zealand

- Draws attention to the particular groups of plants and animals that uniquely characterise New Zealand

- Summarises the latest New Zealand fossil discoveries and their significance

- Illustrations and diagrams throughout, plus comprehensive index and bibliography

Have you ever wondered why New Zealand's plants and animals are so different from those in other countries? Why kakapo is the only parrot in the world that cannot fly, or why the kiwi lives here and nowhere else? New Zealand is an extraordinary place, unique on earth, and the remarkable story of how and why life evolved here is the subject of Ghosts of Gondwana.

The challenge of explaining New Zealand's natural origins is picked up in this fully revised edition of the popular award-winning book. It presents the latest scientific research in highly readable form, highlighting studies that reveal the deep historical background of our landscapes, fauna and flora – from ancient frogs and moa to delicate insects and the magnificent southern beech forests. It introduces the latest discoveries and resolves past issues like the 'Oligocene drowning' hypothesis. Exciting fossil discoveries are revealed and new scientific technologies and approaches to the discipline of historical biogeography are discussed – approaches that range from undersea geology to molecular clocks – and it inevitably draws attention to the debates and conflicts that distinguish different schools of opinion in this holistic branch of theoretical science.

This revision incorporates the results of 10 years of intensive scientific research and includes four entirely new chapters to: focus on 'yesterday's maps' to draw attention to the ephemeral islands in our history that have possibly acted as stepping stones for terrestrial animals and plants but today have sunk into the sea; incorporate the author's own special interest in an ancient group of 'jaw-moths', unknown and unnoticed by most people but with a strong message that New Zealand is part of the world when it comes to explaining where our fauna have come from; present recent research findings on our huge flightless birds, the ratites; and include New Zealand's terrestrial molluscs into the story.

Ghosts of Gondwana identifies New Zealand as one of the most challenging places on earth to explain, but it's readable, engaging style and revised illustrations render this often-controversial discipline of science into a format that is accessible to any reader with an interest in natural history and the unique environment of New Zealand.

作者简介

George Gibbs is a retired university lecturer with a passion for New Zealand's natural history. From an impeccable background for a career in entomology as the grandson of George Vernon Hudson (1867–1946), one of the pioneers in the study of our endemic insect fauna, and fostered by his parents with recreational interests in the mountains, George continued with studies at Victoria University and obtained a PhD in insect ecology from the University of Sydney. He has pursued a career researching butterflies, moths and weta, but always with the urge to look more deeply into their evolutionary history. His interest in the tiny 'jaw-moths' and their biogeography has led him to Patagonia, South Africa, New Caledonia and Australia. He has published four books on New Zealand insects and numerous scientific papers, the latest of which is a monograph on the Micropterigidae (jaw moths) in the Fauna of New Zealand series. Until 2012, he taught a Victoria University course on the origin of New Zealand's flora and fauna, which formed the basis for Ghosts of Gondwana.

用户评价

我必须承认，这本书的开篇略显缓慢，初读时需要一些耐心去适应作者设定的世界观和特有的叙事节奏。它不像那些快节奏的商业小说那样，在第一章就抛出爆炸性的事件来抓住眼球。相反，它更像是在缓慢地为你搭建一座宏伟的建筑，每一块砖、每一根梁柱都需要时间去审视和理解。但一旦你适应了这种节奏，你会发现这种铺垫是极其必要的。作者花费大量篇幅来描绘那个世界的社会结构、信仰体系以及人与自然之间微妙的平衡，这些看似冗余的细节，在后续的剧情发展中，都成了推动关键情节的关键因素。我尤其欣赏作者对“失落”这一概念的探讨，它不仅仅指代物质上的遗迹，更关乎精神层面的断裂与遗忘。书中一个重要的情节是关于一块被时间侵蚀的碑文，主角们尝试解读它上记载的最后一条预言，但每一次的尝试都让他们更加意识到，有些真相可能注定是无法被完全理解的，只能被敬畏地膜拜。这种对知识边界的探讨，让这本书超越了一般的冒险故事，有了一种近乎神话学的厚重感。

读完这本书，我感觉自己像是进行了一场漫长而艰苦的考古挖掘，从中发掘出的不仅仅是故事的脉络，更是对某种远古智慧的触碰。这本书的叙事结构非常精巧，采用了多重叙事视角，但巧妙之处在于，这些视角并非简单地并列，而是像多棱镜一样，从不同侧面折射出事件的真相，让读者在拼凑信息碎片的过程中，体验到一种智力上的满足感。作者在构建世界观时，明显下了极大的功夫，那些关于特定气候下动植物的描写，那些关于特定时代服饰和礼仪的细节，都显示出作者对背景设定的严谨态度。它没有浪费任何笔墨在不必要的背景介绍上，而是将这些信息如同散落的线索一样，巧妙地嵌入到角色的日常对话和行动之中。让我印象深刻的是关于“时间”的描绘，在这个故事中，时间似乎不是线性的，而是可以被触摸、被折叠的实体。最后揭示的那个关于时间悖论的真相，虽然在逻辑上需要读者进行一些思考，但其情感冲击力是毋庸置疑的，它让之前所有看似零散的伏笔都得到了一个惊人的汇合，读完后，我甚至怀疑自己刚刚经历的阅读过程，是否也是某种被设定的循环。

这本小说，初读时我本以为会是那种典型的奇幻冒险，充满了宏大的史诗叙事和复杂的魔法体系，但随着情节的深入，我发现作者的笔触远比我想象的要细腻和内敛。故事的核心似乎围绕着一群在古老废墟中探寻失落文明的学者和冒险家展开。他们的旅程并非一帆风顺，每一次发现都伴随着更深层次的道德困境和对人性黑暗面的揭示。尤其让我印象深刻的是对环境和地理的描绘，那种荒凉而又充满生机的对比，仿佛能让人闻到干燥的尘土和远方潮湿的苔藓气味。人物的塑造也极其成功，没有绝对的英雄或恶棍，每个人都在自己的立场上挣扎，他们的动机和选择都显得真实可信。有一段情节，主角团在穿越一片被时间遗忘的迷雾森林时，集体陷入了对过去遗憾的回忆之中，那种心理层面的描写极其到位，让我几乎感同身受地体会到了那种无力感和释怀的复杂情绪。整本书的节奏把握得极好，张弛有度，即便是相对平静的章节，也暗流涌动着即将爆发的冲突，让人根本停不下来。它探讨的主题也很有深度，关于记忆的不可靠性、历史的真相如何被权力扭曲，以及个体在面对不可抗拒的命运时所能做出的反抗，这些都值得反复玩味。

这本书最吸引我的地方，在于它对“边缘人物”的细致刻画。主角团并非那些传统意义上的天选之人，他们大多是社会体系中被边缘化、被误解，或者仅仅是出于好奇心驱使的“局外人”。他们之间的关系也充满了张力和不稳定感，并非铁板一块的友谊，更多的是基于共同目标和相互利用的复杂联盟。作者非常擅长描绘这种人与人之间微妙的权力动态和情感拉扯。我特别喜欢其中一位女性角色，她精通古老的炼金术，但因为被主流社会视为异端而隐居。她的每一句台词都充满了双关和隐喻，她的沉默往往比她的言语更有力量。在故事的高潮部分，当整个团队面临最终抉择时，正是这位边缘人物的非传统思维，为他们找到了一条出路。这本书成功地颠覆了“主流即正确”的观念，颂扬了那些生活在阴影中、却掌握着真正智慧的人。它没有给你一个廉价的胜利，而是展示了即便是正确的选择，也可能带来沉重的个人牺牲，这使得整个故事的结局充满了回味悠长的苦涩。

说实话，拿到这本书的时候，我有点担心它会是那种故作高深，堆砌晦涩词汇的文学作品，但事实证明我的担忧是多余的。作者的语言风格是那种古典与现代交织的奇妙混合体，既有古典文学的韵律感，又充满了现代小说特有的那种尖锐的洞察力。故事的展开像是一张慢慢铺开的古老地图，起初你只能看到模糊的轮廓，但随着阅读的深入，那些隐藏的标记、密语和隐晦的指引才逐渐浮现出来，形成一个完整而又充满悬念的画面。我特别欣赏作者在处理冲突时所采取的“不动声色”的技巧，很多重大的转折点并非通过激烈的打斗场面来展现，而是通过一次关键的对话、一个眼神的交汇，或者仅仅是一封未署名的信件来完成，这种留白的处理方式，极大地激发了读者的想象空间。比如，书中有一段关于一个古老祭司的独白，他回顾了自己为了守护一个秘密所付出的代价，那段文字简直是诗歌一般的散文，充满了宿命的悲凉感，让人读完后久久无法平静。这本书的优点在于，它不仅仅是在讲述一个故事，更像是在引导你进行一次深入的哲学思考，关于存在、虚无以及我们如何定义“真实”。