LAURENCE MACKINreviews Galapagos: Through Writers' Eyesand the CyprusRough Guide
Galapagos: Through Writers’ Eyes
John Hickman
Eland, £12.99
It will come as no surprise that this year is the bicentenary of Charles Darwin’s birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his On the Origin of Species. The publisher of Galapagos might have spotted a marketing opportunity to slip out a new edition, but it can be forgiven – this is a terrifically cut gem of a work. John Hickman was British ambassador to Chile and Ecuador, and this is his history of the islands’ discovery and how they became the centre of so much curiosity. This is no clinical work, though; tales of buried pirate treasure, castaways desperate for fresh water and buccaneers with a sideline in botany provide spice. Although the islands’ myths are slowly stripped away by inquiring minds, the Galapagos take on a whole new magic of their own. This is a terrifically crafted work that borrows heavily from some of the writers who have shared Hickman’s passion – among them Herman Melville, William Dampier and Woodes Rogers – but leaves no literary debt unpaid.
Cyprus
Rough Guides, £13.99
And from one island paradise to another, slightly more accessible one. Cyprus has an easy charm, and there’s more to the island than its beaches, as evidenced here by the sections on its architecture, art and landscape, from the citadel of
St Hilarion to the stunning Avgás Gorge. A detailed contexts section should keep you politically up to date and prevent any faux pas. And if you can’t make it to Galapagos but still want to see turtles hatching, then this book will tell you everything you need to know about getting to the remote beaches in Páfos and Kárpas.