The Astonishing World of the Galapagos Islands: a Book Review

But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you; and the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; and the fish of the sea will explain to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this, in whose hand is the life of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind? Job 12:7-10

So begins the section titled A Biblical Perspective on the Galapagos, and truly these verses are the foundation for the entire book Galapagos Islands: A Different View by Georgia Purdom.

That tells you the slant of the book, and it should come as no surprise to my regular readers that I love this new book from Master Books publishing. It is already on my shopping list for Christmas for my nephew. Each year I end up getting him one or two of the Master Books I review, and this one is definitely my pick for 2014.

In addition to making my Christmas shopping list, the amazing photography in this book has put the Galapagos Islands at the top of my vacation wish list. I want to go to the islands and see all the things in this book for myself, and show them to my grandkids and read the book to them and teach them the splendor of God’s creation. And yes, I said grandkids. I don’t have any, and that’s probably how long it will take me to save the money for such a vacation.

So yeah, it’s a really good thing we have this book.

Because, in the meantime, I can make sure each of my kids reads the book, and thinks about this Creation perspective.

Galapagos Islands: A Different View by Georgia Purdom is a collection of material written by 29 different contributors who cared deeply enough about the subject matter to carry out the vision of Ms. Purdom (general editor). The book has chapters on the geology, astronomy, climate, currents, colonization, flora, fauna, life and legacy, and final reflections. With 103 pages of pictures, maps, and thoughtful text the book actually works well for all ages. Focus on the pictures and first sentence or two of each page for little ones, and teens can read the book on their own as a supplement to a biology text.

My Bottom Line:

I highly, highly, highly recommend this book. That is all.