Nevaban Mariposas

The Royal Navy sent HMS Beagle and a skilled naturalist to the ends of the earth with the aim of discovering... things. They didn't much care what: better nautical charts, jars full of specimens, the abolition of Genesis; as long as it kept the officers and crew occupied. What they saw during the voyage deserved a good account, and Darwin readily agreed. Though he didn't know it, the 1830s marked the beginning of the end for much of the world's wilderness, and the sense of primeval, untouched lands was about to vanish for good across much of the planet. Fantastic landscapes were on the verge of extinction. His prose is thoughtful, charming, flowing, and evocative, suggesting that, had he had other inclinations, he might have earned money as a novelist rather than a scientist.