I usually read a book before going to sleep at night. I don’t know why I bother really; I’m rarely able to stay awake for longer than a page or two, and, even if I do manage to get through a chapter, I have to reread it again in the morning. The book I’m on at the moment is an explanation of evolution; it’s called ‘The Rise and Fall of the Third Chimpanzee’ by Jared Diamond. It’s quite a good read but a little intense for the closing hours of the evening. Today it took me longer than usual to locate exactly where I had lost concentration the night before. There was a small section on Madagascar that seemed vaguely familiar; however, recalling the sports report of the previous evening I found the connection:
... Africa coast by Madagascar on the large ground, the Lions draw to East, and 200 separating
Australia from reaching New Zealand...
I looked at page 293 again:
... and linked to East African coast by Muslim traders.
As interesting as Madagascar’s people are the wild animals that is has – and those that it lacks.
Living in enormous abundance on the nearby African mainland are species of large and conspicuous
beasts that run on the ground and are active by day – the antelopes, ostriches, zebras, baboons, and
lions that draw modern tourists to East Africa. None of these animals, and no animals remotely
equivalent to them, have occurred on Madagascar in modern times. They were kept out by the 200
miles of sea separating Madagascar from Africa, just as the sea also kept Australia’s marsupials from
reaching New Zealand. Instead, Madagascar...
Clearly I’m a reader of fiction.
... Africa coast by Madagascar on the large ground, the Lions draw to East, and 200 separating
Australia from reaching New Zealand...
I looked at page 293 again:
... and linked to East African coast by Muslim traders.
As interesting as Madagascar’s people are the wild animals that is has – and those that it lacks.
Living in enormous abundance on the nearby African mainland are species of large and conspicuous
beasts that run on the ground and are active by day – the antelopes, ostriches, zebras, baboons, and
lions that draw modern tourists to East Africa. None of these animals, and no animals remotely
equivalent to them, have occurred on Madagascar in modern times. They were kept out by the 200
miles of sea separating Madagascar from Africa, just as the sea also kept Australia’s marsupials from
reaching New Zealand. Instead, Madagascar...
Clearly I’m a reader of fiction.