Floating Islands: A Global Bibliography
with an Edition and Translation of G. C. Munz's Exercitatio academica de insulis natantibus (1711)

by Chet Van Duzer

This book is a unique treasury of information about one of nature's marvels: floating islands. The bibliography contains more than 1800 citations of books and articles in twenty languages on the subject; the entries are annotated and cross-referenced, and there are both thematic and geographic indices. All aspects of floating islands are addressed, including the formation of floating islands, the causes of their buoyancy, their role in the ecology of lakes and wetlands, their flora and fauna, their role in the dispersal of plants and animals, and methods for controlling and managing them. Works are also cited on artificial floating islands used for agriculture, human habitation, wildlife habitat, and improvement of water quality; and floating islands in literature, myth, and legend. The book includes the text and an English translation, with detailed notes, of G. C. Munz's rare 1711 thesis on floating islands, Exercitatio academica de insulis natantibus, as well as photographs of several floating islands.

Hardcover, 6 x 9, 428 pages with indices and 24 illustrations.
ISBN 0-9755424-0-0
Library of Congress Control Number: 2004093899

Published by Cantor Press (September 2004)
http://www.cantorpress.com


Praise for Floating Islands:


"Floating islands are important in a surprising number and diversity of environmental management, ecological, paleoecological, geological, geomorphological, and even historical problems worldwide. Chet Van Duzer has done the long, hard, exhaustive, in-depth, multidiscipline, and multilingual 'homework' for all the world's researchers of floating islands, and for others interested in a fascinating natural feature."

- Peter A. Stone, Hydrologist, South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, USA


"Great bibliographies are fundamental to great scholarship, and Chet Van Duzer's Floating Islands should serve as a basis for great scholarship for years to come. Its breadth and depth make it by far the most thorough, useful, and scholarly bibliography on the topic. The thematic indexes are helpful and generous, and the text and translation of Munz's Exercitatio academica de insulis natantibus are a valuable addition."

- John E. Mustain, Rare Book Librarian & Classics Bibliographer, Stanford University Libraries


"The fact that buoyant, floating land is a part of our world is a truly fascinating topic to consider, and Chet Van Duzer has assembled an impressive set of references related to that subject in this volume on floating islands. The information he has brought together is outstanding in its diversity and volume, covering references to floating land from both modern and ancient sources, and from areas throughout the world. This work is welcome to those of us with a special interest in those parts of our world landscape that float, and should spark a flame of interest in many who may be discovering this intriguing landform for the first time."

- Charles E. Sasser, Professor, Coastal Ecology Institute, School of the Coast & Environment, Louisiana State University


"An extensive and exciting annotated review of 2500 years of publications on floating islands, covering all possible items from floating bogs to pumice islands and from bird nest rafts to floating airports."

- Dr. Hans Joosten, Botanisches Institut, Universit? Greifswald, Germany; Secretary General, International Mire Conservation Group


"This work is without a doubt the most complete investigation of floating islands, summarizing most (if not all) of the information available today on the topic. The book will be of great use for wetlands researchers, environmental managers, and also for general readers curious about natural phenomena. It is an essential reference tool."

- Prof. Juan Jos?Neiff, Director, Centro de Ecolog? Aplicada del Litoral (CECOAL), Corrientes, Argentina


"This is a great contribution towards our understanding of natural phenomena. Floating Islands succeeds in condensing a large body of historical observation and thought; in addition, it contains summaries of the recent research on floating wetlands. This exhaustive work is undeniably useful to the scientific community, and it is also a window to one of the enigmas of natural history."

- Guerry Holm, Center for Coastal, Energy, and Environmental Resources, Coastal Ecology Institute, Louisiana State University


"It is exhilarating to find such a scholarly work.... C. Van Duzer has not only provided a masterful treatment of this subject but insights into these fascinating natural formations. Without question, this work is unequivocally choice!"

- Robert G. Wetzel, Kenan Distinguished Professor, Department of Environmental Sciences, University of North Carolina, from a review forthcoming in Limnology (Tokyo)


"The exhaustive and erudite nature of this reference text makes it a valuable contribution towards our understanding of a fascinating, albeit largely obscure, natural phenomenon. It is the most thorough investigation of floating islands to date. It is of interest to habitat specialists, agronomists, environment stewards, wetland researchers and island scholars generally. The one relevant detail I have missed is a reflexive research note on methodology that would have explained how the author went about his, truly awesome, academic quest."

- Professor Godfrey Baldacchino, Canada Research Chair in Island Studies, University of Prince Edward Island, Canada, from a review forthcoming in Progress in Physical Geography


"The author can only be admired for the depth and breadth of his scholarship in compiling this unique book. It is both a labour of love and a definitive resource."

- Professor Russell King, Sussex Centre for Migration Research, University of Sussex, from a review forthcoming in Geography