Ilkka Hanski (1953?2016) was professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and director of the Metapopulation Research Centre at the University of Helsinki. He is the author of Metapopulation Ecology, among several monographs and edited works.
What a lovely book. <i>Messages from Islands</i> reminds me of Edward O. Wilson's <i>The Diversity of Life</i>, with its mix of the personal and the scientific, its elegant tone, its straightforward and crystal-clear prose, and the subtle way in which so much ecological and evolutionary ground is covered. Hanski excels at enmeshing himself into the story to introduce readers to the process of science and to demonstrate how we know what we know. I am certain that every practicing ecologist and evolutionary biologist will want to read this book just to see what Hanski's take on various issues is after so many productive years of research. Given Hanski's standing in the field and all that he has done for our understanding of how the natural world works and what we can and should be doing to preserve what's left of it, he should be given carte blanche to publish whatever book he wants to write. Luckily for all of us, the book that he has written is one of the best tales of scientific discovery and understanding, and of the humans who make those discoveries, that I have ever read. --Nathan J. Sanders, University of Vermont