Description

pp. 303, b/w and color illustrations, ep maps, a journey of discovery to the Galapagos Islands. “The author never knew her father, Hans Angermeyer, nor was she familiar with the circumstances of his last years or death. He was one of five brothers who left Nazi Germany in 1935, sailing to the Galapagos Islands to make a new home. In Ecuador, he married an American widow, Emmasha, who had a small son. They had one child and another on the way when war came. Emmasha and the children returned to the U.S.; Hans, a German national, was denied admittance. When the author was 13, the family returned to Ecuador and to the Galapagos for a meeting with relatives. Living on the island–even without amenities and with its perils–was paradise. Angermeyer learned to hunt, fish and enjoy a Robinson Crusoe-like existence. She gives an engaging account of life on the island with an extended family–and she gradually pieces together the events surrounding her father’s death. It is a remarkable story of adventure, romance and the fulfillment of a dream.”