THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO

The Malay Archipelago is a book by the British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace that chronicles his scientific exploration, during the eight-year period 1854 to 1862, of the southern portion of the Malay Archipelago including Malaysia, Singapore, the islands of Indonesia, then known as the Dutch East Indies, and the island of New Guinea. Its full title was The Malay Archipelago: The land of the orang-utan, and the bird of paradise. A narrative of travel, with sketches of man and nature. It was first published in 1869 in two volumes by Macmillan and Company (London) and the same year in one volume by Harper & Brothers (New York). It was revised through 10 editions with the last published in 1890. It is considered to be one of the most influential books ever written about the Indonesian islands. Alfred Russel Wallace, OM, FRS (1823–1913) was an English naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist and biologist.