LIBRARY JOURNAL, April 1, 1995 A rotating rock that exercises a directing force over the migration of sea turtles is the legendary Turtle Mother of Rudloe's quest. Recounts by Central American coastal inhabitants, fishermen, and academicians explain that Turtle Mother folklore provided a conservation ethic that guided early inhabitants to harvest turtles at a sustainable rate in contrast with current destructive practices. Travels through warring countries, confrontations with hostile poachers, and other hair-raising adventures are interwoven with the natural history of the sea turtle. The author speculates as to the role of rocks and magnetisms in the homing ability of turtles and poses the mystery that these forces were known to the ancient Olmecs. This captivating book leaves the reader with a fresh perspective on the condition of marine turtles and the people who depend on them. Highly recommended for general readers. Frank Reiser.
LIBRARY JOURNAL, March 1, 1996 "Best Natural History books published in 1995" "Turtle Mother. The navigational powers of sea turtles have long been the subject of myth but just recently of scientific study. Rudloe writes a multifaceted account of the turtle, their environments, and their interactions with human beings.
ORLANDO SENTINEL"Myth of Turtle and Nature Parable"by Bill Bellevile, August 13, 1995 "Nature writers need a quest, and Jack Rudloe has chosen a good one. Rudloe's quest is to find the Great Turtle Mother, and his nonfiction book is a journey that begins in Florida before continuing on to Guatemala, Mexico, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and even Malaysia.... It is not a simple journey. That's because the Turtle Mother is a myth created by Indians who have historically hunted the turtles along Central America's Miskito Coast. In this story, a turtle shaped rock with magical properties watches over the great turtling grounds. When the sea turtles seasonally arrive to nest or feed, the rock turns towards them to signal their presence.
Imbued with such power, the Turtle Mother punishes the greedy by sending her brood far to sea if anyone one fisherman takes more than he needs or wastes what he takes. Far more than a local myth though, the tale is a parable for the sustainable environmental use on which most indigenous fishing cultures are based.
Like other cultures before them, the Indians' only crime to have outlived their pre-industrial era of time. When placed in direct conflict with moderns who buy and sell the environment like trading cards on a Monday board, their attempts to continue to live balanced, resource-=based lives become even more poignant and archaic.
Rudloe's search, then, is played out against an urgent backdrop in which both turtles and turtle hunters are fast disappearing from the earth.
Before beginning his own hunt, Rudloe knew that ferro-magnetic crystals exist in the tissues of sea turtles, as well as in other migratory animals. Some scientists suspect the crystals help guide the turtles on their distant journeys, helping them to return thousands of miles to nest on the same beaches where they were born.
But he was astounded by recent discovery in which pre-Oleic carving of a turtle on the Pacific coast of Mexico had a magnetic nose. Was it built in imitation of the biochemistry of the sea turtle? Did it and other like it truly have influence over where turtles congregated? And how could ancient people have access to such sophisticated science?
A good storyteller, Rudloe scatters clue seductively throughout his tale. And he reveals them to us within the languid, insular and sometimes dangerous terrain of developing countries in the tropics.
Lucid and earnest in his narrative, Rudloe evokes the spirit of Florida naturalist Archie Carr, with whom he once worked in Costa Rica. Clearly, Rudloe cares deeply about his subject, looking carefully for natural signs and when he finds them, reveling in their timeless message.
In an age where writers put quick "how-to, where-to" books on the shelf just for the money or the status, this alone is a rarity.
TALLAHASSEE DEMOCRAT"Turtle Tale: Searching for Scientific and Spiritual Truths"by Barbara Hogan, January 14, 1996 Rudloe takes the reader with him on his search for turtle truth. He travels to write articles for magazines like National Geographic, collect specimens for universities and tag turtles for governmental agencies. He hits Guatemala, Mexico, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Malaysia. On the Pacific coast of Mexico, he finds a pre-Oleic carved stone turtle head with a magnetic nose and great stone figures with magnetic belly buttons. In Malaysia, he finds the same Turtle Mother legend-- and more evidence. In Nicaragua he finds trouble: solders fighting a civil war, armed turtle-egg poachers on the beach, a murder to which he barely misses being both witness and victim, and a rip tide that nearly spells hi send. Turtle Mother also symbolizes a pursuit of spiritual truth-- enlightenment in both the Western and Eastern traditions, and that narrative is what makes the book's natural science and discovery coalesce. Fictional technique, beauty of language and understated mysticism place "Turtle Mother" right up there with Peter Matheson’s "The Snow Leopard". Rudloe's exceptional capacity, though, is his sensibility, his compassion for every living creature including humans."
Rudloe takes the reader with him on his search for turtle truth. He travels to write articles for magazines like National Geographic, collect specimens for universities and tag turtles for governmental agencies. He hits Guatemala, Mexico, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Malaysia.
On the Pacific coast of Mexico, he finds a pre-Oleic carved stone turtle head with a magnetic nose and great stone figures with magnetic belly buttons. In Malaysia, he finds the same Turtle Mother legend-- and more evidence.
In Nicaragua he finds trouble: solders fighting a civil war, armed turtle-egg poachers on the beach, a murder to which he barely misses being both witness and victim, and a rip tide that nearly spells hi send.
Turtle Mother also symbolizes a pursuit of spiritual truth-- enlightenment in both the Western and Eastern traditions, and that narrative is what makes the book's natural science and discovery coalesce.
Fictional technique, beauty of language and understated mysticism place "Turtle Mother" right up there with Peter Matheson’s "The Snow Leopard".
Rudloe's exceptional capacity, though, is his sensibility, his compassion for every living creature including humans."
TALLAHASSEE DEMOCRAT"Myth magnetic mix in Rudloe's Turtle Mother" The naturalist follows a mystical path in a new non-fiction book about the migration of sea turtles"by Andy Lindstrom, July 9, 1995 "Search for the Great Turtle Mother may not be the greatest biological breakthrough since Darwin scooped around the Galapagos Islands, but it's certainly a heck of a good story. In typical Rudloe fashion, he mixes science, mythology and good, old-fashioned storytelling into a tale of search and discovery that reads like Indiana Jones on the trail of the Holy Grail. Believe it or not, you can't help but get caught up in the quest. .. WAKULLA NEWSIs the Great Turtle Mother Found?by Mark Watson, October 12, 1995 "Search for the Great Turtle Mother engulfs the reader in the author's excitement of discovery, his fears of near death and his reverence of the earth's delicate balance."
The naturalist follows a mystical path in a new non-fiction book about the migration of sea turtles"by Andy Lindstrom, July 9, 1995
"Search for the Great Turtle Mother may not be the greatest biological breakthrough since Darwin scooped around the Galapagos Islands, but it's certainly a heck of a good story. In typical Rudloe fashion, he mixes science, mythology and good, old-fashioned storytelling into a tale of search and discovery that reads like Indiana Jones on the trail of the Holy Grail. Believe it or not, you can't help but get caught up in the quest. ..
WAKULLA NEWSIs the Great Turtle Mother Found?by Mark Watson, October 12, 1995 "Search for the Great Turtle Mother engulfs the reader in the author's excitement of discovery, his fears of near death and his reverence of the earth's delicate balance."
"Search for the Great Turtle Mother engulfs the reader in the author's excitement of discovery, his fears of near death and his reverence of the earth's delicate balance."