Floreana by Margaret Wittmer

This is an account written by a woman who was amongst the first Europeans to live on this island, starting in 1932. She and her husband and step son moved to what was then a mostly deserted island in the Galapagos as an approximation of a sanitorium that they could not afford. They islands had been a frequent stopping point when whaling was in it's hey day--the giant tortoises were invaluable to sailors--they could be stowed in the hull of a ship, where they would hibernate for up to a year, waiting to be eaten at any time, fresh meat that required nothing in the way of maintenance, full of protein, fat, and vitamins for sailors long at sea. But by the time the Witmer's arrived there were just two people there, and they did nothing to make the newcomers feel welcome. This account details their beginnings on Floreana, their successes, the occasional squabbles, their eventual successes, and a couple of mysterious deaths. I wouldn't recommend reading it unless you are planning a trip to the islands, and in that case it is well worth reading, quite short, not badly written, and full of things to think about when you yourself arrive there.