Racked with fever, virtually broke and earning a precarious living through sending back to London the plumes of beautiful birds, Wallace (1823-1913) ultimately became one of the most heroic and admirable of all scientist-explorers. Whether living with Hill Dyaks or hunting Orang-Utans or sailing on a junk to the unbelievably remote Aru islands, Wallace opens our eyes to a now long vanished world. Great Journeys allows readers to travel both around the planet and back through the centuries – but also back into ideas and worlds frightening, ruthless and cruel in different ways from our own. Few reading experiences can begin to match that of engaging with writers who saw astounding things: Great civilisations, walls of ice, violent and implacable jungles, deserts and mountains, multitudes of birds and flowers new to science. Reading these books is to see the world afresh, to rediscover a time when many cultures were quite strange to each other, where legends and stories were treated as facts and in which so much was still to be discovered.
Reading these books is to see the world afresh, to rediscover a time when many cultures were quite strange to each other, where legends and stories were treated as facts and in which so much was still to be discovered.
The English naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913) occupies a unique position in the history of thought. With the exception of Darwin, Wallace was the most important developer of evolutionary theory in biology. He is also recognized as the father of modern biogeographical studies, and can safely be considered history's pre-eminent tropical naturalist. His work extended into many other areas as well, including anthropology, physical geography and geology, the theory of land use, social reform, and cosmology. Further still, he was the foremost defender of occult studies of his day. This fascinating anthology of Wallace's work, which includes a complete bibliography, reveals the scope and significance of this complex, dedicated scientist. In the many excerpts from the periodicals of his time, and the editorial introduction provided to each selection, the historical context of Wallace's life and work are brought into focus. This unique volume is the first to present the full range of the work of this major figure in science and natural history, and is compelling reading for both scientific and social historians.
This unique volume is the first to present the full range of the work of this major figure in science and natural history, and is compelling reading for both scientific and social historians.
