In 1858, Alfred Russel Wallace, aged thirty-five, weak with malaria, isolated in the Spice Islands, wrote to Charles Darwin: he had, he said excitedly, worked out a theory of natural selection. Darwin was aghast--his work of decades was about to be scooped. Within two weeks, his outline and Wallace's paper were presented jointly in London. A year later, with Wallace still on the opposite side of the globe, Darwin published On the Origin of Species.
This new biography of Wallace traces the development of one of the most remarkable scientific travelers, naturalists, and thinkers of the nineteenth century. With vigor and sensitivity, Peter Raby reveals his subject as a courageous, unconventional explorer and a man of exceptional humanity. He draws more extensively on Wallace's correspondence than has any previous biographer and offers a revealing yet balanced account of the relationship between Wallace and Darwin.
Wallace lacked Darwin's advantages. A largely self-educated native of Wales, he spent four years in the Amazon in his mid-twenties collecting specimens for museums and wealthy patrons, only to lose his finds in a shipboard fire in the mid-Atlantic. He vowed never to travel again. Yet two years later he was off to the East Indies on a vast eight-year trek; here he discovered countless species and identified the point of divide between Asian and Australian fauna, 'Wallace's Line.'
After his return, he plunged into numerous controversies and published regularly until his death at the age of ninety, in 1913. He penned a classic volume on his travels, founded the discipline of biogeography, promoted natural selection, and produced a distinctive account of mind and consciousness in man. Sensitive and self-effacing, he was an ardent socialist--and spiritualist. Wallace is one of the neglected giants of the history of science and ideas. This stirring biography--the first for many years--puts him back at center stage, where he belongs.
Le informazioni nella sezione "Riassunto" possono far riferimento a edizioni diverse di questo titolo.
Le informazioni nella sezione "Su questo libro" possono far riferimento a edizioni diverse di questo titolo.
Spese di spedizione:
EUR 3,74
In U.S.A.
Descrizione libro Paperback. Condizione: new. New. Fast Shipping and good customer service. Codice articolo Holz_New_0691102406
Descrizione libro Paperback. Condizione: new. Buy for Great customer experience. Codice articolo GoldenDragon0691102406
Descrizione libro Paperback. Condizione: new. Brand New Copy. Codice articolo BBB_new0691102406
Descrizione libro Paperback. Condizione: new. New. Codice articolo Wizard0691102406
Descrizione libro Paperback. Condizione: new. New Copy. Customer Service Guaranteed. Codice articolo think0691102406
Descrizione libro Condizione: new. Codice articolo FrontCover0691102406
Descrizione libro Soft Cover. Condizione: new. Codice articolo 9780691102405
Descrizione libro Condizione: New. Buy with confidence! Book is in new, never-used condition 1.15. Codice articolo bk0691102406xvz189zvxnew
Descrizione libro Paperback or Softback. Condizione: New. Alfred Russel Wallace: A Life 1.17. Book. Codice articolo BBS-9780691102405
Descrizione libro Condizione: New. Codice articolo ABLIING23Feb2416190101771