Infinite Tropics: An Alfred Russel Wallace Anthology - Rilegato

Rilegato

ISBN 10: 1859846521 ISBN 13: 9781859846520

Casa editrice: Verso Books, 2002

Riassunto

Alfred Russel Wallace was thirty-five and stricken with malaria in the Moluccan Islands when, in a feverish 'flash of light,' he stumbled on the theory of natural selection. It was his letter to Charles Darwin about the discovery that panicked Darwin into rushing out On the Origin of Species. Wallace was a towering figure of nineteenth-century science. Not only the co-discoverer of natural selection, he was also the founder of island biogeography, a significant contributor to the fields of evolution, glaciology and anthropology, and a great writer, author of Travels in the Amazon and The Malay Archipelago. But his international scientific reputation served also as a springboard for wide-ranging forays beyond science. A passionate socialist, he wrote on pacifism, on the environmental and social effects of imperialism, on city planning, on land nationalization, on votes for women, on public health, on spiritualism, on the possibility of intelligent extra-terrestrial life, and much else besides. Culled from his books, articles and letters, this collection comprises Wallace's best and most important writing, much of which has been out of print for over a century. Ranging from the scientific to the social, from the political to the spiritual, the selection captures the essence of a great thinkerbrilliant, opinionated, often quirky, sometimes wrong, but always profoundly humane. 12 b/w photographs.

Su questo libro

Recensione:

“... an outstanding overview of Wallace’s intellectual world.”—British Journal for the History of Science

“... this collection of [Wallace’s] writing, each section introduced by relevant remarks on Wallace’s thinking at the time, is enthralling.”—New Scientist

“Berry’s anthology of the most important writings ... should be read to appreciate fully the sophistication of Wallace’s biological thought.”—Times Literary Supplement

“Berry’s editorial commentary is succinct, accurate, and generally right to the point, and he has chosen his selections wisely, giving his readers a splendid, if somewhat teasing glimpse of Wallace’s genius.”—Choice Outstanding Academic Title of 2002

“In Infinite Tropics, Andrew Berry does a wonderful job of excerpting Wallace’s many writings ... Berry tells this story, ‘one of the most celebrated in the history of science’, beautifully”—Daily Telegraph

L'autore:

Andrew Berry is a research associate at Harvard University’s Museum of Comparative Zoology. He contributes to, among others, the London Review of Books, Nature, Slate and The New York Observer.

Su questa edizione

• Editore: Verso Books
• Data di pubblicazione: 2002
• ISBN 10: 1859846521
• ISBN 13: 9781859846520
• Rilegatura: Copertina rigida
• Numero di pagine: 448
• Redattore: Berry Andrew