Infinite Tropics: An Alfred Russel Wallace Collection

Book Description

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 thinker—brilliant, opinionated, often quirky, sometimes wrong, but always profoundly humane. Andrew Berry's anthology rescues Wallace's legacy, showing Wallace—through extracts from personal letters, his political writings, and scientific papers—to be far more than the co-discoverer of natural selection.

Customer Reviews:

On the Origin of a Theory.......2002-12-12

This excellent collection of Wallace's writings, interspersed with commentary and vignettes by the editor, is very well done and a welcome addition to the literature about/by Wallace. The relationship, or 'delicate arrangement', between Wallace and Darwin, and the triggering of Darwin's book by the Ternate paper, is one of the strange and scandalous mysteries of the evolution of science, and a tale seldom told straight, in a tradition too many wish to fix with their own agendas and unable to quite handle the unconforming Wallace (cf. Brackman's A Delicate Arrangement). The Darwinians simply don't get it. The text contains a selection of Wallace's spiritualist views, and while these are caught up in the confusions of the first discredited 'new age' and theosophical movements of the nineteenth century and helped to discredit him, they do register Wallace's deeper insight finally than Darwin's into the problems in evolutionary theory, taken as a thesis about natural selection. Noone seems to grasp that Wallace not only co-discovered selectionist evolution, but was able to see the catch in the resulting account of the descent of man, which is the emergence of potential, not explicable in terms of adaptation. Someday the world will catch up with Wallace.
This fine book is slightly marred with Gould's tendentious remarks about Wallace in a short preface. If Wallace's reputation suffers it is partly because the Darwinian establishment keeps him in a box, witness this preface with its polite sideswiping. I hope it will increase sales with Gould's name and that readers will skip the preface for the book. Gould was quietly nervous about this aspect of his Darwin obsessiveness.
It is a mystery if ever there was one.
Stand back and consider the remarkable set of facts involved in the duo, starting with Darwin's early paper, Wallace coming from behind, the unnecessary sending of the paper to Darwin (he could have had the credit, the overall constellation of events and the resulting dialectical spread of views, something quite different from one man producing a theory. Does it not strike one as quite odd? To the Darwinian reinventors of Plato's Cave, it won't seem odd at all, they are too far gone.
I hope this is the beginning of a new proper account of biological theory, Wallace to the fore. Darwin's delay, and the missing letters, and the rigging of the Linean Society papers, do not bode well for the always-propped-up reputation of the Great Founder beside the real one, depicted here. Excellent book.

Wallace in a nutshell.......2002-06-10

Alfred Russel Wallace was one of the nineteenth century's most brilliant observers of man and nature. He is best known for his working out of the theory of natural selection, and the way his communication to Darwin on the subject propelled the latter into action resulting in his "On the Origin of Species." But Wallace was much more than this, and had interests a good deal more far-ranging than Darwin's. In addition to his natural selection connection, Wallace can reasonably be credited as the founder of the modern school of biogeographic thought, as history's foremost tropical naturalist and field biologist, and as one of the founders of the science of exobiology. So too, he was one of his period's most vocal supporters of spiritualism, a leader of the land nationalization movement, a prominent socialist, and an outspoken supporter of women's suffrage and opponent of mandatory vaccination.

With credentials like these, it is hardly credible that he is as little known today as he is. Certainly his "other man" status viz. Darwin hasn't helped, but neither did he during his own life attempt to draw attention to himself in all these connections. Add to this a perfectly clear and enquiring mind, a bit of naivety, and one of the most uncompromisingly pro-"little guy" understandings of the human condition, and you have a personality who is much overdue for re-examination.

Berry's anthology continues (but does not end) the recent Wallace renaissance. Berry has done a remarkable job of covering the range of Wallace's interests in just one volume, though to do so he has had to provide excerpts rather than whole works (with the exception of two or three of Wallace's most famous essays). He has also gotten the history right, and provided an editorial narrative that is mostly right on target, and pleasantly composed. If you are the kind of person who likes adventures in the realms of logical and sympathetic thinking, you'll love this collection!

Book Description

This Michelin Green Guide explores northeastern France from the open horizons of Champagne to the stony cliffs of the Meuse valley and the thick forests of Ardennes and Argonne. The blue line of the Vosges mountains rises between Lorraine and Alsace, where vineyards stretch from the foothills to the Rhine valley plain. Majestic Gothic cathedrals, half-timbered villages, mountain retreats, medieval castles, museums for every interest distinguish this historic land and cultural crossroads.

Customer Reviews:

very helpful in our driving tour of Alsace.......2004-08-20

This was a great companion to our (my husband & I) tour of the Alsace reagion of France which is worth the trip! It is a beautiful not-well traveled region of France. We visited this French/German area on a trip where we visited Mont Blanc and the French Riveria as well. We were greeted with only friendliness from the wineries and other French people that we met on our visit to Alsace.

Customer Reviews:

7th grade biography report.......2007-01-30

My 7th grade son recently read this for a biography report for school. He enjoyed this. He said it was entertaining and kept his interest. He would recommend it to others.

Book Description

Soil microorganisms play a major role in the degradation and recycling of organic material. Microbes are involved in the food web and strongly contribute to soil fertility. In the past, attention was mainly directed towards free-living or particle-bound microorganisms, while the role of intestinal microbes of soil animals has been neglected.

For the first time, "Intestinal Microorganisms of Termites and Other Invertebrates" focuses on the microbes in gut systems of soil animals. It starts with a profound overview of the biology of soil invertebrates. A major part deals with the gut microbiota of termites, the best investigated gut system of invertebrates. Termites are important soil processors in tropical and subtropical regions. Insight is given into the intestinal microbiota of further relevant primary litter decomposers, such as earthworms, springtails, millipeds, and woodlice. Novel techniques for studying intestinal microbes complete the volume.

Average customer rating:

Intestinal Microorganisms of Termites And Other Invertebrates.
Helmut (EDT)/ Varma, Ajit (EDT). Konig
Manufacturer: NY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000N67UL8

Customer Reviews:

Great starting point.......2002-03-22

Goodhew, the modern master of the black magic of sample prep, wrote an excellent introductory text for us mere mortals.

This book gives an overview of the theory of techniques like electropolishing and ion milling, as well as hundreds of recipies for different materials. MOST IMPORTANTLY, GOODHEW GIVES US THE ORIGINAL REFERENCES for the recipies, making this an invaluable resource.

Although not in-depth, this book will get you started on the prep of almost any material!

(PS: for material scientists, not biologists.)

Book Description

Promotes better ways to diagnose, maintain, and improve existing systems.
Existing reliability evaluation models are examined with respect to today's complicated engineering systems that have hundreds of thousands of integrated component designs.

Average customer rating:
Modern Mystery and Adventure Novels: Portrait of Jennie; Jamaica Inn; The Thirty-Nine Steps; Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Revised)
Robert Nathan , Daphne du Maurier , John Buchan , and Robert Louis Stevenson
Manufacturer: Globe Book Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Mystery | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1517560284

Average customer rating:

A delicate enchantment

A HAUNTING STORY...

One great work from great writer

Echoes of the Past

Enchanting and Magic!

Portrait of Jennie
Robert Nathan
Manufacturer: Dell Pub Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0440970520

Customer Reviews:

A delicate enchantment.......2006-05-09

I first read this book as a naive 14-year-old, long ago. I had never dreamed of such timelessness, such longing, such complete detachment from the real world. The misty, not-quite-real characters have haunted and enchanted me for 40 years.

A HAUNTING STORY..........2005-08-17

This book, first published in 1940, was adapted to film in 1948, which film starred Joseph Cotton and Jennifer Jones. I was sufficiently intrigued by the film so as to want to read the book upon which the film was based but was surprised to discover, however, that the book is more of a novella, as it runs a scant one hundred and twenty-five pages in length. While not lengthy, it is, nonetheless, a haunting story, although it differs is some respects from the film.

The book tells the story of a young, struggling artist in New York named Eben Adams, who is really little more than a hack. One winter night in 1938, a down and out Eben is in Central Park, having been unsuccessful in selling his paintings. There, he encounters a very young girl named Jennie Appleton, who is mysteriously in the park by herself, playing hopscotch. Thus, begins Eben's acquaintance with Jennie.

Eben sketches a picture of Jennie, which to his surprise, he is able to sell. Periodically, Jennie begins appearing in his life at odd times, always swathed in mystery as to her origins and always appearing somehow older than expected each time he sees her. Eben continues to sketch her, finding that he can sell those sketches with ease. Inspired by his muse, he paints her portrait, a masterpiece that eventually lands in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

He is puzzled, nonetheless, by the anomaly and mystery that surrounds Jennie, who has an air of being from another time. Yet, an unusual bond is developing between them, one that not even the vagaries of time can break. It is also one that becomes increasingly romantic over time, as Jennie quickly grows into womanhood. The fates, however, Eben finds, can be cruel.

Those who enjoy romantic stories with supernatural portents will very much enjoy this haunting tale of two star crossed individuals. This reprint, library binding edition comes with bright blue cloth covered boards with the title embossed in gilt on the spine.

One great work from great writer.......2005-08-04

Portrait of Jennie is a great work from one great writer. The story floating between sensibility and mystery. Robert Nathan shows his hability to compose his work with romantic and supernatural style. Masterpiece!

Echoes of the Past.......2004-09-26

This story of strange young girl from out of the past who brings inspiration to an artist down on his luck exhibits the kind of full on romanticism one rarely encounters these days. This is a novel of pure mysticism, yet you needn't be a mystic to thoroughly enjoy it. An excellant film was made from it starring Joseph Cotton--- also very worthwhile to the true romantics amongst us.

Enchanting and Magic!.......2004-02-04

I read this book only once, when I was a teenager, and I am in my fifties now. All these years I have remembered four lines from that book...: "Where I come from nobody knows/Where I'm going everything goes/The wind that blows, the sea that flows/And nobody knows." I loved being in that story; it stayed with me 40 years!

Jennie - Lady Randolph Churchill - A Portrait with Letters

Average customer rating:

Jennie - Lady Randolph Churchill - A Portrait with Letters
Churchill and Mitchell
Manufacturer: Readers Union
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000QRJXIM

Average customer rating:

Jennie - Lady Randolph Churchill - A Portrait with Letters

Manufacturer: Readers Union
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000HUGW2S

Average customer rating:

Jennie Lady Randolph Churchill. A Portrait With Letters.
Julian And Churchill, Peregrine Mitchell
Manufacturer: Collins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000ICGJLY

JENNIE, LADY RANDOLPH CHRUCHILL, A PORTRAIT WITH LETTERS

Average customer rating:

JENNIE, LADY RANDOLPH CHRUCHILL, A PORTRAIT WITH LETTERS
Peregrine & Julian Mitchell Churchill
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000M62R12

JENNIE, LADY RANDOLPH CHURCHHILL, A PORTRAIT WITH LETTERS

Average customer rating:

JENNIE, LADY RANDOLPH CHURCHHILL, A PORTRAIT WITH LETTERS
and JULIAN MITHCELL PEREGRINE CHURCHHILL
Manufacturer: St. Martins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000K07AU8

Average customer rating:

Jennie, Lady Randolph Churchill, a Portrait With Letters.
Peregrine & Mitchell, Julian. Churchill
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000NXPNX8

Average customer rating:

Jennie, Lady Randolph Churchill: A portrait with letters
Peregrine Churchill , and Julian Mitchell
Manufacturer: Collins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Jennie-Lady Randolf Churchill, a Portrait with Letter

Average customer rating:

Jennie-Lady Randolf Churchill, a Portrait with Letter
Peregrine Churchill and Julian Mitchell
Manufacturer: St Martin's Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000KMC3TE

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books