Alfred Russel Wallace in the Amazon by Sandra Knapp

Alfred Russel Wallace in the Amazon by Sandra Knapp

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Summary

In 1848 British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace set off for Brazil where he was to spend four years exploring the wildest parts of the Amazon. This is an enthralling account of his adventures. It describes the triumphs and disasters and the discoveries that were to lead him to one of the biggest and most controversial ideas of the 19th century.

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Alfred Russel Wallace in the Amazon by Sandra Knapp

Alfred Russel Wallace is justly famous for his discoveries in Southeast Asia, from where he wrote to Charles Darwin outlining his theory of evolution by natural selection. His career as a tropical naturalist, however, began in the Amazon. Wallace concentrated his collecting on the Rio Negro and the Rio Vaupes and his collections and observations proved of great value to the scientific community in England. On his return home in 1852 disaster struck. The ship on which he was travelling caught fire and all his precious collections were destroyed. As he fled the ship he managed to salvage a small tin box with a few delicate pencil drawings. Wallace's Amazonian adventure is told here, using mainly his own words and illustrated with these delicate drawings. He went on to become one of the defining figures of Victorian biology, and this is the story of his beginning.
"A little book that deserves a big audienceThe world needs books like these, books about men too easily forgotten." The Guardian "The story of Wallace's adventures, illustrated by the exquisite, painstaking drawings saved from the flames." New Scientist
Sandra Knapp is a botanist at the Natural History Museum in London, who has written numerous books and scientific papers. She has spent many years collecting plants in tropical Central and South America and is an expert on the plant family Solanaceae, which includes such economically important species as the potato and tomato. Alfred Russel Wallace has always been one of her scientific heroes, and her personal discovery of his drawings in the Museum's Library prompted her to write this book.
SKU Unavailable
ISBN 13 9780565093303
ISBN 10 0565093304
Title Alfred Russel Wallace in the Amazon
Author Sandra Knapp
Condition Unavailable
Binding Type Paperback
Publisher The Natural History Museum
Year published 2013-09-05
Number of pages 184
Cover note Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.