The Alfred Russel Wallace Reader: A Selection of Writings from the Field (Center Books in Natural History) [Paperback]

Jane R. Camerini (Editor), David Quammen (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 13, 2001 | ISBN-10: 0801867894 | ISBN-13: 978-0801867897

Long overshadowed by his contemporaries Charles Darwin and Thomas H. Huxley, Alfred Russel Wallace was an English naturalist and pioneer evolutionist who researched biological diversity through extensive exploration and travel. Independent of Darwin, Wallace developed a theory of evolution through natural selection, which ultimately spurred Darwin to complete and publish his own Origin of Species. Famous for drawing "Wallace's Line," the boundary line separating the Asian and Australian zoological regions, Wallace's studies of the distribution of plants and animals pioneered an evolutionary approach to global and island biogeography. The Alfred Russel Wallace Reader: A Selection of Writings from the Field is the first book to reintroduce Wallace to a general readership beyond the cadre of scientists and historians familiar with his work.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"At last, Alfred Russel Wallace is getting a fairer share of the limelight... Jane Camerini's excellent selection of Wallace's copious and diverse writings allows the man to speak for himself." -- Douglas Palmer, New Scientist

"Camerini's volume benefits from the inclusion of generous selections from the naturalist's marvelous travel journals." -- Edward J. Larson, Washington Post Book World

"[Wallace's] extraordinary range of interests is explored in Jane Camerini's fine anthology... Linked by deft introductions and prefaced by a brief biography, these [selections] give a wonderful insight into the passion for natural history that gripped Wallace throughout his life... It is in his writings from the field that Wallace comes across most vividly." -- James A. Secord, American Scientist

"Wallace's 'problematic' interests and perspectives are [here] revealed... to be key to understanding the mid-nineteenth-century debates about evolution in their true cultural complexity." -- Charlotte Sleigh, Nature

"Camerini [takes] a quiet delight in presenting Wallace's long-out-of-print writings as gifts to a generation that has never seen them." -- Natural History

"Explore[s] the extraordinary range of Wallace's interests, which encompassed ecology, evolution, spiritualism, and socialism. Camerini presents her selections (generally entire articles or book chapters) chronologically. Her succinct introductory essays place Wallace and his work in context." -- Science

"Tantalizes readers to learn about the life and complex interests of this important figure... revealing just enough of Alfred Wallace to make the reader ready to search for more." -- Nancy E. Cowden, Plant Science Bulletin

"I very much enjoyed reading this book and having had the opportunity to get on more familiar footing with a complicated but fascinating person." -- Michael Kiehn, Plant Suplematics and Evolution

"Wallace is one of the most important figures of nineteenth-century biology and in character among its most admirable. He is also one of the very few, like Darwin and Maxwell, whose importance grows with time. This volume, a well-written biography interleaved with Wallace's own writing, brings the great naturalist to life." -- Edward O. Wilson, University Research Professor, Harvard University

"I strongly recommend this book. Wallace has long been left out of the story of evolution and it seems highly appropriate to present autobiographical and reflective writings from the one man who matched Darwin intellectually, who shared the evolutionary moment with Darwin, and whom Darwin admired. Wallace's attractive personality, good writing style, intriguing views on all kinds of subjects, and unusual life story will make this book of interest to historians, biologists, as well as those interested in the wider debate over evolutionary theory." -- Janet Browne, Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at University College London

"[Jane Camerini]... is probably best known for her informative papers on 'Wallace's Line'... These papers, and others on Wallace and 19th-century biogeography, well qualify her to edit this eclectic collection of Wallace's very readable prose... Camerini reveals his essence in a nutshell... After reading these excerpts from his books and articles, you will want to go to your library and read the originals in full." -- Duncan M. Porter, Bioscience

"Camerini provides clearly written introductions that carefully place the writings in their broad social, political and intellectual context and explains the basics of scientific theory and practice." -- British Journal for the History of Science

Review

"Wallace is one of the most important figures of nineteenth-century biology and in character among its most admirable. He is also one of the very few, like Darwin and Maxwell, whose importance grows with time. This volume, a well-written biography interleaved with Wallace's own writing, brings the great naturalist to life." -- Edward O. Wilson, University Research Professor, Harvard University

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press (November 13, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801867894
• ISBN-13: 978-0801867897
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,319,864 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a Wallace reader for the layperson, March 4, 2002

By 

C. H Smith (Bowling Green, Kentucky United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Alfred Russel Wallace Reader: A Selection of Writings from the Field (Center Books in Natural History) (Hardcover)

Jane Camerini's slender anthology of Wallace's writings (and writings about him) is intended to provide an introduction to the great naturalist, primarily through his adventures in the field. Camerini has chosen a format for presenting this information very similar to that provided by another Wallace scholar, Barbara Beddall, whose "Wallace and Bates in the Tropics" was published way back in 1969. Camerini supplements excerpts from four books with her own introductory commentaries and a few additional Wallace essays, hoping that this will give the reader unfamiliar with his accomplishments some feel for them. I think she succeeds in this endeavor. The book is well organized and presented, including a number of interesting photos and figures, and Camerini's editorial commentaries are mostly right on target. Yet I cannot help but feel the brevity of the treatment will leave some readers puzzled. I'm not sure that the decision to include several essays of a more technical nature in a 200 page work was well advised; the gap between the fieldwork studies and Wallace's thought is considerable--not unfathomable, but not straightforward either--and the average reader may need more help than Camerini gives to appreciate the transition. Alternately, it might have been interesting to dwell strictly on the field studies--incorporating a greater diversity of excerpts--and then merely to refer to his future philosophical directions in a page or two of editorial comment at the end. Still, an interesting contribution to Wallace studies, and one which is likely to both complement and not duplicate the several others that will be appearing over the next months.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Historic Justice for A.R. Wallace, May 21, 2002

By 

bob march (Madison, WI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Alfred Russel Wallace Reader: A Selection of Writings from the Field (Center Books in Natural History) (Hardcover)

Jane Camerini has performed a great service to all who are
interested in evolutionary theory. Wallace deserves to be
regarded as the co-founder of the modern theory of evolution.
He also wrote on a wide range of scientific and social topics.
Camerini's introductory remarks to each of the essays in this
collection help put them in their context.