Product Description

The story of natural history as seen through the lives, observations, and discoveries of the world's greatest naturalists.

We owe a debt of gratitude to the great naturalists who described, experimented, and collected, who gave us the means to understand the natural world and the potential not only to exploit it but also to conserve it. They came from all over Europe and America, from Classical times to the end of the nineteenth century when natural history changed from a mainly amateur pursuit to today's specialized scientific profession.

Braving dangers from storms, pirates, and disease in their pursuit of cataloging the natural world, pioneers such as Alexander von Humboldt and Charles Darwin changed the course of science with their daring travels and groundbreaking theories. This book includes many who are well known, such as the earliest great natural historian, Aristotle; Carl Linnaeus, the man who brought order to nature; the great voyager and collector Joseph Banks; and Georges Cuvier, who established the concept of extinction. But others are now given their rightful place: Antony van Leeuwenhoek, who made his own microscopes and discovered bacteria; Nicolas Steno, who opened the door to the earth's geological past; and Mary Anning, "the princess of palaeontology," who had an amazing, self-taught talent for finding fossils.

Many whose lives are described here were great artists as well as naturalists, and the book is illustrated with beautiful and precise paintings and drawings of birds, animals, fossils, fish, shells, and rocks selected from the unparalleled picture archives and collections of the Natural History Museum, London, as well as other sources. 194 illustrations, 137 in color.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #129075 in Books
• Published on: 2007-10-29
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 304 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780500251393
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
The little-known history of natural history-that is, how the first naturalists observed and catalogued their world, how they grappled with unanswered questions, and how the sciences of geology, biology, ecology and paleontology developed over three centuries-is wonderfully illuminated in this volume from the Natural History Museum of London's Huxley. Examining 39 naturalists, Huxley assigns each subject-from ancient Greece's Aristotle to America's first botanist, Asa Gray-his or her own biographer (many also from London's Natural History Museum), who provide a brief but detailed life story and a summation of scientific contributions. While some subjects are well-known-John James Audubon, Alexander von Humboldt and Charles Darwin among them-many will be unfamiliar: John Ray, labeled the "English Aristotle," first defined the concept of "species"; Antony van Leeuwenhoek discovered micro-organisms (using Robert Hooke's microscope); and Mary Anning, born to destitution in Regency England, sparked a revolution in scientific thought with her fossil excavations. These naturalists were often excellent figure and watercolor artists, and this volume is heavily illustrated with striking, full-color reproductions from their publications (and occasional portraits); especially revelatory are renderings of now extinct species, like Audubon's glorious painting of the Carolina parakeet.
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About the Author
Robert Huxley is Head of Collections, Department of Botany, The Natural History Museum, London.

Customer Reviews

Perfect Introduction to Naturalists and the Art of Nature
Profound theories sprung from fertile imaginations, leaps of faith (and often logic), and long lost skills of observation and contemplation are served out in chronological (and to a large extent evolutionary) order from the earliest naturalists to the more recent, pre-photography age, in an eminently readable format. This wonderful book combines the theoretical and empirical analysis of flora, fauna (including bugs and people) and geology with shockingly beautiful illustrations of what the heck they were talking about. Lots of woolens and beards--in a good way.

The Great Naturalists
The articles on each naturalist are short, to the point, and well illustrated. The book is a fun read! Fascinating and adventurous people: Maria Sibylla Merian, Carl Linnaeus, Georges Cuvier, Charles Darwin and many others.

The Great Naturalists - an excellent read
This book details an outstanding review of the thought processes and work of the early naturalists as they gradually moved from the 'creationist theory' to the present day fact of our world's evolutionary progression.