Product Description

In this original and detailed re-examination of Gilbert White (1720-1793) 'as naturalist and scientist', Ted Dadswell sets out to correct the notion of White as an isolated figure, while also recognising what has been called his 'strange, perhaps unique, position as a forerunner'. The naturalist of Selborne was a student of animal and plant behaviour - in important respects, he is close to the present day ethologist and behavioural ecologist. He filled out various roles at once; as the indulgent, if also ironic, champion of his Hampshire parish he refers to the grandeur of its 'mountains' and 'forests'. In his scientific role, however, he was steadily impartial. He was 'a prince of personal observers' and, almost instictively, a comparative researcher. As one result - and though this too has generally been underestimated - he was among those in his day who were challenging the belief that an original 'Creation' or 'Design' adequately explained the living world. His metier was the 'life and conversation' of animals and plants, or as he puts it also, their 'manners and modes of life'.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1288158 in Books
• Published on: 2006-11-08
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 276 pages

Review
"'Let me say straight away, how much I welcome this volume. During the past fifty or so years, the number of authors contributing to the critical study of Gilbert White has been extremely few.' Dadswell's book 'will be of value to the student of White, to the historian of natural history, as also to the behavioural researcher. It is, to use an eighteenth-century term, a performance of merit.' Paul Foster, Archives of Natural History. [October 2003.] 'Digests with a multiplicity of reference sources easily become a word jungle with little lucid flow. Ted Dadswell expertly avoids this problem, and although his book reflects in part a personal journey, his own views embelish an intriguing analysis, assisting in producing a fascinating and readable text. Recommended equally to Selborne devotees and to newcomers.' Jim Flegg, Ibis. [October 2003.] 'I had not read Gilbert White, and after reading this book I felt chastened: I should have read him. I felt I was reading about a kindred spirit, whom I would like to have known. He reaches across the seeming abyss of two centuries.' Bernt Heinrich, Auk. [U.S.A. January, 2004.] 'This is a valuable addition to the bookshelf of anyone with an interest in the remarkable curate of Selborne.' Selborne Society, Newsletter. [Autumn 2003.]"

About the Author
Ted Dadswell grew up on a Sussex farm and was educated at Collyer's School, Horsham, and Durham University. In 1978, after a period of teaching in the North East, he moved to London, since when he has worked as a freelance historian and editor. He now lives in East Oxford.