Product Description

During their lifetimes, Alfred Russel Wallace and Charles Darwin shared credit and fame for the independent and near-simultaneous discovery of natural selection. Together, the two men spearheaded one of the greatest intellectual revolutions in modern history, and their rivalry, usually amicable but occasionally acrimonious, forged modern evolutionary theory. Yet today, few people today know much about Wallace. The Heretic in Darwin's Court explores the controversial life and scientific contributions of Alfred Russel Wallace -- Victorian traveler, scientist, spiritualist, and co-discoverer with Charles Darwin of natural selection. After examining his early years, the biography turns to Wallace's twelve years of often harrowing travels in the western and eastern tropics, which place him in the pantheon of the greatest explorer-naturalists of the nineteenth century. Tracing step-by-step his discovery of natural selection -- a piece of scientific detective work as revolutionary in its implications as the discovery of the structure of DNA -- the book then follows the remaining fifty years of Wallace's eccentric and entertaining life.In addition to his divergence from Darwin on two fundamental issues -- sexual selection and the origin of the human mind -- he pursued topics that most scientific figures of his day conspicuously avoided, including spiritualism, phrenology, mesmerism, environmentalism, and life on Mars. Although there may be disagreement about his conclusions, Wallace's intellectual investigations into the origins of life, consciousness, and the universe itself remain some of the most inspired scientific accomplishments in history. This authoritative biography casts new light on the life and work of Alfred Russel Wallace and the importance of his twenty-five-year relationship with Charles Darwin.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #528882 in Books
• Published on: 2006-05-09
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 640 pages

Review
"Slotten does a very good job of contextualizing this critical moment in the history of biology within the life and times of Wallace... Slotten's enjoyable exposition provides insight into the scientific process and the role of class structure in Victorian England." -- Publishers Weekly "Slotten's meticulously researched biography explores Wallace's scientifically 'heretical' interests in a bunch of late Victorian 'isms,' that range from socialism to spiritualism and extraterrestrial life." -- Douglas Palmer, New Scientist "Slotten's text recounts [Wallace's] life in great detail, giving as much emphasis to his early life and later years as to his time as a collector and naturalist. If a library can support only one book, Slotten's provides the richness of the complete life." -- Library Journal "Slotten's new life study illuminates an unpredictable genius who cut a wide swath in Victorian culture... But Slotten surpasses earlier biographers in detailing the complex personal relationship between the two biologists." -- Booklist, starred review "That sympathy, Slotten's predilection for quirky detials, and his talent for imaginative investigation often make Wallace and his world spring to life." -- Menno Schilthuizen, Natural History "This is a good, old-fashioned, beautifully written biography, devoid of pretension and with both a wonderful eye for detail and an impressive command of history and fact." -- Oren Solomon Harman, American Scientist "Slotten's book is the most detailed study of its kind published to date and provides a vivid account of Wallace's rich 90-year life." -- George Beccaloni, Nature "This biography revives the remarkable work of this world explorer and naturalist." -- Stanford "Slotten's book is a pleasure to read and provides a well-researched and detailed account...It is highly recommended reading." -- D. Futuyma, Evolution "A highly readable and entertaining account of the life, travels, and thought of one of the nineteenth century's most eccentric and insightful scientists." -- Northeastern Naturalist "Excellent job of profiling the man's life. " -- Charles H. Smith, European Molecular Biology and Organization, v.6 no. 3 2005 "Well-crafted biography...highly recommended." -- Choice "Six full biographies of Wallace have been published since 2000...and this latest is the most complete." -- Charles H. Smith, Journal of the History of Biology "The 20 chapters in Slotten's book brilliantly explore the different facets of Wallace." -- Allen Keast, Quarterly Review of Biology "Keen eye and easy style" -- David A. Feller, Bulletin of the Pacific Circle "Slotten's biography... offers a balanced and thorough account of Wallace's long and varied career." -- Jane R. Camerini, Reports of the National Center for Science Education

About the Author
Ross A. Slotten, M.D., is a family practitioner in private practice in Chicago. He is a Wallace enthusiast and has retraced a number of Wallace's travels in Indonesia.

Customer Reviews

A very useful biography of the great evolutionist
Ross Slotten, an American family doctor, has written a fine biography of Alfred Wallace, the 19th century's greatest explorer-naturalist and the co-discoverer of evolution.

Wallace's 1858 essay `On the tendency of varieties to depart indefinitely from the original type' outlined the theory of evolution and pushed Darwin into publishing his The origin of species by means of natural selection in 1859. They "had discovered a true natural system, one without a predetermined balance, teleology, or divine plan." Natural selection made a creator unnecessary: developments were not due to some prior purpose or design. Mind had evolved from matter, not matter from a Mind.

Darwin and Wallace united two ideas - the survival of the fittest, and the common origin and divergence of species. Natural selection was like the human practice of selecting among domestic animals and plants.

Wallace spent 12 years in the western and eastern tropics collecting and studying insects, birds, fish, plants and mammals. He wrote up his experiences in A narrative of travels on the Amazon (1853) and The Malay Archipelago (1869). He pioneered the study of biogeography, writing the classics The geographical distribution of animals (1876) and Island life (1880).

He later turned to spiritualism because of the death of his first-born son. As Slotten writes, "Wallace tried to do the impossible in attempting to reconcile religion and science."

Wallace also wrote, Bad times: an essay on the present depression of trade, tracing it to its sources in enormous foreign loans, excessive war expenditure, the increase of speculation and of millionaires, and the depopulation of the rural districts, with suggested remedies (1885), which sounds quite up-to-date!

He had abounding intellectual curiosity and tirelessly sought truth and justice. The Times wrote of his `restless, always creative, and original intelligence'.

Wallace said that Darwin's Origin of species was the greatest book since Isaac Newton's Principia, writing that Darwin's name "should, in my opinion, stand above that of every philosopher of ancient or modern times." Together, Darwin and Wallace had overthrown creationism and, as Slotten writes, "This was arguably the greatest intellectual revolution in modern Western history."