Early American Naturalists : Exploring the American West, 1804-1900

Beginning with the trailblazing expedition of Lewis and Clark, Early American Naturalists tells the stories of men and women of the 1800s who crossed the Mississippi River and encountered the new life of the western New World. Explorers profiled include John James Audubon, Martha Maxwell, and John Muir.

this History Is The First To Detail The Lives, Adventures, And Discoveries Of Pioneering American Naturalists Such As Meriwether Lewis And William Clark.

publishers Weekly

moring (men With Sand), A Professor Of Zoology At The University Of Maine, Examines The Lives Of Several Explorers Who Documented American Flora And Fauna During The 19th Century. He Begins With The Work Of Lewis And Clark, Who Were Charged Not Only With Opening Up New Territories, But Also Collecting Samples And Drawings Of The Unfamiliar North American Wildlife. Moring Details The Efforts Of Later Naturalists, Including Englishman Thomas Nutall (who Studied The Lives Of Birds And Was So Badly Bitten By Mosquitoes During His Explorations Of The Delaware Coast That People Assumed He Had Smallpox); Charles Wilkes, A Navy Officer Who Explored The Pacific Coast; And The Legendary Painter Of Birds, John Audubon. Moring Discusses Naturalists' Increasing Reliance On Photography (rather Than Drawings), The Development Of Natural History Museums (before Which Wildlife Specimens Were Kept In Laboratories And Universities For Scientific Study Only) And The Evolution Of Naturalism Itself Over The Course Of The Century. Instead Of Scrutinizing Discreet Specimens, The New Naturalists, Exemplified By Conservationist John Muir, Became Interested In Ecology As A Living Whole. Instead Of Merely Collecting A Plant Or Animal For Later Study, Naturalists Of The Late Nineteenth Century Would Sit For Hours Watching A Bird Construct A Nest. These Biographical Sketches Make For An Absorbing And Accessible If Somewhat Narrowly Focused Survey That Should Please Those With A Bent For Natural History. (sept.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

This historical work chronicles the lives, adventures, and discoveries of America's great explorer/naturalists--Lewis & Clark, Martha Maxwell, John James Audubon, John Muir, William Gambel, Thomas Say, Robert Kennicott and John Townsend. Regardless of the formidable obstacles and travails, these naturalist-explorers provided an invaluable scientific foundation as to how the plants, animals, and environment of the American West coexist. From identifying new species to discovering prehistoric fossils, this book celebrates these intrepid trailblazers who boldly navigated and documented the untrammeled, awe-inspiring frontier west of the Mississippi This history is the first to detail the lives, adventures, and discoveries of pioneering American naturalists such as Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, Martha Maxwell, Spencer Baird, Asa Gray, John Torrey, Florence bailey, John Burroughs, and John Muir. From discovering new species to discovering prehistoric fossils, Early American Naturalists celebrates these intrepid trailblazers who boldly navigated and documented the untrammeled, awe-inspiring frontier west of the Mississippi