The Heretic in Darwin’s Court : The Life of Alfred Russel Wallace

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.

the Heretic In Darwin's Court Explores The Controversial Life And Scientific Contributions Of Alfred Russel Wallace-victorian Traveler, Spiritualist, And Scientist Who Proposed The Theory Of Natural Selection With His Noted Colleague, Charles Darwin. In This Biography, Ross A. Slotten Recounts Wallace's Twelve Years Of Harrowing Travels In The Western And Eastern Tropics, Which Place Him In The Pantheon Of The Greatest Explorer-naturalists Of The Nineteenth Century. The Remaining Fifty Years Of Wallace's Life Were Just As Controversial. In Addition To Diverging From Darwin On Two Fundamental Issues-sexual Selection And The Origin Of The Human Mind-wallace Pursued Topics That Most Scientific Figures Of His Day Conspicuously Avoided, Including Spiritualism, Phrenology, Mesmerism, Environmentalism, And Life On Mars.

the Heretic In Darwin's Court Casts New Light On Wallace's Intellectual Investigations Into The Origins Of Life, Consciousness, And The Universe Itself. His Achievements Remain Some Of The Most Inspired Scientific Accomplishments In History.

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in 1858, Alfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913), A Self-educated British Naturalist Collecting Specimens In The Malay Archipelago, Sent A Brief Manuscript To Charles Darwin Outlining The Concept Of Natural Selection And Explaining Its Important Role In The Creation Of New Species. Darwin, Who Had Been Working On This Topic For 20 Years But Had Not Yet Published Anything, Feared That Wallace's Paper Would Take Precedence Over All Of His Own Earlier Work. In Fact, Darwin's Scientific Allies Arranged For A Joint Presentation Of His Ideas Alongside Wallace's To The Linnean Society Of London While Darwin Rushed To Complete On The Origin Of Species. Physician And Amateur Historian Slotten Does A Very Good Job Of Contextualizing This Critical Moment In The History Of Biology Within The Life And Times Of Wallace. He Demonstrates That Wallace Was A Brilliant, Complex Man And Argues Persuasively That Wallace Never Resented Darwin's Receiving Much More Credit For The Theory Of Natural Selection Than He Did. Wallace, Perhaps More Than Darwin, Took On All Comers And Was An Articulate And Forceful Spokesman For Natural Selection. But, As Slotten Shows, He Was Very Much Interested In Other Causes As Well. As A Socialist, He Was An Ardent Proponent Of Social Justice, Working For Land Reform (he Was Himself From The Lower Classes). He Believed In Spiritualism, Was Against Smallpox Vaccination And, To The Chagrin Of Many Scientists, Claimed That Human Intelligence Was Divinely Inspired. Slotten's Enjoyable Exposition Provides Insight Into The Scientific Process And The Role Of Class Structure In Victorian England. Illus., Maps. (july) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Annotation Does anyone remember who won the Olympic silver medal for speed skating the year Eric Heiden raced his way to the gold? And how many of us routinely pair Georges Braque with Picasso when casual art conversations turn to Cubism? History is filled with the "other guys" who, despite their considerable achievements, do not bear the names we associate with arriving first, with genius, and with having changed in some significant way the world we live in. During their lifetimes, Alfred Russel Wallace and Charles Darwin shared credit for the independent and almost simultaneous discovery of the theory of natural selection. Together, the two men spearheaded one of the greatest intellectual revolutions in modern history. Indeed, their rivalry, usually amicable but occasionally acrimonious, shaped modern evolutionary theory. Yet few people today besides scholars and evolutionary biologists know much about Wallace, and the handful of existing biographies often have downplayed the value of his scientific work. The Heretic in Darwin's Court explores the controversial life and works of Alfred Russel Wallace-Victorian traveler, scientist, spiritualist, and co-discoverer with Charles Darwin of the theory of natural selection. The book begins with 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. It traces step by step his discovery of the theory of natural selection, a piece of detective work as exciting as the discovery of the structure of DNA. We then follow the remaining fifty years of Wallace's life, which were among the most eccentric-and entertaining-of those of any Victorian figure. 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 avoided, including spiritualism, phrenology, mesmerism, environmentalism, and the question of life on Mars. Although there may be disagreement about his conclusions, Wallace's intellectual investigations-the origins of life, consciousness, the universe itself-remain relevant. This biography casts new light on the life and work of Alfred Russel Wallace and the importance of his twenty-five-year relationship with the other guy, Charles Darwin Annotation 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 "The heretic in Darwin's court explores the controversial life and scientific contributions of Alfred Russel Wallace - Victorian traveler, scientist, spiritualist, and co-discover 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 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."--BOOK JACKET. During their lifetimes, Wallace and Darwin shared credit and fame for the independent and near-simultaneous discovery of natural selection. Their rivalry, usually amicable but occasionally acrimonious, forged modern evolutionary theory. Yet today, few people today know much about Wallace. This book explores the controversial life and scientific contributions of the Victorian traveler, scientist and spiritualist. His twelve years of often harrowing travels in the western and eastern tropics place him in the pantheon of the greatest explorer-naturalists of the nineteenth century. Tracing his discovery of natural selection, 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.--From publisher description THE ANTHROPOLOGIST LOREN EISELEY, popularizer of the history of evolutionary thought, famously referred to the nineteenth century as "Darwin's Century."