ALFRED WALLACE: Explorer-Naturalist

This biography of Alfred Wallace deals almost entirely with the early years of his career as a naturalist, a pioneer in studying the forms of life directly in the field in Brazil and the East Indies. Wallace independently recognized the process of the evolution of species, and his paper ""On the Tendency of Varieties to Depart Indefinitely from the Original Type"" was read at the same time as Darwin's theory of evolution. This book, which ends with the presentation of the two articles, contains excellent descriptions of Wallace's travels and especially of the variety of natural life he saw and investigated. The details about the specimens he collected are written about here with an enthusiasm that matches Wallace's own, but unfortunately are heavily embroidered with fictionalized dialogue. Although not really a life story of Wallace, this book will be very much enjoyed by readers with an ""explorer-naturalist"" bent.