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Alfred Russel Wallace in the Amazon : footsteps in the forest / Sandra Knapp.

by Knapp, Sandra.

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Natural History Museum, 2013.

Wallace, Alfred Russel, 1823-1913.

Naturalists -- England -- Biography.

Natural selection.

Natural history -- Amazon River Valley.

Amazon River Valley -- Discovery and exploration.

9780565093303 (pbk.)

0565093304 (pbk.)

183 p. : ill., map, facsimilies ; 17 cm.

Alfred Russel Wallace's 1848 expedition to the Amazon. He spent almost two years traveling up the Rio Negro, the largest left tributary of the Amazon, and one of the world's ten largest rivers in average discharge, a region few Europeans had explored, collecting natural history specimens. A fire onboard the ship during the return journey to England destroyed all of his collections, but among the possessions rescued was a collection of sketches of fish, later presented to the Natural History Museum. This book describes the naturalist in the making, the tragic loss of Wallace's collections, and how this affected his future. His research ultimately led him (in parallel with Darwin) to one of the biggest and most controversial ideas of the 19th century -- evolution by natural selection -- and his understanding of this process certainly began in the Amazon. Wallace's Amazonian adventure is recounted using his own words where possible, and illustrated throughout with his delicate pencil drawings. The story is interwoven with the author's current experience of tropical field work and is told in a lively, informal style.

Natural History Museum (London, England)

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