The Malay Archipelago Volume II eBook Alfred Russel Wallace
Download As PDF : The Malay Archipelago Volume II eBook Alfred Russel Wallace 
This early work by Alfred Russel Wallace was originally published in 1869 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. This book is the second of two volumes. The Malay Archipelago is an important account of Wallace’s journey to the Malay Archipelago (now Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia). During this eight year period he collected more than 126,000 specimens, several thousand of which represented new species to science. While travelling, Wallace refined his thoughts about evolution and in 1858 he outlined his theory of natural selection in an article he sent to Charles Darwin. This was published in the same year along with Darwin's own theory. The Malay Archipelago became one of the most popular books of scientific exploration in the 19th century.
The Malay Archipelago Volume II eBook Alfred Russel Wallace
Let me first get out of the way why I didn't give this 5 stars. The simple fact is that it was horrendously edited. I realize it was a group of volunteers who transcribed the original so we could have it for free on Kindle and I applaud and appreciate that. But surely, someone could have at least read it through and edited it correctly. If it wasn't for the editing it would certainly have 5 stars.This is a fascinating book. In every possible way. One might think that it would be a simple travel journal with a focus only on insects and birds, but it is so very much more than that. It opens a window onto the social and scientific climate of the 1850s in a huge way. From the very casual and nonchalant racism and sexism and superiority complex of the white man, to a bit more self-aware discussion of how his own society fails and is flawed in comparison to the peoples he meets during his travels, how missionaries might be better off evangelizing through action than word, how many of the assumptions of what culture is are wrong.
It is however, also a book about birds and beetles, and butterflies etc. But through the lens of a man who is beyond excited about seeing things that so few Europeans have seen and even fewer have seen through the eyes of a scientist. He discusses the work of his peers, such as Darwin as it relates to his observations, he discusses the reasons for some shortcomings in the work of those who cam before him. And finally he lays out his ideas for the concept of the Wallace Line a hugely important concept in understanding evolution and natural history via geographical/geological concepts.
Its fascinating and powerful to see how much work was done with nothing but observation while trekking through the jungle for years. No microscopes, no genetic studies, no lab, few doctors or medicine, no engine for his boat at the mercy of the nature he studies.
It is partially appealing due to the adventure, partially due to the insight, the discovery of new species, and partially the fact that we have a first hand account of growing of a scientific field. Worth the read. I can only suggest people do, see if you can find a version that has pictures to accompany his descriptions and good editing though, it would make it just that much better.
Product details
|
Tags : Amazon.com: The Malay Archipelago, Volume II eBook: Alfred Russel Wallace: Kindle Store,ebook,Alfred Russel Wallace,The Malay Archipelago, Volume II,White Press
People also read other books :
- Toru Wayfarer Returns Sakura Steam Series Book 1 eBook Stephanie R Sorensen
- Polvo Spanish Edition Benito Taibo 9786070703553 Books
- The Warlord Bride The Warlord Series Book 1 edition by Monica Vale Literature Fiction eBooks
- The Official Scrabble Players Dictionary Platinum Edition MerriamWebster 9780877796657 Books
- The Massive Book of Bible Trivia Volume 1 1200 Bible Trivia Quizzes A Massive Book of Bible Quizzes eBook Raymond May
The Malay Archipelago Volume II eBook Alfred Russel Wallace Reviews
If I buy a hard back classic book, I want to be sure it is in acceptable condition and is something I will keep as a reference source. I was very pleased with my copy of 'The Malay Archipelago'. It arrived in a timely manner.
The geographical location is known to me and having read Tim Severin's book, and a lot on Charles Darwin this year, I thought it valuable to go to the 'main man' on discovery in the field and parallel ideas to Darwin. It is not an easy read but absolutlely fascinating. I even read all the lists of species he finds. Wallace seemed such a simple, humble man and now has the famous Wallace line named after him. He endured so much while living in very difficult conditions, with all sorts of dangerous pests, diseases and strange food. Then Darwin was given all the credit. I was talking to a college professor last week and he said anyone who reads Wallace is "a hard core explorer", but I would recommend it to anyone who has the time to read and enjoy travelling in both time and location.
Alfred Russel Wallace was the co-discoverer - along with Charles Darwin - of the principle of natural selection. He was also one of the early pioneers of biogeography, a subject given much coverage in this book. The Maylay Archipelago was published after Darwin's On The Origin of Species, but it covers his travels through the islands around modern Malaysia and Indonesia and New Guinea. It describes the plants and animals that he found in this region, and how they shaped his thoughts about speciation.
Excellent version of this book. It has both parts of the book (while most of the editions are separated in 2 books) and seems to be a facsimile of the first edition of the book. Excellent for anyone interested in Natural History.
Alfred Wallace advanced evolution along with Charles Darwin. And he spent more time than Charles in places like the Malay Archipelago collecting data to substantiate the theory. Just the discovery of the wild life and the charting of the various species makes the book very interesting. Sometimes however it does repeat itself from island to island, but really that is the way it was!
The actual printed volumes easily rate five stars, but the lack of illustrations in the version drops this to a middling four stars. If one can easily afford the printed version, it's a much better choice check the edition though! That said, this edition is far preferable to the virtually-free one listed elsewhere.
Simply charming window on both the flora and fauna (including humans) of the Indonesian islands. It is one of my all-time favorite books. Some find it too long and detailed, but I found it mesmerizing and return to it often when I want an hour or so of immersion in a world where reality is both stranger and more fascinating than fiction.
I bought the book from and read it within a week. I enjoyed the descriptions of the areas Wallace visited and explored, along with the view of the history of the areas he visited.
The most important part of the book for me were his comments on evolution. As everyone knows Wallace was the "scientist" of the team of Darwin and Wallace and in this book the reader will discover the level of "science" at the time. It is rather shocking to hear Wallace's comments on scientific speculation of causes of natural processes. The level is about the same as a "science" in the "Daily Mail" today.
But the book is well worth reading and I enjoyed it very much if nothing else to "travel" the area with Wallace.
Let me first get out of the way why I didn't give this 5 stars. The simple fact is that it was horrendously edited. I realize it was a group of volunteers who transcribed the original so we could have it for free on and I applaud and appreciate that. But surely, someone could have at least read it through and edited it correctly. If it wasn't for the editing it would certainly have 5 stars.
This is a fascinating book. In every possible way. One might think that it would be a simple travel journal with a focus only on insects and birds, but it is so very much more than that. It opens a window onto the social and scientific climate of the 1850s in a huge way. From the very casual and nonchalant racism and sexism and superiority complex of the white man, to a bit more self-aware discussion of how his own society fails and is flawed in comparison to the peoples he meets during his travels, how missionaries might be better off evangelizing through action than word, how many of the assumptions of what culture is are wrong.
It is however, also a book about birds and beetles, and butterflies etc. But through the lens of a man who is beyond excited about seeing things that so few Europeans have seen and even fewer have seen through the eyes of a scientist. He discusses the work of his peers, such as Darwin as it relates to his observations, he discusses the reasons for some shortcomings in the work of those who cam before him. And finally he lays out his ideas for the concept of the Wallace Line a hugely important concept in understanding evolution and natural history via geographical/geological concepts.
Its fascinating and powerful to see how much work was done with nothing but observation while trekking through the jungle for years. No microscopes, no genetic studies, no lab, few doctors or medicine, no engine for his boat at the mercy of the nature he studies.
It is partially appealing due to the adventure, partially due to the insight, the discovery of new species, and partially the fact that we have a first hand account of growing of a scientific field. Worth the read. I can only suggest people do, see if you can find a version that has pictures to accompany his descriptions and good editing though, it would make it just that much better.
0 Response to "∎ PDF The Malay Archipelago Volume II eBook Alfred Russel Wallace"
Post a Comment