Introduction: Genesis and Revelation
Prologue: The Psychology of Biography
1: Uncertain Beginnings
2: The Evolution of a Naturalist
3: Breaching the Walls of the Species Citadel
4: The Mystery of Mysteries Solved
5: A Gentlemanly Arrangement
6: Scientific Heresy and Ideological Murder
7: A Scientist Among the Spiritualists
8: Heretical Thoughts
9: Heretical Culture
10: Heretic Personality
11: The Last Great Victorian
12: The Life of Wallace and the Nature of History
Epilogue: Psychobiography and the Science of History
Appendix I: Endnotes
Appendix II: Biography of Wallace's Archival Sources
Appendix III: Biography of Wallace's Published Works
Appendix IV: General Biography
Index
Dr Michael Shermer is the Founding Publisher of Skeptic magazine,
the Director of the Skeptics Society, and a monthly columnist for
Scientific American. His latest book is The Borderlands of Science
(OUP, 2001), about the fuzzy land between science and
pseudoscience. He wrote Denying History, on Holocaust denial and
other forms of historical distortion, How We Believe: The Search
for God in an Age of Science, which
presents his theory on the origins of religion and why people
believe in God, and Why People Believe Weird Things.
"A triply fascinating book that contains original research and
interpretations full of insight."--New Scientist
"Shermer brings Wallace into the light."--Psychology Today
"An ambitious enterprise that will interest, excite, and maybe even
infuriate a wide variety of readers."--Thomas Soderqvist,
Science
"In this dazzling new biography, Alfred Russell Wallace at last
comes out from behind Darwin's shadow and is given his due. As a
leading figure in evolutionary theory, an astute social
philosopher, committed political activist, hopeless dreamer,
geographical explorer. much loved friend, anthropologist and
spiritualist, he certainly deserves a fresh and full biographical
study that does justice to his fascinating personality. Michael
Shermer has written a
wonderful account of Wallace's life and the varied times through
which he lived. This is also biography with a purpose. Shermer asks
how some thinkers can break out of the conventional mold while
others do
not. The answers lie in a provocative combination of history,
biography, psychology and sociology...that is sure to generate much
comment."--Janet Browne, Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of
Medicine at University College London, author of Darwin:
Voyaging
"The author and the subject of this wonderful book have much in
common. Both refuse to swim with the tide, both insist on judging
the facts for themselves, neither is moved one tit or jottle by the
opinion of the general public, both have an innocence and joy of
life that protects them from the hurts of others. There is a moral
purity combined with a fierce intelligence that characterizes both
Alfred Russel Wallace and Michael Shermer, and it took the one
to
understand and write about the other. I recommend this book very
highly indeed. It is a joy and privilege to spend time with two
such men."--Michael Ruse, author of Can a Darwinian be a
Christian?: The
Relationship between Science and Religion
"Shermer does an outstanding job, painting a psychologically
sensitive portrait of the heretic personality that made Wallace
prone to investigate unusual claims, and to commit to and stand by
them in the absence of substantial evidence in their favor."--Oren
Solomon Harman, American Scientist
"A triply fascinating book that contains original research and
interpretations full of insight."--New Scientist
"Shermer brings Wallace into the light."--Psychology Today
"An ambitious enterprise that will interest, excite, and maybe even
infuriate a wide variety of readers."--Thomas Soderqvist,
Science
"A scholarly appraisal of the curious life and work of the
naturalist who, some insist, was the true father of the theory of
evolution.... A useful companion to Wallace's--and Darwin's--own
writings, and a fine contribution to the history of
science."--Kirkus Reviews
"Shermer's expertise in analyzing the life and paradoxical beliefs
of this complex man elevate 'the last great Victorian' to a
position of prominence as one of the significant leaders in modern
science."--Library Journal
"In this dazzling new biography, Alfred Russell Wallace at last
comes out from behind Darwin's shadow and is given his due. As a
leading figure in evolutionary theory, an astute social
philosopher, committed political activist, hopeless dreamer,
geographical explorer. much loved friend, anthropologist and
spiritualist, he certainly deserves a fresh and full biographical
study that does justice to his fascinating personality. Michael
Shermer has written a
wonderful account of Wallace's life and the varied times through
which he lived. This is also biography with a purpose. Shermer asks
how some thinkers can break out of the conventional mold while
others do
not. The answers lie in a provocative combination of history,
biography, psychology and sociology...that is sure to generate much
comment."--Janet Browne, Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of
Medicine at University College London, author of Darwin:
Voyaging
"In this psychologically informed biography of Alfred Russel
Wallace, Michael Shermer displays both his deep knowledge of the
history of science and his well-known ability to write for a
general audience. He convincingly shows how the co-discoverer of
natural selection and an ardent spiritualist fused his scientific
and religious interests into a coherent, if controversial,
life."--Ronald L. Numbers, Hilldale and William Coleman Professor
of the History of
Science and Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison
"Shermer does an outstanding job, painting a psychologically
sensitive portrait of the heretic personality that made Wallace
prone to investigate unusual claims, and to commit to and stand by
them in the absence of substantial evidence in their favor."--Oren
Solomon Harman, American Scientist
"The author and the subject of this wonderful book have much in
common. Both refuse to swim with the tide, both insist on judging
the facts for themselves, neither is moved one tit or jottle by the
opinion of the general public, both have an innocence and joy of
life that protects them from the hurts of others. There is a moral
purity combined with a fierce intelligence that characterizes both
Alfred Russel Wallace and Michael Shermer, and it took the one
to
understand and write about the other. I recommend this book very
highly indeed. It is a joy and privilege to spend time with two
such men."--Michael Ruse, author of Can a Darwinian be a
Christian?: The
Relationship between Science and Religion
"In Darwin's Shadow is an ambitious enterprise that will interest,
excite, and maybe even infuriate a wide variety of readers . . .The
arguments is intelligent and the narrative well written . . .What
makes Shermer's book interesting, however, is not so much its
portrait of Wallace the man, his thinking, and his times (a picture
that does not add much to what we already know from, for example,
Raby's treatise), but rather the approach taken to the
genres of biography and history."--Science
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