Preface and AcknowledgementsIntroduction: To the World's Beginning1Ch. 1The Scientists of the Survey17Ch. 2The Heart of Africa42Ch. 3The Naturalists in the Amazons75Ch. 4From the Amazon to the Andes98Ch. 5The Plant-hunters124Ch. 6Wallace and the King Bird of Paradise148Ch. 7The Savage Ape178Ch. 8Natural Perspectives196Ch. 9A New Mythology215Ch. 10Through the Looking-Glass248Bibliographical Notes258Index265
Peter Raby is the head of the English and Drama Department at Homerton College, Cambridge. He is the author of a highly acclaimed biography of Samuel Butler.
"A thoroughly interesting, amusingly illustrated, and truly thought-stimulating tale."--John Fowles, Spectator "Peter Raby's book follows a disparate crew of botanists, scientists, and collectors who tried to order the earthly paradise which unfolded around them. Entrepreneurs they may have been--many were dependent on selling their specimens to finance their trips--but they were also scrupulous and sensitive observers... Raby finds some shimmering personalities... His book is excellent."--Daily Telegraph "Lucid ... fast-moving ... skillful... Bright Paradise is good at conveying the overwhelming energy of the Victorian scientific traveller, but is also poignant in its suggestion that this energy was ultimately directed at its own extinction as a species."--Literary Review "Well written, fascinating, and with wide appeal... "--Library Journal "Raby delights in detailing the many hardships these explorers endured--from predatory anacondas to hostile Tibetan tribesman--but never loses sight of their large achievements: the extent to which they changed our views of nature, of the interdependence of species, of indigenous cultures and of how life on earth evolved."--Francine Prose, The New York Times Book Review
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