Preface
Acknowledgments
1. The Boy
2. The Student
3. The Astronomer
4. The Aerologist
5. The Polar Meteorologist
6. The Arctic Explorer (1)
7. The Atmospheric Physicist (1)
8. The Atmospheric Physicist (2)
9. At a Crossroads
10. The Theorist of Continental Drift (1)
11. The Theorist of Continental Drift (2)
12. The Arctic Explorer (2)
13. The Soldier
14. The Meteorologist
15. The Geophysicist
16. From Geophysicist to Climatologist
17. The Paleoclimatologist
18. The Professor
19. Theorist and Arctic Explorer
20. The Expedition Leader
Epilogue
Notes
Bibliographical Essay
Index
A masterful biography of Alfred Wegener (1880–1930), the German scientist who discovered continental drift.
Mott T. Greene is an affiliate professor of earth and space sciences at the University of Washington and John Magee Professor of Science and Values emeritus at the University of Puget Sound. He is the author of Geology in the Nineteenth Century: Changing View of a Changing World and Natural Knowledge in Preclassical Antiquity.
A magnificent, definitive, and indefatigable tribute to an
indefatigable man . . . Greene beautifully puts the record straight
with a portrait of Wegener as a respected 'cosmic physicist.'
—Nature
In this book Mott Greene has ably explained every detail of
Wegener’s ideas and research and has created a well-deserved
tribute to one of the most creative and energetic scientists of the
twentieth century.
—Metascience
A remarkably detailed and wonderfully well-written biography of
Alfred Wegener . . . Includes insight into what makes a person such
as Wegener a genius—what it was about him that led to an ability to
create such a novel and correct view of nature. That is the
true value of this exceptional book, to be able to feel as though
one can literally experience the scientific genius that was Alfred
Wegener.
—Choice
Mott Greene's magnificent book reveals deep themes and connections
to Wegener's many fruitful ideas and extraordinary scientific
accomplishments, even as it examines the many distinct dimensions
of thought and action that emanated from Wegener's apparently
heedless embrace of all manner of risk-taking . . . Anglophone
readers, especially, have never had such an opportunity to
understand Alfred Wegener.
—ScienceDirect
This biography is clearly a labor of love for its author. Greene
worked on this book for more than twenty years, conducting archival
research, visiting libraries and collections across Europe and in
North America, and conducting interviews with key figures,
including Wegener’s surviving family members . . . I came away with
a renewed appreciation for Wegener as an engaged scientist who
refused to let the boundaries of academic disciplines dampen his
enthusiasm for scientific endeavor.
—AAG Review of Books
Mott Greene spent twenty years working on Alfred Wegener, a
masterpiece in which he revolutionizes our understanding of
Wegener, just as Wegener revolutionized our understanding of the
Earth . . . a brilliant and compelling account of the life of one
of the most talented, versatile, and remarkable scientists in
history.
—Isis
Greene has created an important work that gives context to one of
the most recent paradigm shifts in science . . . Greene tells the
story with enough documentation to keep the story grounded in
reality, yet uses his prose to maintain interest even after the
'eureka' moment, even after Wegener’s death on the ice.
—Science & Education
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