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Reviews: People

Reviews of books about people—excluding Darwin. (See the About Darwin section for books about the man himself.)

‘The Adventures of Sir Thomas Browne in the 21st Century’ by Hugh Aldersey-Williams

Book review: ‘The Adventures of Sir Thomas Browne in the 21st Century’ by Hugh Aldersey-Williams

Looking at the world through the eyes of a 17th-century polymath.

Published 19-Oct-2020
Filed under: Reviews Genres: History of Science, People Tags: reviews, stephen jay gould, thomas browne
Dispelling the Darkness

Book review: ‘Dispelling the Darkness’ by John van Wyhe

Voyage in the Malay Archipelago and the discovery of evolution by Wallace and Darwin.

Published 18-Jun-2018
Filed under: Reviews Genres: History of Science, People Tags: alfred russel wallace, books, conspiracy theories, john van wyhe, reviews
‘The Ascent of John Tyndall’ by Roland Jackson

Book review: ‘The Ascent of John Tyndall’ by Roland Jackson

A long-overdue biography of the Victorian scientist, mountaineer, and public intellectual.

Published 20-Mar-2018
Filed under: Mini Biographies, Reviews Genres: History of Science, People Tags: books, john tyndall, mountains, reviews, thomas archer hirst, thomas henry huxley
‘The Invention of Nature’ by Andrea Wulf

Book review: ‘The Invention of Nature’ by Andrea Wulf

The adventures of Alexander von Humboldt, the lost hero of science.

Published 29-Feb-2016
Filed under: Reviews Genres: History of Science, People Tags: alexander von humboldt, books, reviews, south america
‘The Happy Atheist’ by PZ Myers

Book review: ‘The Happy Atheist’ by PZ Myers

Relentlessly unsubtle wholesome fun.

Published 08-Mar-2014
Filed under: Reviews Genres: People Tags: books, pz myers, reviews
‘Darwin’s Apprentice’ by Janet Owen

Book review: ‘Darwin's Apprentice’ by Janet Owen

An archaeological biography of John Lubbock.

Published 10-Jun-2013
Filed under: Reviews Genres: History of Science, People Tags: books, john lubbock, reviews
Alfred Russel Wallace: a Life’ by Peter Raby

Book review: ‘Alfred Russel Wallace: a Life’ by Peter Raby

A very readable biography about the ‘co-discoverer’ of Natural Selection—the man who nearly scooped Darwin.

Published 18-Dec-2011
Filed under: Reviews Genres: History of Science, People Tags: alfred russel wallace, books, reviews
‘Darwin's Mentor’ by S.M. Walters & E.A. Stow

Book review: ‘Darwin's Mentor: John Stevens Henslow 1796–1861’ by S.M. Walters & E.A. Stow

The biography of John Stephens Henslow, Charles Darwin’s favourite tutor at Cambridge, and an all-round good egg.

Published 18-Dec-2011
Filed under: Reviews Genres: History of Science, People Tags: books, john stevens henslow, reviews
‘The Lunar Men’ by Jenny Uglow

Book review: ‘The Lunar Men’ by Jenny Uglow

The Friends who Made the Future, 1730–1810

Published 18-Dec-2011
Filed under: Reviews Genres: History of Science, People Tags: books, reviews, used in newsletter
‘Evolution’s Captain’ by Peter Nichols

Book review: ‘Evolution’s Captain’ by Peter Nichols

Biography of the captain of HMS Beagle.

Published 18-Dec-2011
Filed under: Reviews Genres: History of Science, People Tags: beagle voyage, books, hms beagle, reviews
‘The Age of Wonder’ by Richard Holmes

Book review: ‘The Age of Wonder’ by Richard Holmes

How the Romantic generation discovered the beauty and terror of science.

Published 18-Dec-2011
Filed under: Reviews Genres: History of Science, People Tags: books, reviews
‘Gilbert White’ by Richard Mabey

Book review: ‘Gilbert White’ by Richard Mabey

A biography of the author of The Natural History of Selborne.

Published 18-Dec-2011
Filed under: Reviews Genres: History of Science, People Tags: books, gilbert white, reviews

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