As most naturalists do, I like to stop for at least a few moments on anniversaries of particular scientific significance in order to acknowledge and contemplate what or who that anniversary commemorates and where we would be had that thing not happened or that person not been born. Such a day is 12 February, the date on which Charles Robert Darwin, FRS FRGS FLS FZS was born.
Back in 2009 when The Well-read Naturalist had just published its first review, Grant McCreary was already approaching the third anniversary of his own book reviewing website, The Birder’s Library. Now, seven years later, his superb site is celebrating its tenth anniversary.
It was on this date in 1859 that Charles Darwin entered the words “all copies ie 1250 sold first day” in his journal. He was writing, of course, about his then just published book On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection – the book that would become the most famous of all his many works, would spark debates that still rage to this very day, and would end up being far more talked about than actually read.
Now approaching its thirtieth anniversary, Wintergreen is widely considered to be one of Pyle’s best works. So much so that Pharos Editions has recently republished it in a special anniversary edition with a new introduction written by David Guterson and an updated afterword penned by Pyle himself.