Biography

The Wonderful Mr Willughby

July 17, 2018

Not so very far along my reading of Helen Scales’ new “Eye of the Shoal,” I found myself reading about the friendship and collaboration of John Ray and Francis Willughby on the 1686 book “De Historia Piscium.” However as soon as I read Willughby’s name, my mind immediately flashed to the copy of Tim Birkhead’s recently published book “The Wonderful Mr Willughby; The First True Ornithologist” sitting on my desk. Ichthyology, ornithology – one person publishing foundational books in them both… Those were the days!

The Last Universal Naturalist

April 1, 2018

“The universal intellectual, the free-standing man or woman making a living more or less from writing or talking, and being known for that in a variety of old fashioned media has disappeared. We shall not see a return or a revival, I think, of that kind of intellectual.” So spoke the late Tony Judt in his […]

Coastal Sage

January 14, 2018

Recounting the story of the life and work of the late Peter M. Douglas, long-serving chairman of the California Coastal Commission, and indefatigable advocate for the preservation of and open access to the magnificent coastline of the U.S. state of California, this new book will – it is hoped – bring greater attention to one of those most responsible for making it still possible for us all continue to be able to enjoy a visit to some of the worlds most remarkable coastal areas.

Priest of Nature

July 10, 2017

As the fifth day of July this year marked the 330th anniversary of the publication of Sir Issac Newton’s monumental Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica, it seems appropriate that a new book about him should be published only a few days later. However rather than focusing on his mathematical ideas, this one takes his religious ones as its subject.