Immagine dell'autore.

Henry Walter Bates (1825–1892)

Autore di In the Heart of the Amazon Forest

9 opere 297 membri 5 recensioni

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Comprende il nome: Henry Walter Bates

Fonte dell'immagine: Henry Walter Bates. Wikipedia.

Opere di Henry Walter Bates

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In 1846, the British naturalist Henry Walter Bates and his friend Alfred Wallace launched an expedition to the Amazonian rainforest. Their goal was to collect plant and animal specimens, observe species in their natural habitats, and (according to a letter from Wallace to Bates), to"gather facts towards solving the problem of the origin of species." Bates explored in the Amazon basin for 11 years, and on his return to England, published an account in his 1863 book The Naturalist on the River Amazons. Republished many times over the years, this book stands as a classic of adventure, exploration, and natural history.

As part of their "Great Journeys" series, Penguin Books has published excerpts of Henry Bates' book as the small 107 page paperback In the Heart of the Amazon Forest. The excerpts are presented in three sections: (1) Blow-guns, Turtle Hunting, and Alligators; (2) Toucans, Vampire Bats, Foraging Ants, and Other Creatures; and (3) Departure. The passages in this book offer anecdotal observations on animals, plants, habitats, and indigenous peoples as seen through Bates' eyes. The flyleaf contains a map of the upper Amazon, and although Bates' route is not marked, one can find some of the localities cited in his account.

One goal of the "Great Journeys" excerpts probably is to acquaint readers with the larger works from which they are taken. In this regard, this book may serve its purpose; readers readers are more likely to encounter and read this excerpt than the large 450+ page volume. Nevertheless, I found the presentation of this small book a bit disappointing. Only a brief (two-paragraph) introduction is given to describe who Bates was and what his great work was about. The introduction gets the years of Bates' life wrong (rather than 1825-1892, it inexplicably claims 1850- 1918, which would mean he launched the expedition 4 years before he was born). Likewise, the introduction doesn't describe the expedition in terms of its goals, or scientific impact, nor does it mention that the "Mr. Wallace" who accompanied Bates was later to be a co-founder (with Darwin) of the evolutionary principle of natural selection. Perhaps these are picky criticisms, but I think the reader needs a historical context to understand the significance and content of the work. Of course, motivated readers can educate themselves about Bates' expedition and scientific contributions with a little online digging.

In any case, Henry Bates' expedition and writings should be of interest to those who like reading 19th century works on exploration and adventure. A fine review of the entire book is available here at LT: http://www.librarything.com/work/237608/reviews/36084864 Bates' entire book itself is now available online via the Project Gutenberg series, so the ambitious reader need not confine him/her self to the small excerpts chosen in this paperback.
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danielx | 2 altre recensioni | Apr 15, 2011 |
Excellent book. The author describes in great detail some 10 years of study in the Amazon River basin: the fauna, flora and its people. [SPOILER] The final chapters where the author contracts a tropical disease and cuts his trip short and his farewell account when leaving this “tropical Eden” are quite moving.
 
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elviomedeiros | 1 altra recensione | Mar 7, 2011 |
Politically incorrect these days, eg killing aimals for his collection, but parts were fascinating, especially when he was describing the activities of turtles and ants.
 
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lizdoc | 2 altre recensioni | Feb 8, 2009 |
Henry Bates was a very famous mid-19th century English naturalist who spent 11 1/2 years in the Amazon River area, eventually going from the outlet at the Atlantic at what is now Belem to the border of Brasil with Peru. He collected thousands of specimens of EVERYTHING--birds, mammals, especially insects, many of which were unknown at the time. Many of his specimens now reside in the British Museum.

In those days, a "naturalist" was no specialist. It is a marvel to me to read today of someone who is knowledgeable not only in all of the above but a massive variety of plants as well. Today, a botanist, for example, would specialize maybe in one family of palms, let's say.

The book is well written, but the structure is not the easiest to deal with: the paragraphs can be very long. Also, you can get very tired of the verb 'to ramble".

There is a wealth of information although not too specialized. Bates became famous for many things but not the least his exposition on what are now known as army ants! His descriptions of the insect pests are lively and also deceptive. One fly, called the Puím, is a blood-sucking monster that he calmly disposes of by remarking that they’re sluggish and so easily picked off with the fingers! Yellow fever was a problem on the lower Amazon; it is fascinating from a modern point of view to know that at that time, there was no knowledge of the relationship of the appropriate mosquito with the disease. He finally contracted malaria, which forced him to leave the country somewhat earlier than he had anticipated. Again, no understanding of the fact that the disease is mosquito-borne; he attributed to the unhealthiness of the surroundings but not to the insect vector.

His descriptions of he rain forest are superb, as he differentiates what grows in the different areas and stretches of the river—it is not all identical. He readily saw that the soil of the Amazon River basin is not all poor and clayish; it seems that just in recent years has it been acknowledged that there are verdant areas of the Amazon that are rooted in deep, fertile, productive soil.

He also wrote extensively on the native populations he found living along the River; it's interesting to read, because while he praises many aspects of their culture (for most although not all tribes), he considers them without imagination and without creation myths! It's hard to judge 150 years later. Bates spoke both Portuguese and Tupí, the common Indian language, fluently, so it wasn't a lack of language skills.

Here is Bates on the Indians of Pará (Belém): “The people all seemed to be contented and happy but idleness and poverty were exhibited by many unmistakable signs”. Clearly Bates views these as unacceptable qualities and signs that the native peoples were inferior.

He spent 4 1/2 years in Ega which is now Tefé, where I've spent a lot of time. His descriptions are fascinating; I hardly recognized the geography. There is a memorable section on harvesting turtle eggs and his prediction that such a quantity of eggs lost had to mean the diminution of the then-abundant Amazon turtle, at least in that area.

I could go on and on about this wonderful book, but I suspect that despite my enthusiasm, it will hold little attraction except for those of us who either have spent time in the Amazon region and have fallen in love with that magic river or else for “naturalists", either amateur or professional, who recognize Bates’ monumental achievement.
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Joycepa | 1 altra recensione | Oct 30, 2008 |

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Opere
9
Utenti
297
Popolarità
#78,942
Voto
½ 3.6
Recensioni
5
ISBN
41
Lingue
6

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