The Remarkable Life Of William Beebe

by Gould, Carol Grant

• ISBN13: 9781559638586
• ISBN10: 1559638583
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-11-09
• Publisher: Island Pr

Summary

When William Beebe needed to know what was going on in the depths of the ocean, he had himself lowered a half-mile down in a four-foot steel sphere to see-five times deeper than anyone had ever gone in the 1930s. When he wanted to trace the evolution of pheasants in 1910, he trekked on foot through the mountains and jungles of the Far East to locate every species. To decipher the complex ecology of the tropics, he studied the interactions of every creature and plant in a small area from the top down, setting the emerging field of tropical ecology into dynamic motion. William Beebe's curiosity about the natural world was insatiable, and he did nothing by halves. As the first biographer to see the letters and private journals Beebe kept from 1887 until his death in 1962, science writer Carol Grant Gould brings the life and times of this groundbreaking scientist and explorer compellingly to light. From the Galapagos Islands to the jungles of British Guiana, from the Bronx Zoo to the deep seas, Beebe's biography is a riveting adventure. A best-selling author in his own time, Beebe was a fearless explorer and thoughtful scientist who put his life on the line in pursuit of knowledge. The unique glimpses he provided into the complex web of interactions that keeps the earth alive and breathing have inspired generations of conservationists and ecologists. This exciting biography of a great naturalist brings William Beebe at last to the recognition he deserves.

Table of Contents

Preface	xiii
Prologue	3	(6)
PART I Naturalist
1. Counting Crows	9	(9)
2. Fledging	18	(9)
3. Portrait of the Naturalist as a Young Man	27	(6)
4. Sailing North	33	(8)
5. The Scientists' Apprentice	41	(16)
6. Bronx Zoological Park	57	(9)
7. Widening Horizons	66	(7)
8. Nestbuilding	73	(12)
PART II Ornithologist
9. Flying South	85	(8)
10. Migration	93	(7)
11. The Naturalist as Author	100	(8)
12. Rain Forest at Last	108	(9)
13. In Search of Wildness	117	(12)
14. City Lights	129	(9)
15. Pheasant Jungles	138	(13)
16. Western Himalayas	151	(10)
17. Bearing East	161	(13)
18. Recalibration	174	(6)
19. Betrayal	180	(8)
20. Wilderness Found	188	(15)
21. Jungle Peace	203	(18)
PART III Marine Biologist
22. The Encantadas	221	(11)
23. New York Aerie	232	(10)
24. The Arcturus Adventure	242	(11)
25. Fire and Water	253	(9)
26. Elswyth	262	(12)
27. Bermuda Diary	274	(10)
28. Out of the Depths	284	(19)
29. On the Air	303	(14)
30. Half Mile Down	317	(13)
31. Fishing	330	(13)
PART IV Tropical Ecologist
32. Ocean to Jungle	343	(11)
33. Rancho Grande	354	(8)
34. High Jungle	362	(7)
35. Simla	369	(13)
36. Home to Roost	382	(12)
37. Simla Sunset	394	(13)
Epilogue	407	(6)
Acknowledgments	413	(2)
Endnotes	415	(10)
Selected Bibliography	425	(6)
Sources of Illustrations	431	(4)
Index	435