“Few Victorians were as adventurous as Alfred Russel Wallace, who plunged into the tropics to collect thousands of uniquely fascinating natural history specimens and simultaneously pioneered the theory of evolution by natural selection. Yet Wallace’s story is frequently overshadowed by that of his more famous contemporary Charles Darwin. Here, in glorious detail, James Costa―a noted biologist-historian―captures Wallace’s life in all its brilliance, originality, and complexity, and shows how this unassuming naturalist with the daring mind changed the history of biology forever.” ― Janet Browne, author of Charles Darwin: A Biography
“Alfred Russel Wallace is too often relegated to a footnote in the Charles Darwin story. James Costa’s masterful new biography puts Wallace back where he belongs, in the main text, bringing him triumphantly and precisely into focus as Darwin’s equal.” ― Andrew Berry, editor of Infinite Tropics: An Alfred Russel Wallace Anthology
“James Costa’s life of Alfred Russel Wallace is comprehensive and detailed, scholarly and lively. Readers familiar with the author’s masterly historical and biological work over recent decades will have high expectations of this volume and they will not be disappointed. There is no better book on this remarkable man.” ― M.J.S. Hodge, University of Leeds
James T. Costa 