02671nam a2200349 a 4500 ebr10747510 CaPaEBR m o u cr cn||||||||| 130710s2013 cauaco sb s001 0aeng d 2013020395 9780520232754 (hardback) 9780520956735 (e-book) CaPaEBR CaPaEBR (OCoLC)858896924 n-us--- QH31 .G73 2013eb 570.92 B 23 Greene, Harry W., 1945- Tracks and shadows [electronic resource] : field biology as art / Harry W. Greene. Berkeley : University of California Press, 2013. xiii, 280 p. : ill., ports. Includes bibliographical references and index. "Intellectually rich, intensely personal, and beautifully written, Tracks and Shadows is both an absorbing autobiography of a celebrated field biologist and a celebration of beauty in nature. Harry W. Greene, award-winning author of Snakes: The Evolution of Mystery in Nature delves into the poetry of field biology, showing how nature eases our existential quandaries. More than a memoir, the book is about the wonder of snakes, the beauty of studying and understanding natural history, and the importance of sharing the love of nature with humanity. Greene begins with his youthful curiosity about the natural world and moves to his stints as a mortician's assistant, ambulance driver, and army medic. In detailing his academic career, he describes how his work led him to believe that nature's most profound lessons lurk in hard-won details. He discusses the nuts and bolts of field research and teaching, contrasts the emotional impact of hot dry habitats with hot wet ones, imparts the basics of snake biology, and introduces the great explorers Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace. He reflects on friendship and happiness, tackles notions like anthropomorphism and wilderness, and argues that organisms remain the core of biology, science plays key roles in conservation, and natural history offers an enlightened form of contentment."-- Provided by publisher. Electronic reproduction. Palo Alto, Calif. : ebrary, 2013. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ebrary affiliated libraries. Greene, Harry W., 1945- Biologists United States Biography. Nature. Electronic books. local ebrary, Inc. http://site.ebrary.com/lib/rucke/Doc?id=10747510 An electronic book accessible through the World Wide Web; click to view 15131 15131