On Harper's Trail: Roland McMillan Harper, Pioneering Botanist of the Southern Coastal Plain
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.12 (881 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0820335223 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 296 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2016-11-24 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Good read for Harper Fans Matthew D. Therrell Anybody working in ecology or geography in Alabama, Florida or Georgia is or should be familiar with Harper's work. This book provides a good historical overview of Harper's life and work as well as context for many relevant works written by his contemporaries. Harper and his work should be more widely known and this book is a great start to making that happen.
She holds degrees in history from Boston University and the University of Arkansas, Little Rock. Elizabeth Findley Shores is a writer and native of Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
In addition to explaining Harper's eminence among southeastern naturalists, this story spans fundamental shifts in the biological sciences-from an emphasis on field observation to a new focus on life at the molecular level, and from the dawn of evolutionary theory to the modern synthesis to sociobiology.. Roland McMillan Harper (1878-1966) had perhaps "the greatest store of field experience of any living botanist of the Southeast," according to Bassett Maguire, the renowned plant scientist of the New York Botanical Garden. However, Harper's scientific contributions, including his pioneering work on the ecological importance of wetlands and fire, were buried for decades in the enormous collection of photographs and documents he left. With this book, Elizabeth Findley Shores provides the first full-length biography of the accomplished botanist, documentary photographer, and explorer of the southern coastal plain's wilderness areas.Incorporating a wealth of detail about Harper's interests, accomplishments, and influences, Shores follows his entire scientific career, which was anchored by a thirty-five-year stint with the Alabama Geological Survey. She reveals Roland's acquaintance with some of the most important, and sometimes controversial, scientists of his day, including Nathaniel Britton, Hugo de Vries, and Charles Davenpor
Davenport Professor of Biology, Samford University)Although often overlooked, Roland Harper was a significant botanist, and this biography brings him the attention he deserves. On Harper's Trail is an engaging and well-documented work covering an important chapter in Alabama natural and cultural history. J. Stephens Professor Emeritus of History, University of Georgia)A rollicking biography of the seminal botanist Shores' biography of the outspoken, peripatetic Harper is an excelle