Pioneer Naturalists: The Discovery and Naming of North American Plants and Animals

by Howard E. Evans, Michael G. Kippenhan (Illustrator)

Looks at the early study of North American wildlife, describes various species, and discusses the first naturalists to identify them

Genres: Nature, Nonfiction, History, Science

294 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book for biologists, ecologists, wildlifers, etc. I like the way he included both the history of the naturalists with the natural history. Either topic on its own might have gotten a bit tedious, but together was fascinating. The stories of the pioneers were very inspiring.

[Jackie]

Evans, Howard Ensign. 1993. Pioneer naturalists: the discovery and naming of North American plants and animals. Henry Holt & Company, New York. Illustrated by Michael G. Kippenhan. ISBN: 0-8050-2337-2. 2nd hand bookstore purchase, $6.50.
Looks to be similar to Scott Weidensaul's “Of a feather,” though organized in a different manner. Plants and animals are described, followed by brief biographies of the persons they are named after. Howard Ensign Evans is a retired Colorado State University teacher, who has written several books on natural history.

[Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

An outstanding book! As a former wildlifer, I knew many of the scientific and common names list in the book but was fascinated to learn the actually origin of some of the names and a great deal about naturalists I either knew nothing or very little about. The author is an entomology professor and it shows in his deft handling and in depth understanding in many places in the book. This was a book I found in my used bookstore prowling and it has proved to be quite a find!