Audubon the Naturalist: A History of His Life and Time. Vol. 2

Herrick, Francis Hobart, 1858-1940Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.2
Word count
903K words
Chapters
91

Tags

English Originals Scientists Ecological VisionScientific ExpeditionNature ObservationArt and ScienceAudubonBiographical ChronicleNatural HistoryOrnithology19th CenturyAmerican Natural History

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Audubon the Naturalist: A History of His Life and Time. Vol. 2 (of 2) by HerrickAuthor: Herrick, Francis Hobart, 1858-1940,Language: English, Class: QL: Science: Zoology, Release Date: Feb 28, 2019

Editor's review

This is the second volume of Herrick's biography of Audubon, continuing from the previous volume to trace the life and times of the naturalist and bird painter. As a public-domain e-book, its value lies not in bestselling narrative but in placing its subject within the development of nineteenth-century American natural science and natural history, suiting readers interested in the history of natural history, the early forms of ornithology, and biographies of scientists. Reading it conveys the solidity of biographical writing: historical sources as the skeleton, with attention to both the era and personal experience rather than a compilation of curious anecdotes. For Chinese readers it is also a primary text for observing early science communication and traditions of nature observation. Note that the book is in the original English and was written long ago, so its prose and pace differ from today's popular biographies; it is better suited to slow reading and reference-style consultation. If you are researching Audubon, the history of ornithology, or nineteenth-century American scientific culture, this volume can serve as reference reading; if you merely want light stories, adjust your expectations.

Who it's for

A good fit for

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Reading tips

  1. Read Volume 1 first or learn an outline of Audubon's life before entering this volume to avoid breaks in the character thread.
  2. Break the book into chapter-based topical notes, recording how historical background corresponds to personal experience.
  3. Look up unfamiliar place names, personal names, and institutions as you go; there is no need to force a rapid read-through.
  4. For research, read the notes and source citations first, then return to the main narrative

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
  21. 21
  22. 22
  23. 23
  24. 24
  25. 25
  26. 26
  27. 27
  28. 28
  29. 29
  30. 30
  31. 31
  32. 32
  33. 33
  34. 34
  35. 35
  36. 36
  37. 37
  38. 38
  39. 39
  40. 40
  41. 41
  42. 42
  43. 43
  44. 44
  45. 45
  46. 46
  47. 47
  48. 48
  49. 49
  50. 50
  51. 51
  52. 52
  53. 53
  54. 54
  55. 55
  56. 56
  57. 57
  58. 58
  59. 59
  60. 60
  61. 61
  62. 62
  63. 63
  64. 64
  65. 65
  66. 66
  67. 67
  68. 68
  69. 69
  70. 70
  71. 71
  72. 72
  73. 73
  74. 74
  75. 75
  76. 76
  77. 77
  78. 78
  79. 79
  80. 80
  81. 81
  82. 82
  83. 83
  84. 84
  85. 85
  86. 86
  87. 87
  88. 88
  89. 89
  90. 90
  91. 91

FAQ

Is this book in Chinese or English? According to the materials, this is an English public-domain e-book released by Project Gutenberg, in English and not a Chinese translation. Chinese readers need some English reading ability or should read with tools or a translation as support.
Can I read Volume 2 without having read Volume 1? You can, but Volume 2 continues the personal experience and era of the previous volume, so entering directly may leave you unfamiliar with relationships and chronology. It is advisable to learn an outline of Audubon's life first or read Volume 1 before this one for smoother understanding.
Is this book suitable as an introduction to ornithology? Not very suitable as an introductory ornithology text. It is a biography and history of an era, focused on Audubon's life and surroundings rather than systematic bird classification or identification. Beginners are better off starting with modern popular ornithology books.
What should I note when reading the e-edition? Public-domain e-books are usually plain-text layouts, so illustrations and formatting may be limited. Use reading software that supports dictionary lookup and annotation for names, places, and terms; if citing for research, verify the specific edition information and page numbers.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Herrick, Francis Hobart, 1858-1940 Author

Francis Hobart Herrick (1858–1940) is the author of the two volumes of Audubon the Naturalist: A History of His Life and Time. Public information about his nationality, education, career, and specific experiences is limited, so no speculation is offered here. Judging from these two works, he devoted himself to studying the life and times of John James Audubon, the American ornithologist and painter, setting out the subject's life and historical context across two volumes that combine biography with historical narrative. Centered on Audubon as a figure in natural history, the work interweaves period background with biographical detail, making it an important reference for Audubon studies and reflecting the author's interest and competence in the history of natural history and in biographical writing.