Packed with admirable scholarship; the author is an excellent stylist ... She shines as a cultural historian ... Biographers such as Ms. Riskin frequently claim their subjects are more momentous than they were. Nonetheless, as this book shows, Lamarck really was a scientific pioneer, recognizing the importance of the insight that living things change over time ... Whether, as Ms. Riskin believes, he warrants full rehabilitation as a theorist, however, is another story. Ms. Riskin argues persuasively that Lamarck made important contributions that deserve to be recognized, but he remains where he belongs: in Darwin’s shadow.
A transportive and engaging examination of the life and legacy of French naturalist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck ... Richly detailed yet accessible, this work recenters a vital voice in the history of evolutionary thought ... Compelling and intellectually rigorous.
Fresh ... Effectively explaining how her subject’s thoughts on evolution were twisted by his detractors into a caricature of what he originally intended, Riskin concludes that, in many ways, 'Lamarck was right.' Historians and scientists will find much to savor.
