Henry Walter Bates (1825-1892) was first an apprentice to a hosiery manufacturer in Leicester, England. He was a friend of the English master, Russel Wallace, of the same town. Both men became distinguished naturalists, giving Darwin (who praised them) much aid and help. In 1848 Bates and Wallace left for the Amazon River. After many hardships—bad health, no funds—but doing hard work, Bates returned to England in 1859, having collected 14,712 species of animals and of these “no less than eight thousand proved to be new to science. ” It is said that this was a record never equaled. In 1863 a two-volume edition of Bates was published and was a great success. In 1864 an abridged edition was printed by John Murray in London. This California paperback is from the 1864 John Murray edition. The introduction by Robert L. Usinger, Professor of Entomology at the University of California, Berkeley, is short but adequate.
Bates’ book is scientific but also informative on other matters. He was an acute observer of the region he visited and his descriptions of people and landscapes are first rate. The book is valuable to the study of Latin America. And as Professor Usinger says, Bates was “destined to play an intimate role in the unfolding drama of the Darwinian revolution.” The University of California has performed a commendable task in reprinting the book—it is a good selection and a pleasant presentation.