Bright Paradise: Victorian Scientific Travellers

Raby (Samuel Butler) has written about an interesting topic in a largely uninteresting way. In his account of the travels of 19th-century British naturalists to remote areas of South America, Africa and Asia, he pays little attention to the travelers' scientific work. While he does recount some of Alfred Wallace's and Charles Darwin's contributions to the theory of evolution, his treatment of Henry Bates, Richard Spruce, Mary Kingsley and others is restricted to their adventures beyond the pale of ""civilization."" In the process, Raby occasionally entertains readers with his accounts of naturalists riding on the backs of crocodiles, battling massive anacondas and making first contact with various indigenous peoples. This latter is potentially the most absorbing aspect of the book, but here too, Raby fails to analyze how explorers' attitudes toward these natives changed (or failed to change) over the course of the 19th century. He also makes contrary claims as to the impact of the scientists' reports on Britain's subsequent treatment of the visited continents. While this book is refreshingly evenhanded, well researched and occasionally entertaining, it would have benefited greatly from more analysis. Illustrated. (Nov.)