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Loren Eiseley: Collected Essays on Evolution, Nature, and the Cosmos: A Library of America Boxed Set
A modern Thoreau explores the mysteries of the universe in this deluxe collector's boxed set.
To read Loren Eiseley (1907-1977) is to renew a sense of wonder at the miracles and paradoxes of evolution and the ever-changing diversity of life. At the height of a distinguished career as a "bone-hunter" and paleontologist, Eiseley turned from fieldwork and scientific publication to the personal essay in six remarkable books that are masterpieces of prose style. Weaving together anecdote, philosophical reflection, and keen observation with the soul and skill of a poet, Eiseley offers a brilliant, companionable introduction to the sciences, paving the way for writers like Carl Sagan, Stephen Jay Gould, and Neil deGrasse Tyson. Now for the first time, the Library of America presents his landmark essay collections in a definitive two-volume set.
Beginning with the surprise million-copy seller The Immense Journey (1957), Eiseley produced an astonishing succession of books that won acclaim both as science and as art. Here, for the first time in a single collector's edition, are all of Eiseley's beloved, thought-provoking, sometimes darkly lyrical essay collections, from The Immense Journey to the posthumous The Star Thrower (1978). Eiseley's subjects are wide-ranging, curious, and meticulously realized: the role of flowering plants in evolution; a disturbing insect, seen in childhood; the questions raised by a new fossil; a forgotten episode in the history of science. Beginning with close observation and vivid detail, Eiseley is fearless and imaginative in pursuit of the cosmological dimensions of the phenomena he describes.
To read Loren Eiseley (1907-1977) is to renew a sense of wonder at the miracles and paradoxes of evolution and the ever-changing diversity of life. At the height of a distinguished career as a "bone-hunter" and paleontologist, Eiseley turned from fieldwork and scientific publication to the personal essay in six remarkable books that are masterpieces of prose style. Weaving together anecdote, philosophical reflection, and keen observation with the soul and skill of a poet, Eiseley offers a brilliant, companionable introduction to the sciences, paving the way for writers like Carl Sagan, Stephen Jay Gould, and Neil deGrasse Tyson. Now for the first time, the Library of America presents his landmark essay collections in a definitive two-volume set.
Beginning with the surprise million-copy seller The Immense Journey (1957), Eiseley produced an astonishing succession of books that won acclaim both as science and as art. Here, for the first time in a single collector's edition, are all of Eiseley's beloved, thought-provoking, sometimes darkly lyrical essay collections, from The Immense Journey to the posthumous The Star Thrower (1978). Eiseley's subjects are wide-ranging, curious, and meticulously realized: the role of flowering plants in evolution; a disturbing insect, seen in childhood; the questions raised by a new fossil; a forgotten episode in the history of science. Beginning with close observation and vivid detail, Eiseley is fearless and imaginative in pursuit of the cosmological dimensions of the phenomena he describes.
1066 pages, Hardcover
Published November 15, 2016
About the author
Loren Eiseley
50 books315 followersLoren Corey Eiseley (September 3, 1907 – July 9, 1977) was a highly respected anthropologist, science writer, ecologist, and poet. He published books of essays, biography, and general science in the 1950s through the 1970s.
Eiseley is best known for the poetic essay style, called the "concealed essay". He used this to explain complex scientific ideas, such as human evolution, to the general public. He is also known for his writings about humanity's relationship with the natural world; these writings helped inspire the modern environmental movement.
Eiseley is best known for the poetic essay style, called the "concealed essay". He used this to explain complex scientific ideas, such as human evolution, to the general public. He is also known for his writings about humanity's relationship with the natural world; these writings helped inspire the modern environmental movement.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 4, 2019
I first encountered this wonderful writer back in the '70s as his books were coming out in paperback, and marveled then at his graceful, insightful writing style.
The Library of America recently published this collection of his essays (actually, a lovely reprinting of several of his books combined into two large volumes) and, remembering my earlier delight, I purchased them.
He has the eye of a painter and the lyrical beauty of narrative style of a poet.
Whether he is describing floating down a shallow river on his back -- where he reflects both on the artifacts he espies along its banks or on the creatures that swim (and once swam) below him -- or whether he is doing an intriguing echo of Hamlet's "Alas, poor Yorick" while gazing on the skull of a primitive predator brought to the sun again deep in a recently opened crevice -- or whether he, listening to the chattering of prairie dogs at the approach of night, muses on what will "chatter in the night" after humankind has long gone the way of the dinosaurs -- he has a hypnotic way of taking something that most of us, if we even noticed it, would probably regard as "normal" or even mundane and endowing it with great depth of time and meaning.
The noses of wolves, for example, are not just "snouts" but, rather, incredibly refined instruments that nature -- over thousands and thousands of years -- has slowly fine-tuned into data-rich gatherers of information. He imagines trotting through the woods or rushing across a wind-driven valley in pursuit of prey even miles distant, exulting in the animal grace and freedom of it. Honestly, you find your pulse rising and your breath increasing as you read this and imagine trotting along beside him!
For those coming to Eiseley for the first time, especially for younger readers (at my age, alas, an expanding group), his thoughts are both full of reasons why we must do all we can to protect our fragile world and its many threatened environments and, also, a hymn of praise and sorrow for creatures lost and soon to disappear.
For those who love our beautiful world, and/or are intrigued with the incredibly distant past of our planet, and/or love the beauty of words well chosen, I cannot recommend too highly these musings. They will leave you with a greater sense of wonder at all that is about us and, hardly unimportant in these savage times, a recognition of how much larger and greater is our world and the wonders to yet be understood.
Thanks to the wonders of this old technology (books), although the man is gone his words remain glowingly present.
One of my favorite pieces is his essay, The Star-Thrower:
“Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.
"One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up.
"As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.
"He came closer still and called out 'Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?'
"The young man paused, looked up, and replied 'Throwing starfish into the ocean.'
"'I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?' asked the somewhat startled wise man.
"To this, the young man replied, 'The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die.'
"Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, 'But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!'
"At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, 'It made a difference for that one.'
Eiseley then writes that although he then left the young man, he kept reflecting on their exchange. Suddenly, he stopped, turned around, and went back to that shoreline where he, too, began to slowly and respectfully fling beached starfish into the sea.
I could not more highly recommend his works to you!
The Library of America recently published this collection of his essays (actually, a lovely reprinting of several of his books combined into two large volumes) and, remembering my earlier delight, I purchased them.
He has the eye of a painter and the lyrical beauty of narrative style of a poet.
Whether he is describing floating down a shallow river on his back -- where he reflects both on the artifacts he espies along its banks or on the creatures that swim (and once swam) below him -- or whether he is doing an intriguing echo of Hamlet's "Alas, poor Yorick" while gazing on the skull of a primitive predator brought to the sun again deep in a recently opened crevice -- or whether he, listening to the chattering of prairie dogs at the approach of night, muses on what will "chatter in the night" after humankind has long gone the way of the dinosaurs -- he has a hypnotic way of taking something that most of us, if we even noticed it, would probably regard as "normal" or even mundane and endowing it with great depth of time and meaning.
The noses of wolves, for example, are not just "snouts" but, rather, incredibly refined instruments that nature -- over thousands and thousands of years -- has slowly fine-tuned into data-rich gatherers of information. He imagines trotting through the woods or rushing across a wind-driven valley in pursuit of prey even miles distant, exulting in the animal grace and freedom of it. Honestly, you find your pulse rising and your breath increasing as you read this and imagine trotting along beside him!
For those coming to Eiseley for the first time, especially for younger readers (at my age, alas, an expanding group), his thoughts are both full of reasons why we must do all we can to protect our fragile world and its many threatened environments and, also, a hymn of praise and sorrow for creatures lost and soon to disappear.
For those who love our beautiful world, and/or are intrigued with the incredibly distant past of our planet, and/or love the beauty of words well chosen, I cannot recommend too highly these musings. They will leave you with a greater sense of wonder at all that is about us and, hardly unimportant in these savage times, a recognition of how much larger and greater is our world and the wonders to yet be understood.
Thanks to the wonders of this old technology (books), although the man is gone his words remain glowingly present.
One of my favorite pieces is his essay, The Star-Thrower:
“Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.
"One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up.
"As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.
"He came closer still and called out 'Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?'
"The young man paused, looked up, and replied 'Throwing starfish into the ocean.'
"'I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?' asked the somewhat startled wise man.
"To this, the young man replied, 'The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die.'
"Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, 'But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!'
"At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, 'It made a difference for that one.'
Eiseley then writes that although he then left the young man, he kept reflecting on their exchange. Suddenly, he stopped, turned around, and went back to that shoreline where he, too, began to slowly and respectfully fling beached starfish into the sea.
I could not more highly recommend his works to you!
August 11, 2018
This should be mandatory reading. It is the most magnificent, poetic meditation on existence most people have never heard of.
Read
January 11, 2022I've completed the 1st book of the set, the collection entitled The Immense Journey.
Eiseley was an anthropologist primarily concerned with evolution and the natural world. Though I recognized the name, I'd not read him until introduced to his work through his essay "One Night's Dying" included in an anthology published by Phillip Lopate. I was impressed with his comments on deep cosmic time and evolution and our place in them. And I was impressed with his stylish prose. This collection of essays doesn't disappoint. He proved to be a more interesting writer than I'd hoped. Concerned as he is with all of nature from the fields adjacent to his house to the expanding universe, he's able to make astounding leaps in thought in a few sentences. He writes about frogs' eyes protruding from ponds to watch the skies and moves to our probing the night skies with telescopes. Grass seed pods clinging to his pants and transported from field to field reminds him of the theory of earth seeded by microscopic spores carried by falling meteorites. Sometimes he writes of the violent feeding of animal on animal with the same powerful lyricism as Ted Hughes. There are many rewards in the book, but I felt blessed to be reading the essay "The Judgment of the Birds."
The 2d book, The Firmament of Time, is essentially a history of evolutionary thought, of how man progressed inn his understanding of the natural world, how we learned to expand time from our near-current age to the billions preceding us. He writes metaphorically about how science feeds the imagination. And he concludes wonderfully by explaining how man has transcended what we understand as natural. I found interesting his descriptions of how the idea of evolution predated Darwin and advanced in small increments and clues until he provided a new way to see the world from the angle of natural selection. I had previously been under the impression Wallace and Darwin had discovered the process by themselves.
Eiseley was an anthropologist primarily concerned with evolution and the natural world. Though I recognized the name, I'd not read him until introduced to his work through his essay "One Night's Dying" included in an anthology published by Phillip Lopate. I was impressed with his comments on deep cosmic time and evolution and our place in them. And I was impressed with his stylish prose. This collection of essays doesn't disappoint. He proved to be a more interesting writer than I'd hoped. Concerned as he is with all of nature from the fields adjacent to his house to the expanding universe, he's able to make astounding leaps in thought in a few sentences. He writes about frogs' eyes protruding from ponds to watch the skies and moves to our probing the night skies with telescopes. Grass seed pods clinging to his pants and transported from field to field reminds him of the theory of earth seeded by microscopic spores carried by falling meteorites. Sometimes he writes of the violent feeding of animal on animal with the same powerful lyricism as Ted Hughes. There are many rewards in the book, but I felt blessed to be reading the essay "The Judgment of the Birds."
The 2d book, The Firmament of Time, is essentially a history of evolutionary thought, of how man progressed inn his understanding of the natural world, how we learned to expand time from our near-current age to the billions preceding us. He writes metaphorically about how science feeds the imagination. And he concludes wonderfully by explaining how man has transcended what we understand as natural. I found interesting his descriptions of how the idea of evolution predated Darwin and advanced in small increments and clues until he provided a new way to see the world from the angle of natural selection. I had previously been under the impression Wallace and Darwin had discovered the process by themselves.
February 23, 2026
Read over course of 3 years: 6 total collections, 2 per year. Not the kind of essays you want to plow through. They reward savoring with attentive but leisurely pace, pausing to reread fascinating ideas and lyrical prose. The often melancholic / elegiac tone would perhaps prove too heavy or wearisome in large doses, but quite poignant and moving one essay at a time. I never read more than one a day. I'm sure I'll end up rereading, if not the entire oeuvre, then favorites from each collection, of which I have many. Prior to Eiseley, I read little or no science writing. Now, thanks to him, it's one of my favorite genres. Though retired from the classroom for several years, I find myself taking notes on reading lists for potential course on The Art of Science Writing. Even if I never get chance to teach it -- perhaps in some continuing adult ed. program at local school -- I enjoy creating and revising a syllabus in my head. Eiseley will be well-presented. The hard part will choosing which of so many favorites to include.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews