Shaping Ecology: The Life of Arthur Tansley [Paperback]

For a relatively thin volume, this book is painstakingly detailed. However, it is not really what I've come to understand a biography to represent. Although there are personal details of Tansley's life outside of his career (which was obviously all-consuming for him), I didn't feel as if I gained any real perspective on his personality or the important relationships. Perhaps this is quintessentially "British", but from my viewpoint was not really deeply engaging.

Ayers' book is extensively annotated, and I found the inclusion of the "notes" at the end of each chapter, rather than in a composite section at the conclusion, extremely helpful. Regretfully, botany and ecology are not my fields, and therefore I found the extensive discussion of various projects and programs with which Tansley was involved more detailed than I (and therefore, perhaps, other readers similarly lacking expertise) could really enjoy. As I've previously remarked in various reviews, I am drawn to biographies and memoirs, as well as to scientifically-oriented writing, which was why I was intrigued by this title, but the narrative rather missed the mark for me.

This is indeed a contemporary book in a number of ways. Arthur Tansley's life and work spanned the decades of huge advancement in scientific research, as well as the politically tumultuous years surrounding both WWI and WWII. He was friends with many of the intellectual luminaries of that era, including Freud and Bertrand Russell, just to mention two. The introduction of Tansley's friendships with such individuals gives Ayers' work considerable depth and perspective. And of course the underlying theme, what really drew my interest in the first place, is the emphasis that Tansley was an extremely vital player in the development of the science of ecology, and the understanding of the concept of ecosystem. A person who played such a pivotal role in a field of investigation upon which the future survival of life on the planet may well hinge does indeed deserve wider recognition than he has received so far. Although I am not sure that Peter Ayers' book can fully accomplish this, perhaps it represents an important step along the road.

This is a very thorough and interesting history of a British ecologist, before ecology was a science. It details the life of Arthur Tansley from a young boy through his entire career. Peter Ayers also explains the thinking that led to the "modern" science of ecology and how Tansley's thinking helped change the science of botany from the study of plants to include the study of plants in their environment. A fascinating read for anyone interested in the history of science and the people that have shaped current science fields.