In a Patch of Fireweed A Biologists Life in the Field

Why would a grown man chase hornets with a thermometer, paint whirligig beetles bright red, or track elephants through the night to fill trash bags with their prodigious droppings? Some might say--to advance science. Heinrich says--because it's fun.

Bernd Heinrich, author of the much acclaimed Bumblebee Economics, has been playing in the wilds of one continent or another all his life. In the process, he has become one of the world's foremost physiological ecologists. With In a Patch of Fireweed, he will undoubtedly become one of our foremost writers of popular science.

Part autobiography, part case study in the ways of field biology, In a Patch of Fireweed is an endlessly fascinating account of a scientist's life and work. For the author, it is an opportunity to report not just his results but the curiosity, humor, error, passion, and competitiveness that feed into the process of discovery. For the reader, it is simply a delight, a rare chance to share the perceptions of an unusual mind fully in tune with the inner workings of nature. Before his years of research in the woodlands and deserts of North America, the New Guinea highlands, and the plains of East Africa, Heinrich had a sense of the wild that few people in this century can know. He tells the whole story, from his refugee childhood hidden in a German forest, eating mice fried in boar fat, to his ongoing research in the woods surrounding his cabin in Maine.

"In this autobiographical reflection...[Heinrich] is intent on explaining why he became an insect physiologist and ecologist. In the process, he gives us a winning portrait of a fine scientific mind at work...There is a fine balance here between intellection and practical experience, speculation and discovery. This is a book that sends you right outdoors."

--Barry Lopez, New York Times Book Review

"Heinrich's stated purpose is to 'tell about the natural links forged between one's life and a life in science.' He succeeds magnificently. His prose reflects Thoreau's empathy with nature and the contemporary naturalist's technical knowledge...This meticulously observed book will please scientists, but it will also delight non-scientist readers who wonder what, in this increasingly polymerized world, is truly human and truly natural."

--John Wilkes, San Francisco Examiner-Chronicle

"In this charming volume, Heinrich combines biographical details with his economic-ecological approach to flora and fauna--embellishing the whole with precisionist pencil drawings...To be read and savored for the writing, the drawings, and the science."

--Kirkus Reviews

"[Heinrich's] memoir explains, with great charm, how he came to devote his life to such projects as measuring the temperature of wasps and swindling gullible beetles with phony dungballs...[He is] delightful company."

--Atlantic Monthly

In this autobiographical reflection...[Heinrich] is intent on explaining why he became an insect physiologist and ecologist. In the process, he gives us a winning portrait of a fine scientific mind at work...There is a fine balance here between intellection and practical experience, speculation and discovery. This is a book that sends you right outdoors. Barry Lopez

Heinrich's stated purpose is to 'tell about the natural links forged between one's life and a life in science.' He succeeds magnificently. His prose reflects Thoreau's empathy with nature and the contemporary naturalist's technical knowledge...This meticulously observed book will please scientists, but it will also delight non-scientist readers who wonder what, in this increasingly polymerized world, is truly human and truly natural. New York Times Book Review

In this charming volume, Heinrich combines biographical details with his economic-ecological approach to flora and fauna--embellishing the whole with precisionist pencil drawings...To be read and savored for the writing, the drawings, and the science. John Wilkes - San Francisco Examiner-Chronicle

[Heinrich's] memoir explains, with great charm, how he came to devote his life to such projects as measuring the temperature of wasps and swindling gullible beetles with phony dungballs...[He is] delightful company. Kirkus Reviews

Part autobiography, part case study in the ways of field biology, In a Patch of Fireweed is an endlessly fascinating account of a scientist's life and work. For the author, it is an opportunity to report not just his results but the curiosity, humor, error, passion, and competitiveness that feed into the process of discovery. For the reader, it is simply a delight, a rare chance to share the perceptions of an unusual mind fully in tune with the inner workings of nature.

Bernd Heinrich is Professor Emeritus of Biology at the University of Vermont. He has written several memoirs of his life in science and nature, including One Man's Owl, and Ravens in Winter. Bumblebee Economics was twice a nominee for the American Book Award in Science, and A Year in the Maine Woods won the 1995 Rutstrum Authors' Award for Literary Excellence.

Flight into the Forest

Maine

Tanganyika Bird Hunt

The Thesis Hunt

In a Patch of Fireweed

Capitalist Bees

Honeybee Swarms

Africa Dung Beetles

Whirligigs

Caterpillar Diners

Pit Trappers

Bald-Faced Hunters

Counting Yellowjackets

Hunting Winter Moths

Life on My Hill

Read an exclusive essay by Bernd Heinrich