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Alfred Wegener - Science, Exploration, and the Theory of Continental Drift (Paperback)
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Alfred Wegener - Science, Exploration, and the Theory of Continental Drift (Paperback)
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A masterful biography of Alfred Wegener (1880-1930), the German
scientist who discovered continental drift. Winner of the CHOICE
Outstanding Academic Title of the Choice ACRL Alfred Wegener aimed
to create a revolution in science which would rank with those of
Nicolaus Copernicus and Charles Darwin. After completing his
doctoral studies in astronomy at the University of Berlin, Wegener
found himself drawn not to observatory science but to rugged
fieldwork, which allowed him to cross into a variety of
disciplines. The author of the theory of continental drift-the
direct ancestor of the modern theory of plate tectonics and one of
the key scientific concepts of the past century-Wegener also made
major contributions to geology, geophysics, astronomy, geodesy,
atmospheric physics, meteorology, and glaciology. Remarkably, he
completed this pathbreaking work while grappling variously with
financial difficulty, war, economic depression, scientific
isolation, illness, and injury. He ultimately died of overexertion
on a journey to probe the Greenland icecap and calculate its rate
of drift. This landmark biography-the only complete account of the
scientist's fascinating life and work-is the culmination of more
than twenty years of intensive research. In Alfred Wegener, Mott T.
Greene places Wegener's upbringing and theoretical advances in
earth science in the context of his brilliantly eclectic career,
bringing Wegener to life by analyzing his published scientific
work, delving into all of his surviving letters and journals, and
tracing both his passionate commitment to science and his thrilling
experiences as a polar explorer, a military officer during World
War I, and a world-record-setting balloonist. In the course of
writing this book, Greene traveled to every place that Alfred
Wegener lived and worked-to Berlin, rural Brandenburg, Marburg,
Hamburg, and Heidelberg in Germany; to Innsbruck and Graz in
Austria; and onto the Greenland icecap. He also pored over archives
in Copenhagen, Munich, Marburg, Graz, and Bremerhaven, where the
majority of Wegener's surviving papers are found. Written with
great immediacy and descriptive power, Alfred Wegener is a powerful
portrait of the scientist who pioneered the modern concept of
unified Earth science. The book should be of interest not only to
earth scientists, students of polar travel and exploration, and
historians but to all readers who are fascinated by the great minds
of science.
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