This is the epic, true and long overdue story of the young explorer who put forward the first ever case for the creation of a new species, providing what Charles Darwin called the "beautiful proof" for Natural Selection. The major discovery of Batesian Mimicry was developed from Bates's fascinating 11-year journey and study of butterflies in the Amazon rainforest. He noted how certain animals adopt the look of others to deceive predators and gain an advantage to survive. Little known to the public, Bates made other crucial contributions to biology: he collected over 14,000 specimens, of which over 8,000 were new to science at the time. He went on to become the administrator for the Royal Geographical Society and transformed it into an institution which combined exploration with academic research, and was responsible for placing geography on the school curriculum. This important book reassesses Bates's life and finally places both the man and his work in their rightful place alongside the other greats.

There are the three great names in 19th Century biology. Charles Darwin, Alfred Wallace and Henry Walter Bates and yet the only full biography of Bates was written in 1969. This woeful void is remedied by Anthony Crawforth.Bates was a crucial figure and played an important part in helping both Darwin and Wallace complete their thinking. Batesian Mimicry, as it is still known, developed from the study of butterflies in the amazon rainforest (with Wallace) and provided important supporting evidence for Darwin. And it was Darwin who persuaded Bates to write his travel memoir The Naturalist on the River Amazons and indeed proof read the manuscript. On his travels Bates collected over 14,000 specimens of which over 8,000 were at the time new to science. He later went on to become the administrator for the Royal Geographical Society and transformed the society to one which combined exploration with academic research and was responsible for placing geography on the school curriculum.This is a long overdue book that reassesses Bates s life and work and finally places both the man and his work in their rightful place alongside the other greats."