A naturalist deals informally with the way in which totally unexpected twists in the evolutionary process bring renewal of hope in the life of our planet.

Anthropologist and naturalist Loren Eiseley blends scientific knowledge and imaginative vision in this story of man.

A collection of the author's favorite essays and poems. This volume includes selections that span Eiseley's entire writing career and provide a sampling of the author as naturalist, poet, scientist, and humanist. "Loren Eiseley's work changed my life" (Ray Bradbury). Introduction by W. H. Auden.

“No one has ever managed to make the pursuit of knowledge feel more soulful or more immediate than Loren Eiseley . . . ” —Ben Cosgrove, The Daily Beast At the height of a distinguished career as a paleontologist, Loren Eiseley turned from fieldwork and scientific publication to the personal essay. Here, in The Unexpected Universe, he displays his far-reaching knowledge and searching curiosity about the natural world, and the qualities that led many to hail him as a “modern Thoreau.” Fascinating accounts of the journeys of Odysseus, Captain Cook, and Charles Darwin frame Eiseley’s more modest wanderings as a suburban naturalist, attentive to the lives of small creatures. Sometimes he travels no further than the local dump. And yet, like Homer’s hero or these great explorers, he continually finds a universe “not only queerer than we suppose, but queerer than we can suppose.”

Prophets have not done well in history -- at least not by ordinary standards: Elijah seemed to be the only one in Israel resisting Baalism. Amos was told to keep silent and go back where he came from. Jeremiah was scorned and imprisoned. John, the Baptist was beheaded, and... Jesus, the greatest of them all, was crucified. By ordinary standards the prophets have not done well because, as Jesus said, we ignore or kill the messengers of God. And yet it is the extraordinary standards of the prophets that intrigue us, inspire us, and stimulate our minds and consciences to God's ways and thoughts. Because of their extraordinary standards the prophets continue to shape us and history. In this challenging Advent-Christmas book, Maurice A. Fetty reminds us again how it is important to "profit from prophets." Maurice A. Fetty is Senior Minister of the Congregational Church of Manhasset (United Church of Christ) in Manhasset, New York. He has also served churches in Grand Rapids, Michigan; Minneapolis; East Harlem; and Brooklyn. Fetty holds the Master of Sacred Theology Degree from Union Theological Seminary and the Master of Arts Degree from Christian Theological Seminary. In addition to numerous articles he has authored several books, including Putting Your Life On The Line; Sex, Love And Marriage; and The Divine Advocacy.

A revered ecologist and conservationist examines the origins and possible futures of humankind within the context of the Space Age, masterfully “[communicating] the awesome spectacle of our environmental crisis” (New York Times Book Review) To read Loren Eiseley is to renew a sense of wonder at the miracles and paradoxes of evolution and the ever-changing diversity of life. In this brilliant collection, he considers the cosmological significance and ultimate meanings of our evolutionary history, offering a series of profound, lyrical meditations on the origins and possible futures of humankind against the backdrop of the Apollo landings. As Western civilization attains new heights of scientific awareness and technological skill, he asks, is it also blind to its own limits and destructive capacities? Always a fond observer of the natural world, Eiseley makes a newly urgent, environmentalist plea in The Invisible Pyramid: we must protect the fragile “world island” against our unchecked power to pollute and consume it. “A relentless, haunting, and haunted figure devils the man [Eiseley] and twists from him some of the best prose we have. . . . Eiseley is a master of significant anecdote. There is an unstated but real gothic terror prowling behind his vision.” —New York Times Book Review