Alfred Wegener: Science, Exploration, and the Theory of Continental Drift

Table of Contents:
Preface Acknowledgments 1. The Boy 2. The Student 3. The Astronomer 4. The Aerologist 5. The Polar Meteorologist 6. The Arctic Explorer (1) 7. The Atmospheric Physicist (1) 8. The Atmospheric Physicist (2) 9. At a Crossroads 10. The Theorist of Continental Drift (1) 11. The Theorist of Continental Drift (2) 12. The Arctic Explorer (2) 13. The Soldier 14. The Meteorologist 15. The Geophysicist 16. From Geophysicist to Climatologist 17. The Paleoclimatologist 18. The Professor 19. Theorist and Arctic Explorer 20. The Expedition Leader Epilogue Notes Bibliographical Essay Index

About the Author :
Mott T. Greene is an affiliate professor of earth and space sciences at the University of Washington and John Magee Professor of Science and Values emeritus at the University of Puget Sound. He is the author of Geology in the Nineteenth Century: Changing View of a Changing World and Natural Knowledge in Preclassical Antiquity.

Review :
A magnificent, definitive, and indefatigable tribute to an indefatigable man . . . Greene beautifully puts the record straight with a portrait of Wegener as a respected 'cosmic physicist.' —Nature In this book Mott Greene has ably explained every detail of Wegener’s ideas and research and has created a well-deserved tribute to one of the most creative and energetic scientists of the twentieth century. —Metascience A remarkably detailed and wonderfully well-written biography of Alfred Wegener . . . Includes insight into what makes a person such as Wegener a genius—what it was about him that led to an ability to create such a novel and correct view of nature.  That is the true value of this exceptional book, to be able to feel as though one can literally experience the scientific genius that was Alfred Wegener. —Choice Mott Greene's magnificent book reveals deep themes and connections to Wegener's many fruitful ideas and extraordinary scientific accomplishments, even as it examines the many distinct dimensions of thought and action that emanated from Wegener's apparently heedless embrace of all manner of risk-taking . . . Anglophone readers, especially, have never had such an opportunity to understand Alfred Wegener. —ScienceDirect This biography is clearly a labor of love for its author. Greene worked on this book for more than twenty years, conducting archival research, visiting libraries and collections across Europe and in North America, and conducting interviews with key figures, including Wegener’s surviving family members . . . I came away with a renewed appreciation for Wegener as an engaged scientist who refused to let the boundaries of academic disciplines dampen his enthusiasm for scientific endeavor. —AAG Review of Books Mott Greene spent twenty years working on Alfred Wegener, a masterpiece in which he revolutionizes our understanding of Wegener, just as Wegener revolutionized our understanding of the Earth . . . a brilliant and compelling account of the life of one of the most talented, versatile, and remarkable scientists in history. —Isis Greene has created an important work that gives context to one of the most recent paradigm shifts in science . . . Greene tells the story with enough documentation to keep the story grounded in reality, yet uses his prose to maintain interest even after the 'eureka' moment, even after Wegener’s death on the ice. —Science & Education