"Indonesia is a land of incomparable beauty and diversity. It was also the biological laboratory of Alfred Russel Wallace, who, working independently of his contemporary Charles Darwin, developed the theory of evolution by natural selection." "Wallace was a man of many parts: adventurer, explorer, collector, socialist, spiritualist, early feminist, global thinker, writer. Archipelago takes us on Wallace's 14,000-mile journey through unexplored parts of Indonesia, where during years of fieldwork he made his major discoveries in evolutionary biology. Alone on the tiny island of Gilolo, he drafted his theory of evolution and sent the manuscript to Darwin. That event led to the great Darwin-Wallace controversy, one which burns to this day." "Interspersed in Wallace's story are informative sidebars that offer a more in-depth look at topics ranging from specimen collecting in Victorian times to the ecological challenges faced by Indonesia today."--BOOK JACKET.