New Biography Reveals Little-known Tour by Co-discoverer of Evolution

In 1887, one of the most famous men of science in the world visited California.  Englishman Alfred Russel Wallace conceptualized around the same time as Darwin the “survival of the fittest” cornerstone of natural selection and the theory of evolution.   “Glorious Trees: Alfred Russel Wallace in California” (Calaveras History Publishing) by Salvatore John Manna chronicles for the first time his nearly two-month sojourn in Northern California, from San Francisco to Stockton; from his visits to the wonders of Yosemite and the Calaveras Big Trees to his meeting with pivotal figures such as John Muir and Leland Stanford; from a sensational séance and his support of Spiritualism to his lectures on Darwinism.   

The branches of “Glorious Trees: Alfred Russel Wallace in California” extend as far and as wide as those of the Sequoias Wallace so admired, contributing an until-now unexamined portion of his life to the biography of one of the most fascinating men in natural history.  The 352-page book, which includes numerous vintage photographs, is available through online retailers.

Manna previously wrote about Wallace in “California History,” the California Historical Society’s quarterly journal.  He has also co-authored the “Northern Calaveras County,” “Angels Camp and Copperopolis” and “Olives in California’s Gold Country” editions of the Images of America series as well as “Brands of Calaveras County, California 1854-1880,” the premiere publication from Calaveras History Publishing.  Founder and president of the nonprofit Society for the Preservation of West Calaveras History, Inc., Manna is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.