Publisher's Synopsis
Alexander F. Skutch (1904-2004), born and raised in the United States, became famous for his life history studies of tropical birds in Central America (especially Costa Rica, where he lived for almost seventy years). He also gained wide recognition for his unique contributions in botany, nature writing and environmentalism. In addition, he developed a highly original and profound philosophy of life (as highlighted, for instance, in Roy H. May's Alexander Skutch: Life's Thinker, 2015). The present book - the first volume of a trilogy - comprises selections from his unpublished work (Skutch Archive, Centro Científico Tropical, Costa Rica), notably texts relating to the first few decades of his life as a naturalist (boyhood years, vegetarianism and asceticism, becoming an all-around naturalist, botanical studies, early travels and investigations in the tropics, plant collecting, his turn to tropical ornithology, being a wandering naturalist, homesteading experiences at Los Cusingos ...).
