Loren Eiseley

Hardcover (1 to 2 lbs)

Science

The Immense Journey, the Firmament of Time, the Unexpected Universe, Uncollected Prose

An eminent paleontologist with the soul and skill of a poet, Loren Eiseley (1907–1977) was among the twentieth century’s greatest inheritors of the literary tradition of Henry David Thoreau, Charles Darwin, and John Muir, and a precursor to such later writers as Stephen Jay Gould, Richard Dawkins, and Carl Sagan. After decades of fieldwork and discovery as a “bone-hunter” and professor, Eiseley turned late in life to the personal essay, and beginning with the surprise million-copy seller The Immense Journey (1957) he produced an astonishing succession of books that won acclaim both as science and as art. Now for the first time, the Library of America presents his landmark essay collections in a definitive two-volume set. This first volume begins with Eiseley’s debut collection, which displays his far-reaching knowledge and boundless curiosity about the mysteries of the natural world. Here are vivid accounts of prehistoric ecosystems, the origins of consciousness, the search for “living fossils” at the bottom of the sea, and the complexities of our evolutionary inheritance. Here too are literary qualities and aspirations that led many to hail Eiseley as a “modern Thoreau”: his quest for the ultimate meanings and cosmological significance of natural phenomena, along with his immense expressive gifts. The Firmament of Time (1960), a lyrical and meditative tour de force, looks back at the many ways in which the sciences have been shaped by the changing cultures in which they developed. Examining the role of metaphor in scientific thought, anticipations of scientific discoveries in the works of poets and novelists, and the “unconscious conformity” of scientific theory to prevailing orthodoxies, Eiseley argues provocatively for the ongoing relevance to scientific progress of dreams, the imagination, and the irrational. In his wide-ranging collection The Unexpected Universe (1969), Eiseley turns to the theme of the voyage of discovery: accounts of the mythical and historic journeys of Odysseus, Captain Cook, and Darwin frame his own more modest wanderings in the environs of Philadelphia. Sometimes he travels no farther 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.” As an added feature, this volume presents a selection of Eiseley’s uncollected prose, including early autobiographical sketches, vivid and haunting entries from his private notebooks, and his 1957 lecture “Neanderthal Man and the Dawn of Human Paleontology.” A companion volume presents The Invisible Pyramid (1970), The Night Country (1971), and the essays gathered after his death in The Star Thrower (1978). LIBRARY OF AMERICA is an independent nonprofit cultural organization founded in 1979 to preserve our nation’s literary heritage by publishing, and keeping permanently in print, America’s best and most significant writing. The Library of America series includes more than 300 volumes to date, authoritative editions that average 1,000 pages in length, feature cloth covers, sewn bindings, and ribbon markers, and are printed on premium acid-free paper that will last for centuries.

Loren Eiseley: Collected Essays on Evolution, Nature, and the Cosmos Vol. 1 (LOA #285)

f2bf067d-91d7-4b56-a714-92525a5e0d4c-0

Light Paperback (1 lb or less)

Florida

The Night Country

#fiction #scifi #paperback #anthropology #history #evolution #adventure #nature #speculative #vintage

Kansas

An imaginative naturalist explores the mysteries of man and nature

The Immense Journey

Washington

The Man who Saw Through Time

The Star Thrower 

Heavy Hardcover (2 to 4 lbs)

New Jersey

The Ilustated World Of Thoreu

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. 

Light Hardcover (1 lb or less)

Colorado

The Star Thrower

California

The Night Country 

1957 Random House. 9th Printing. The book is in good condition, with some wear on the jacket including some sun fading, small rips, edgewear, and rub wear. The book has minor shelf wear on the bottom of the spine. A pencil annotation from the first bookseller exists on the front page. No other annotations or underlines. The textblock is in near perfect condition.

New Mexico

An Imaginative Naturalist Explores the Mysteries of Man and Nature

The Immense Journey (1957)

Kathleen A. Boardman

Cover shows minor wear. Book is in very good condition.

Montana

The Excavation of a Life

A native of Lincoln, Nebraska, Loren Eiseley began his lifelong exploration of nature in the salt flats and ponds around his hometown and in the mammoth bone collection hoarded in the old red brick museum at the University of Nebraska, where heøconducted his studies in anthropology. It was in pursuit of this interest, and in the expression of his natural curiosity and wonder, that Eiseley sprang to national fame with the publication of such works as The Immense Journey and The Firmament of Time. In All the Strange Hours, Eiseley turns his considerable powers of reflection and discovery on his own life to weave a compelling story, related with the modesty, grace, and keen eye for a telling anecdote that distinguish his work. His story begins with his childhood experiences as a sickly afterthought, weighed down by the loveless union of his parents. From there he traces the odyssey that led to his search for early postglacial man?and into inspiriting philosophical territory?culminating in his uneasy achievement of world renown. Eiseley crafts an absorbing self-portrait of a man who has thought deeply about his place in society as well as humanity?s place in the natural world.

All the Strange Hours

89b23bb5-9c7d-457e-88e2-7af1e23a2b08-1

Loren C. Eiseley

Obvious wear on jacket. Small corner torn at bottom right of cover. No scribbles on pages but lots of underlining. Ownership markings in pencil on inside jacket. Neither obscures reading. In acceptable shape. Pages crisp. No dog ears. Please see photos for transparency.

Ohio

Evolution and the Men Who Discovered It

An examination of the development of the theory of evolution from the Renaissance to the twentieth century.

Darwin's Century

51e3ade3-89c8-43d1-a4b8-a144f234f53c-1

Louisiana

In 1910 young Loren Eiseley watched the passage of Halley& ’ s Comet with his father. The boy who became a famous naturalist was never again to see the spectacle except in his imagination. That childhood event contributed to the profound sense of time and space that marks The Invisible Pyramid . This collection of essays, first published shortly after Americans landed on the moon, explores inner and outer space, the vastness of the cosmos, and the limits of what can be known. Bringing poetic insight to scientific discipline, Eiseley makes connections between civilizations past and present, multiple universes, humankind, and nature.

The Invisible Pyramid #13

db1e3c50-3880-4539-984e-846c29644c68-1

#hardcover #anthropology #loreneiseley #science #essays #memoir

Toward the end of his life, Loren Eiseley reflected on the mystery of life, throwing light on those dark places traversed by himself and centuries of humankind. The Night Country is a gift of wisdom and beauty from the famed anthropologist. It describes his needy childhood in Nebraska, reveals his increasing sensitivity to the odd and ordinary in nature, and focuses on a career that turns him inward as he reaches outward for answers in old bones.

Save this search

Loren Eiseley

Loren Eiseley: Collected Essays on Evolution, Nature, and the Cosmos Vol. 1 (LOA #285)

Loren Eiseley

The Night Country

Loren Eiseley

The Immense Journey

Loren Eiseley

The Man who Saw Through Time

Loren Eiseley

The Immense Journey

Loren Eiseley

The Star Thrower

Loren Eiseley

The Ilustated World Of Thoreu

Loren Eiseley

The Star Thrower

Loren Eiseley

The Night Country

Loren Eiseley

The Immense Journey (1957)

Loren Eiseley; Kathleen A. Boardman

All the Strange Hours

Loren C. Eiseley

Darwin's Century

Loren C. Eiseley

The Invisible Pyramid #13

Loren C. Eiseley

The Night Country

Browse by categories

Save this search

Loren Eiseley

Loren Eiseley: Collected Essays on Evolution, Nature, and the Cosmos Vol. 1 (LOA #285)

Loren Eiseley

The Night Country

Loren Eiseley

The Immense Journey

Loren Eiseley

The Man who Saw Through Time

Loren Eiseley

The Immense Journey

Loren Eiseley

The Star Thrower

Loren Eiseley

The Ilustated World Of Thoreu

Loren Eiseley

The Star Thrower

Loren Eiseley

The Night Country

Loren Eiseley

The Immense Journey (1957)

Loren Eiseley; Kathleen A. Boardman

All the Strange Hours

Loren C. Eiseley

Darwin's Century

Loren C. Eiseley

The Invisible Pyramid #13

Loren C. Eiseley

The Night Country