A Curious Boy

What makes a scientist? A great scientist isn't made in the womb, born a genius predestined for a rich life of discovery. A scientist is someone with a sense of wonder and interest in the natural world, and whose curiosity has space to grow. In this memoir, Richard Fortey, one of our most brilliant scientists – a palaeontologist and natural historian – tells the story of how as a young boy he became fascinated with the natural world, leading to a long life and career exploring its secrets. He leads a journey through the botany and birds, fossils and fungi, using a different object to lead each chapter. A great brown trout caught by his father opens up the world of fish, streams and rivers. A blue thrush's egg takes us out tramping through water meadows, and into the social world of birds and trees. Richard takes us back to his past as a small boy who was allowed a little shed at the bottom of the garden in which to play chemist, and where, with the guidance of the encyclopaedia,...