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Niko's Nature
The Life of Niko Tinbergen and his Science of Animal Behaviour
Hans Kruuk
406 pages
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numerous halftones and line illustrations
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234x156mm
978-0-19-851558-6
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Hardback
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13 November 2003
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This item is printed to order. Items which are printed to order are normally despatched and charged within 5-10 days.
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- The first biography of this fascinating and inspirational man
- Tinbergen was a complex and interesting character - he was a pioneer in the field of animal studies and also published controversial research into the problems of childhood autism
- Niko's Nature has been written by a fellow-scientist and friend, Hans Kruuk, who knew him well and worked with him closely
- Tinbergen was a master communicator, producing books and scientific papers in several languages, as well as being a prize-winning film maker
- Although there have been other books on the study of ethology, this is the first book to feature the full personal as well as scientific story of Tinbergen's life
A charismatic naturalist, bird-watcher, teacher, artist, photographer, film-maker, and winner of the Nobel Prize, Niko Tinbergen was a prominent and influential scientist. Jointly with Konrad Lorenz, he laid the foundation for a new science, the biological study of animal behaviour. 'Ethology', and his talent for devising behaviour-testing experiments, provided an outlet for Niko's enthusiasm for gulls and sticklebacks, snow-buntings and foxes, wasps and falcons, and even children.
This first full-length biography of Niko Tinbergen,
lavishly illustrated with many of Niko's own drawings, describes his background in Holland, a naturalists' paradise, and the beginnings of his investigations into the behaviour of birds, fish, and insects. Hans Kruuk also explores is Niko's relationship with his colleague and co-Nobelist Konrad Lorenz. These were two men full of contrasts: Niko a charming, self-effacing field man and experimenter; Konrad a flamboyant and egocentric German, always full of new ideas. Niko's Nature goes on to follow Niko's progress in Oxford after the Second World War, where he became the world authority on the behaviour of animals in the wild: his inspiring book The Study of Instinct remains an all-time classic.
As a scientist Niko will always be known for the four fundamentally
different ways in which he asked the question 'why does an animal do this?' These questions, about physiology, development, evolution, and function, became known as 'Tinbergen's four whys'. But Niko's successes came at a price - severe and devastating depressions that were to plague him throughout his career.
In this fascinating and engaging story, Niko's long-time friend and student Hans Kruuk argues that his impact as a scientist and naturalist was in large part due to his skills as a communicator, photographer, and film-maker. Niko's Nature is an intimate and insightful portrait of an extraordinary figure.
Readership: This book will appeal to all who are interested in natural
history and animal behaviour, and anyone with an interest in Niko Tinbergen, the father of the study of animal behaviour.
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Hans Kruuk, Emeritus Fellow, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology
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"Great men deserve great biographies not sycophantic hagiographies, and Hans Kruuk has done the Maestro proud, as he is uniquely qualified to do. I started reading and couldn't stop.
" - Richard Dawkins
"This is a book that every behavioural biologist will want to read, and will do so with pleasure. I read Niko's Nature form cover to cover and was informed, entertained and instructed the whole way." - New Scientist
"A must read for anyone interested in ethology, this is also a fascinating study of a great scientist, and deserves to be read by a wider audience as well." - Robin McCleery, British Ornithologists' Union
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Preface
List of photos in the text
1: Wild birds and science
2: A Dutch upbringing
3: Student years and Greenland
4: Ethologist in the 1930s
5: The Second World War and after
6: Starting again: Oxford in the 1950s
7: Niko's two worlds: Oxford in the 1960s
8: The Nobel Prize, and human behaviour
9: Winding down
10: Niko's legacy
Notes
Niko Tinbergen's publications
Index
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The specification in this catalogue, including without limitation price, format, extent, number of illustrations, and month of publication, was as accurate as possible at the time the catalogue was compiled. Occasionally, due to the nature of some contractual restrictions, we are unable to ship a specific product to a particular territory. Jacket images are provisional and liable to change before publication.
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