A Curious Boy. The Making of a Scientist: Richard Fortey

What makes a scientist?

Charming, funny and wise, in this memoir Richard Fortey shows how restless curiosity about the natural world led him to become a leading scientist and writer, with adventures and misadventures along the way.

From a garden shed laboratory where he manufactured the greatest stink in the world to a tent high in the Arctic in pursuit of fossils, this is a story of obsession and love of nature, flavoured with the peculiarities and restrictions of post-war Britain. Fortey tells the story of following his father down riverbanks to fish for trout, and also of his father`s shocking death. He unfolds his early passions - fungi, ammonite hunting and eyeing up bird`s eggs. He evokes with warmth and wit how the natural world started out as his playground and refuge, then became his life`s work.

Much more than a story about science alone, this memoir gives an unforgettable portrait of a young, curious mind, and shows how luck and enthusiasm can create a special life.