'Adventures in the Wild' book signing event at Barnes and Noble June 28

June 11, 2008 -- A new book by Arkansas State University biology faculty, “Adventures in the Wild: Tales from biologists of the Natural State,” will be featured in a book signing event on Saturday, June 28, 1-3 p.m. at Jonesboro’s Barnes and Noble Booksellers, the Mall at Turtle Creek, 3000 E. Highland, Jonesboro. Editors Dr. Aldemaro Romero and Joy Trauth will be on hand to sign copies of the book, which features stories by 11 faculty authors and a preface by Dr. Cristián Samper, currently acting secretary of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. and former director of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History.  

The University of Arkansas Press, who published the book, recently noted that more than 500 books have already been sold, despite the fact that reviews in professional journals have yet to appear. Melissa King, assistant marketing manager, University of Arkansas Press, says, “Out of an initial print run of 1,055, we have 528 copies left. This is good. We've been very pleased with sales and have sold nearlyhalf the print run in the couple of months that the book has been for sale."

A review from the American Library Association says, "What do most people know about scientific research? They would probably describe a white-coated scientist with beakers in a laboratory. Although this stereotype does hold true for some types of biological research, ask Arkansas State University's faculty in the Department of Biological Sciences, and they will tell you of a much different scenario. Photographing reptiles and amphibians in the field, swimming with the tiny Pecos gambusia fish, collecting flies in poultry houses, and meeting Sir David Attenborough as he filmed salamanders near Hot Springs take the reader along on the scientific quest. These forays into what makes field research fun, as well as what makes researchers tick, will be sought out by fans of popular science writing."

According to Dr. Aldemaro Romero, chair of the Department of Biological Sciences and professor of biology at ASU, whose brainchild the book is, “The idea occurred to me that most people, including undergraduate students, have a very incomplete (if not inaccurate) idea of how biologists really do their work. So I decided to put together a book with the stories of the incredible things that have happened to faculty members of the Biology Department at ASU.” Romero then enlisted Joy Trauth’s services as co-editor because of “her fine writing and her ability to provide excellent guidance with the more popular type of writing that a book like this required.”

The proceeds from “Adventures in the Wild” will fund biology initiatives at ASU, including the development of the Biodiversity Center, which is expected to become the premier museum of natural history in Arkansas, housing more than a half-million specimens of plants and animals from ASU collections. As Romero observes, “The book is a picture of how biologists work, and it is also a celebration of ASU’s biology professors—the men and women who get their feet wet and their hands dirty (and worse) in their pursuit of knowledge.” Romero continues, “Sometimes that pursuit has humorous consequences, and sometimes mistakes are made, but the biologists and other scientists of ASU are always determined, whether in the field or in the classroom, to continue learning and to teach what they have learned.” 

For an additional review of "Adventures in the Wild," click here.

For more information on the book signing, contact Dr. Aldemaro Romero, (870) 972-3082, or aromero@astate.edu, or call Barnes and Noble in Jonesboro at (870) 336-2543.                      

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