Charles Valentine Riley

“The authors provide comprehensive biography of the man entomologists regard as the founder of modern entomology and biological control. Riley (1843–95) was a gifted and accomplished polyglot, artist, poet, writer, philosopher, naturalist, inventor, politician, teacher, and scientist. This invaluable book also details the development and professionalization of entomology. Highly recommended.”
—CHOICE

"It [Charles Valentine Riley: Founder of Modern Entomology] is a fitting monument for this man of many talents—his work and stamina can still inspire, his science is still relevant, and also his life history with much energy spent on political maneuvering to further his causes is sadly a modern fate, with resources for research being always under attack, threatened by budget cuts and ideological ridicule."
—International Journal of Environmental Studies

"A comprehensive biography of Charles Valentine Riley is long overdue. Eccentric, creative, and brilliant, with an eye for the beauty of the insects he wanted to control, Riley revolutionized his field. His career—ably documented here—illustrates the ways human history and lives of insects are intimately bound together."
—Kim Todd, author of Chrysalis: Maria Sibylla Merian and the Secrets of Metamorphosis

"The authors examine C.V. Riley’s life in exhaustive detail, from his childhood to his interactions with Charles Darwin and B.D. Walsh to his work as America’s national entomologist. This engaging book is a valuable contribution to the history of science."
—Gene Kritsky, Mount St. Joseph University

“This is a big story, exhaustively researched and thrillingly told, about a towering figure in the early history of U.S. entomology and agricultural science. Rarely does a biography range so broadly across the origins of a scientist’s field and its place in a larger social/historical context.”
—Quarterly Review of Biology

"Finally, a detailed, comprehensive biography of C. V. Riley, the founder of modern entomology and a role model for 21st century researchers with a love of both basic and applied science.  Beyond the science, this volume captures, in vivid detail, the complicated life path life of a man who was born the illegitimate son of an Anglican clergyman, was educated in elite European schools, worked as a farm laborer, and rose to the rank of chief of the entomology division at USDA and the curator of insects for the Smithsonian before his untimely death from a bicycle accident at the age of 52. C.V. Riley did interdisciplinary research before we had a word for it. This new volume provides insight into how and why he did it."
—Fred Gould, University Distinguished Professor of Entomology at North Carolina State University, and member of the National Academy of Sciences

"Naturalist, experimentalist, artist, poet, prophet, philosopher, showman, politician, inventor, teacher, pragmatist, dreamer—oh yes, and a scientist too.  This biography of C.V. Riley is a beautifully and authoritatively written story of a brilliant mind, a torrid life, and a flawed man."
—Jeffrey A. Lockwood, professor of natural sciences and humanities, University of Wyoming
 

“Overall, the authors bring Riley’s contributions to entomology in context with a fitting summary - that Riley was part of the 19th century, but also ahead of his time. It is unfortunate that Ed and Janet Smith did not live to see the published book. The fruits of their years of dedication and hard work are evidenced throughout. We are fortunate to have this wonderful work as part of our scientific and entomological genealogy. It deserves a worthy place on our bookshelf.”
—Entomological Society of Washington

“The authors of this bountiful, highly illustrated and gracefully written book have finally brought Riley out of obscurity and into the limelight he deserves. The biographical details are rich, mainly following Riley’s career in the arc between his arrival in Chicago and his tragic death in Washington, DC at the height of his career in 1895, but this is not strictly a biography. Conner Sorensen, an historian of entomology, and his three co-authors, who have had successful careers as entomologists, decided cleverly to frame much of the book on those insects that defined and were defined by Riley’s career. There are, for example, chapters on the Colorado potato beetle Leptinotarsa decemlineata, the Rocky Mountain locust Melanoplus spretus, the grape phylloxera Daktulosphaira vitifoliae, an hemipteran bug, and vedalia Rodolia cardinalis, a beetle used as its biological control, in their specific contexts.”
—Archives of Natural History