Charles Lyte

This is a fine biography of Kingdon-Ward with a good overview of his plant hunting expeditions. As a prolific author he had recorded his expeditions extensively (and there is a complete list of his publications in this work), both in books and diaries, and these form the main part of the work. He himself provided highly colourful descriptions of his exploits and the plants and these have been well selected. However there are also extracts from his many letters, particularly to his sister, with whom he was very close, and these serve to deepeb our understanding of this complex man. This was a time of rapid and extreme change in the areas in which he collected (Himalayas, Burma etc) and alongside the backdrop of two world worlds, the author does a good job of putting his life into the context of wider events.… (mere)