Privileged Hands: A Scientific Life

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xi, 297 pp. Dr. Geerat (Gary) Vermeij is one of the foremost evolutionary biologists of our time and has been blind since the age of four. Professionally, he is known for his abili ty to identify a shell and its provenance from its shape and texture. To Vermeij, scratches or chips on a shell are signs of having survived a struggle with a predator, what he calls the "ancient arms race". "Privileged Hands" is no ordinary autobiography, it is the story of Dr. Vermeij's challenges and triumphs, how he "sees", by moving his fingers across the surface of shells, gathering information unnoticed by the untrained eye, and what his insights reveal about the wonder of life on earth. Show more