Rob Wesson

I am a geologist who also loves stories. As a kid from the Pacific Northwest fascinated by mountains and glaciers, geology and geophysics seemed like a good choice as an undergraduate at M.I.T. I followed this with an MS and PhD in geophysics from Stanford University, and then joined the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to study earthquakes. Now more more than four decades later I am a Scientist Emeritus at the USGS and still thinking about earthquakes.

In high school I developed a passion for short stories and the fiction of Steinbeck, Hemingway, and J.D. Salinger, and for the literature of mountains and adventure. Although M.I.T. is known as a science and engineering school, it is an amazing place with creative energy bursting out everywhere. I greatly enjoyed the literature and creative writing classes I took there, and ever since I have harbored the ambition to find the time to focus on writing. After a couple of false starts, my chance finally came when I retired from the USGS. Except for an extended stint in the former Soviet republic of Tajikistan, I had also spent most of career in the office rather than the field, so I set my objective to combine writing with a return to geologic field work.

In 2008 I set out to explore the geologic legacy of Charles Darwin and Robert FitzRoy on the HMS Beagle in southern South America. It has been a great ride. I’ve met amazing people, geologists and otherwise, in Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, England, Wales and Scotland. I’ve rolled in small, open boats, bounced in trucks, swayed in saddles, waded in swamps, and trekked over Andean passes, all the time pondering geologic puzzles that intrigued Darwin and FitzRoy, and that continue to fascinate geologists today.

Darwin's First Theory is the result. I wanted to write about science and how scientists—especially geologists—think, but I wanted to engage readers who are not necessarily science aficionados. Could I adapt the techniques of modern creative nonfiction used by Tony Horwitz, Erik Larson, Hampton Sides, and David Quammen to bring some vitality—some pizzazz—to writing about Darwin, his geologic theories, and how they continue to resonate nearly two centuries later?

Take a look at Darwin's First Theory. I hope that you will enjoy it! And you can judge the level of my success.

You can also see more about the book, about me, and about the adventures and people that went into the book at robwesson.com.