The Lagoon: How Aristotle Invented Science. Armand Marie Leroi

Aristotle was the greatest philosopher of all time. Author of the Poet­ics, Politics and Metaphysics, his work looms over the history of Western thought. But he was also a biologist – the first.
In The Lagoon, acclaimed biologist Armand Marie Leroi recovers Aris­totle’s science. He revisits Aristotle’s writings and the places where he worked. He goes to the eastern Aegean island of Lesbos to see the creatures that Aristotle saw, where he saw them. He explores Aris­totle’s observations, his deep ideas, his inspired guesses—and the things he got wildly wrong. He shows how Aristotle’s science is deeply intertwined with his philosophical system and reveals that he was not only the first biologist, but also one of the greatest

London Hellenic Prize, Runciman Prize, Kirkus Prize for Non-Fiction Shortlist