The warm, witty anecdotal adventures of a world-renowned scientist, spanning thirty years and dozens of countries. Most people only dream of having the life Daniel B. Botkin has led. He has studied whales and elephants, tramped over high mountain passes and through rain forests, worked with NASA, and spent substantial time walking in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark, and Henry David Thoreau. In Strange Encounters, Botkin does for the natural world what Richard Feynman did for physics and Oliver Sacks for human behavior. Whether rebuilding an old mill in New Hampshire while ruminating on notions of "progress," researching the most weight-efficient high-protein food for space travel, or working in a radioactive forest on an early Cold War research project, Botkin experiences the kind of adventures that illuminate the complex and ever-changing relationship between human beings and their environment.