"We called him a genius", say his pupils, and in the USA insiders still admire his ground-breaking research.

Rupert Riedl's biography covers the last three-quarters of the 20th century – a time in which the scientific community was divided into two camps: on one side the inorganic chemists, the movers and shakers and on the other the storytellers, the cultural scientists. Riedl never gave in to these divisions, always remembering his father's saying, "If you want to contribute something to society it is important not to give in to society's rules."

Therefore, after having read a few pages, we are right in the middle of a colourful world full of adventures. We learn about rare creatures and their habitat, about silvery-blue underwater caves and a plethora of secrets from nature and the mind which have not yet been solved by human curiosity.

About the author:

University professor Dr Rupert Riedl was born in Vienna in 1925. He read biology followed by oceanography studies in California, Florida and Puerto Rico. In 1968 he took up the post of Professor of Zoology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA, where he was bestowed with that institution's highest title of Kenan Professor of Zoology. He returned to Vienna in 1971 and became head of the Institute of Zoology at the University of Vienna in 1973. After retiring from his academic post he founded the Konrad-Lorenz-Institute for Evolutionary and Cognitive Research and in 2002 established the "Club of Vienna". Prior publications include: "Die Ordnung des Lebendigen" (The Order of Life) 1975, "Biologie der Erkenntnis" (The Biology of Knowledge) 1980, "Ursachen des Wachstums" (Reasons for Growth) 1996.

Rupert Riedl has gained a wide public audience through his television documentary series, "Poseidon's Garden". Previous books by Riedl published by Seifert Verlag: Clarissa and the Blue Camel – Time Travel on the Edge of Europe (2003) and A Scientist's World View (2004).