Loren Eiseley was born in Nebraska in 1907. An accomplished paleontologist teaching at the University of Pennsylvania, Eiseley turned late in his career to writing for a popular audience with the essay collection The Immense Journey, which became a surprise bestseller when published in 1957. It and the five collections that followed--The Firmament of Time, The Unexpected Universe, The Invisible Pyramid, The Night Country, and The Star Thrower--established him as one of America's most beloved and distinctive naturalists. He died in 1977.