Natural history is the branch of biology that studies individual organisms and their social and environmental relationships. The main purpose of Marston Bates' "The Nature of Natural History" is to introduce and summarize the science of natural history for the non-biologist. The book provides an overview of the main issues that concern natural history, such as the scientific naming and classification of organisms; the history of life on Earth (with a discussion of the geological time-scale); the development of the individual organism; the environment; the behavior of individuals and populations; reproduction; biotic communities; biological geography; adaptations; and evolution. From my non-biologist's point of view this book does a fine job of describing the essentials of these topics, in plain, clear English.

However I have to qualify my recommendation. This book was published in 1950, so some of the material is dated. But since natural history is a subject that does not change quickly, most of the book is still accurate. Bates also makes the occasional statement about the nature of logic and science that I disagree with. For instance, that logical classification is somewhat arbitrary, or that science cannot discover "truth" and instead that scientific conclusions are inherently uncertain. I also think that the final chapters, in which Bates leaves natural history and starts discussing more philosophical topics, are weak. (I also happen to disagree with much of the material in these final chapters.) .

Despite these drawbacks I think this book is well worth reading if you want to discover what natural history is about.