This book is a non-redacted collection of "Letters Home", arranged chronologically and spanning three decades mostly in the late 1900s. Collectively, these letters convey, in a very personal manner, the state of natural history and biological research as conducted by one ardent academician near the turn of the 21st century. John C. Avise is a Distinguished Professor at the University of California at Irvine, and an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society. His research utilizes molecular markers to study the ecology and evolution of wild animals on topics ranging from genetic parentage and mating behaviors to gene flow, hybridization, phylogeography, speciation, and phylogeny. He has published more than 360 scientific articles plus 31 books on a wide variety of evolutionary-genetic topics.