In the early Great Enlightenment, Philosopher Baruch Spinoza was one of the earliest to stress to humanity the importance of scholarship by stressing that learning, not for the sake of erudition itself, but for the sake of understanding the world and ourselves is of the highest order. It is such learning to the point of understanding which is liberating to humanity. To understand, sets you free. Another icon celebrated marine biologist, Rachel Carson, brought the focus more on to nature itself. To paraphrase, she stated that those who daily contemplate the beauty and mystery of nature will never be alone, nor will they ever grow weary of life. Such studies of life’s creation can often create a sense of connectedness as the student contemplates the grand scale of life itself.

It is this observation that led Dr. Obenchain into writing about nature, that is natural science. He has gained most pleasure out of creating unique narratives in the writing three books, one on the antivivisectionists as they confronted medieval medical scientist as they struggled towards modernity. Dr. Obenchain’s second book concerns the tragic life of a Hungarian obstetrician, Ignaz Semmelweis, who made an important discovery regarding disease contagion forty years, ahead of his time, and sadly, decades before his colleagues were educated enough to understand and accept his prescient observations. Obenchain’s third book concerns Martin Holmes, a man depressed and disabled by an unexplainable “ennui,” that is, an existential vacuousness of unclear origin. Through intensive study Holmes ultimately finds salvation, gaining a new understanding as to where he fits within the grand and ancient scheme of natural creation.