Sentence:  He read there <WSD>in the raw</WSD> what is perhaps the most amazing page in the history of human development, and in the end he was forced to the conclusion that all his early preconceptions had been at fault, and that it was such exalted, passionate enthusiasts as Vilmorin who had been right. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  In the natural state; in real life.