He was a researcher of the Research Botanist at the Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix, Arizona. He was president of the International Organization for Succulent, member of the Cactus and Succulent Society of America and of the Linnean Society, London. In addition, Anderson was professor emeritus at Whitman College, where he taught biology for 30 years. In 1998 Monaco was awarded the prestigious Cactus d'Or for his outstanding dedication to the investigation of cactus. His publications include Peyote: The divine cactus, Plants and People of the Golden Triangle, and Threatened Cacti of Mexico. He also published numerous articles in professional journals during his more than 45 years of research on the cactus.