Author: Lulu Miller
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1501160370
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 256
Book Description
A Best Book of 2020: The Washington Post * NPR * Chicago Tribune * Smithsonian A “remarkable” (Los Angeles Times), “seductive” (The Wall Street Journal) debut from the new cohost of Radiolab, Why Fish Don’t Exist is a dark and astonishing tale of love, chaos, scientific obsession, and—possibly—even murder. “At one point, Miller dives into the ocean into a school of fish…comes up for air, and realizes she’s in love. That’s how I felt: Her book took me to strange depths I never imagined, and I was smitten.” —The New York Times Book Review David Starr Jordan was a taxonomist, a man possessed with bringing order to the natural world. In time, he would be credited with discovering nearly a fifth of the fish known to humans in his day. But the more of the hidden blueprint of life he uncovered, the harder the universe seemed to try to thwart him. His specimen collections were demolished by lightning, by fire, and eventually by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake—which sent more than a thousand discoveries, housed in fragile glass jars, plummeting to the floor. In an instant, his life’s work was shattered. Many might have given up, given in to despair. But Jordan? He surveyed the wreckage at his feet, found the first fish that he recognized, and confidently began to rebuild his collection. And this time, he introduced one clever innovation that he believed would at last protect his work against the chaos of the world. When NPR reporter Lulu Miller first heard this anecdote in passing, she took Jordan for a fool—a cautionary tale in hubris, or denial. But as her own life slowly unraveled, she began to wonder about him. Perhaps instead he was a model for how to go on when all seemed lost. What she would unearth about his life would transform her understanding of history, morality, and the world beneath her feet. Part biography, part memoir, part scientific adventure, Why Fish Don’t Exist is a wondrous fable about how to persevere in a world where chaos will always prevail.
Why Fish Don't Exist
Author: Lulu Miller
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1501160370
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 256
Book Description
A Best Book of 2020: The Washington Post * NPR * Chicago Tribune * Smithsonian A “remarkable” (Los Angeles Times), “seductive” (The Wall Street Journal) debut from the new cohost of Radiolab, Why Fish Don’t Exist is a dark and astonishing tale of love, chaos, scientific obsession, and—possibly—even murder. “At one point, Miller dives into the ocean into a school of fish…comes up for air, and realizes she’s in love. That’s how I felt: Her book took me to strange depths I never imagined, and I was smitten.” —The New York Times Book Review David Starr Jordan was a taxonomist, a man possessed with bringing order to the natural world. In time, he would be credited with discovering nearly a fifth of the fish known to humans in his day. But the more of the hidden blueprint of life he uncovered, the harder the universe seemed to try to thwart him. His specimen collections were demolished by lightning, by fire, and eventually by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake—which sent more than a thousand discoveries, housed in fragile glass jars, plummeting to the floor. In an instant, his life’s work was shattered. Many might have given up, given in to despair. But Jordan? He surveyed the wreckage at his feet, found the first fish that he recognized, and confidently began to rebuild his collection. And this time, he introduced one clever innovation that he believed would at last protect his work against the chaos of the world. When NPR reporter Lulu Miller first heard this anecdote in passing, she took Jordan for a fool—a cautionary tale in hubris, or denial. But as her own life slowly unraveled, she began to wonder about him. Perhaps instead he was a model for how to go on when all seemed lost. What she would unearth about his life would transform her understanding of history, morality, and the world beneath her feet. Part biography, part memoir, part scientific adventure, Why Fish Don’t Exist is a wondrous fable about how to persevere in a world where chaos will always prevail.
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1501160370
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 256
Book Description
A Best Book of 2020: The Washington Post * NPR * Chicago Tribune * Smithsonian A “remarkable” (Los Angeles Times), “seductive” (The Wall Street Journal) debut from the new cohost of Radiolab, Why Fish Don’t Exist is a dark and astonishing tale of love, chaos, scientific obsession, and—possibly—even murder. “At one point, Miller dives into the ocean into a school of fish…comes up for air, and realizes she’s in love. That’s how I felt: Her book took me to strange depths I never imagined, and I was smitten.” —The New York Times Book Review David Starr Jordan was a taxonomist, a man possessed with bringing order to the natural world. In time, he would be credited with discovering nearly a fifth of the fish known to humans in his day. But the more of the hidden blueprint of life he uncovered, the harder the universe seemed to try to thwart him. His specimen collections were demolished by lightning, by fire, and eventually by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake—which sent more than a thousand discoveries, housed in fragile glass jars, plummeting to the floor. In an instant, his life’s work was shattered. Many might have given up, given in to despair. But Jordan? He surveyed the wreckage at his feet, found the first fish that he recognized, and confidently began to rebuild his collection. And this time, he introduced one clever innovation that he believed would at last protect his work against the chaos of the world. When NPR reporter Lulu Miller first heard this anecdote in passing, she took Jordan for a fool—a cautionary tale in hubris, or denial. But as her own life slowly unraveled, she began to wonder about him. Perhaps instead he was a model for how to go on when all seemed lost. What she would unearth about his life would transform her understanding of history, morality, and the world beneath her feet. Part biography, part memoir, part scientific adventure, Why Fish Don’t Exist is a wondrous fable about how to persevere in a world where chaos will always prevail.
The Philosophy of Despair
Author: David Starr Jordan
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : California
Languages : en
Pages : 60
Book Description
Distillation of the wisdom of the ages looking at mankind's essential feebleness and finitude in an infinite and inscrutable universe. The author argues that neither optimism nor pessimism makes sense, only wisdom in the form of knowing what to do next.
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : California
Languages : en
Pages : 60
Book Description
Distillation of the wisdom of the ages looking at mankind's essential feebleness and finitude in an infinite and inscrutable universe. The author argues that neither optimism nor pessimism makes sense, only wisdom in the form of knowing what to do next.
California and the Californians
Author: David Starr Jordan
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : California
Languages : en
Pages : 48
Book Description
Assessment of California life and the character of its citizens.
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : California
Languages : en
Pages : 48
Book Description
Assessment of California life and the character of its citizens.
The Blood of the Nation
Author: David Starr Jordan
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Degeneration
Languages : en
Pages : 96
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Degeneration
Languages : en
Pages : 96
Book Description
Animal Life
Author: David Starr Jordan
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Zoology
Languages : en
Pages : 358
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Zoology
Languages : en
Pages : 358
Book Description
The Human Harvest
Author: David Starr Jordan
Publisher: Dissertations-G
ISBN:
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 136
Book Description
Publisher: Dissertations-G
ISBN:
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 136
Book Description
The Strength of Being Clean
Author: David Starr Jordan
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Conduct of life
Languages : en
Pages : 64
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Conduct of life
Languages : en
Pages : 64
Book Description
The Call of the Twentieth Century
Author: David Starr Jordan
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Conduct of life
Languages : en
Pages : 96
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Conduct of life
Languages : en
Pages : 96
Book Description
The Mysterious Death of Jane Stanford
Author: Robert W. P. Cutler
Publisher: Stanford University Press
ISBN: 9780804747936
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 206
Book Description
Jane Stanford, the co-founder of Stanford University, died in Honolulu in 1905, shortly after surviving strychnine poisoning in San Francisco. The inquest testimony of the physicians who attended her death in Hawaii led to a coroners jury verdict of murderby strychnine poisoning. Stanford University President David Starr Jordan promptly issued a press release claiming that Mrs. Stanford had died of heart disease, a claim that he supported by challenging the skills and judgment of the Honolulu physicians and toxicologist. Jordans diagnosis was largely accepted and promulgated in many subsequent historical accounts. In this book, the author reviews the medical reports in detail to refute Dr. Jordans claim and to show that Mrs. Stanford indeed died of strychnine poisoning. His research reveals that the professionals who were denounced by Dr. Jordan enjoyed honorable and distinguished careers. He concludes that Dr. Jordan went to great lengths, over a period of nearly two decades, to cover up the real circumstances of Mrs. Stanfords death.
Publisher: Stanford University Press
ISBN: 9780804747936
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 206
Book Description
Jane Stanford, the co-founder of Stanford University, died in Honolulu in 1905, shortly after surviving strychnine poisoning in San Francisco. The inquest testimony of the physicians who attended her death in Hawaii led to a coroners jury verdict of murderby strychnine poisoning. Stanford University President David Starr Jordan promptly issued a press release claiming that Mrs. Stanford had died of heart disease, a claim that he supported by challenging the skills and judgment of the Honolulu physicians and toxicologist. Jordans diagnosis was largely accepted and promulgated in many subsequent historical accounts. In this book, the author reviews the medical reports in detail to refute Dr. Jordans claim and to show that Mrs. Stanford indeed died of strychnine poisoning. His research reveals that the professionals who were denounced by Dr. Jordan enjoyed honorable and distinguished careers. He concludes that Dr. Jordan went to great lengths, over a period of nearly two decades, to cover up the real circumstances of Mrs. Stanfords death.
The Fishes of North and Middle America
Author: David Starr Jordan
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Fishes
Languages : en
Pages : 1032
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Fishes
Languages : en
Pages : 1032
Book Description