How Zoologists Organize Things

“This book is so much more than an explanation of the title; it is a visual feast. Every page has carefully chosen and beautifully reproduced illustrations. The author has selected from a huge range of zoological material and has included medieval bestiaries from as early as the 1200s, to present-day genetics diagrams which are in themselves a visual delight, to subtly coloured electron microscope photographs of chromosomes. The text is well written and concise, giving a clear interpretation of the illustrations and enough background to enable one to understand something of the many zoologists who created numerous ways to understand the natural world of animals. This is a worthwhile account covering the work of many of the scientists, from a Western perspective, who have over the ages attempted to illustrate the order in Earth’s animal biodiversity. 5 stars”
 

Autorentext

David Bainbridge is a reproductive biologist, popular science writer, and the Clinical Veterinary Anatomist, the world-top-ranked Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge. As well as many academic and clinical publications, he has written seven popular science books, widely reviewed, discussed and translated. He is a fellow of St Catharine’s College, Cambridge, whose alumni include John Ray, the originator of the biological term “species.” David Bainbridge is the definitive voice on zoology classification.

Klappentext

Combining science with art, this uncovers how categorisation in zoology has shaped our view of the natural world, helping to define our existence and beliefs. Animals were among the first subjects ever drawn, and our ancestors have long tried to bring a sense of order to the natural world.

Zusammenfassung
Humankind’s fascination with the animal kingdom began as a matter of survival – differentiating the edible from the toxic, the ferocious from the tractable. Since then, our compulsion to catalogue wildlife has played a key role in growing our understanding of the planet and ourselves, inspiring religious beliefs and evolving scientific theories. The book unveils wild truths and even wilder myths about animals, as perpetuated by zoologists – revealing how much more there is to learn, and unlearn.

Long before Darwin, our ancestors were obsessed with the visual similarities and differences between the animals. Early scientists could sense there was an order that unified all life and formulated a variety of schemes to help illustrate this. This human quest to classify living beings has left us with a rich artistic legacy, from the folklore and religiosity of the ancient and Medieval world through the naturalistic cataloging of the Enlightenment to the modern, computer-generated classificatory labyrinth.

This book tells the fascinating, visual story of this process. The wonderful zoological charts reflect prevailing artistic trends and scientific discoveries, as well as telling us as much about ourselves as they do about the creatures depicted.

Inhalt
Introduction
1 Aristotle, Bestiaries & Cynocephali
2 Creating Order from Profusion
3 Trees of Life in a Newly Ancient World
4 Outward Patterns, Inner Workings
Index
Credits