Verkauf durch Sack Fachmedien

Kohler

All Creatures

Naturalists, Collectors, and Biodiversity, 1850-1950

Medium: Buch
ISBN: 978-0-691-12539-8
Verlag: Princeton University Press
Erscheinungstermin: 06.08.2006
Lieferfrist: bis zu 10 Tage

We humans share Earth with 1.4 million known species and millions more species that are still unrecorded. Yet we know surprisingly little about the practical work that produced the vast inventory we have to date of our fellow creatures. How were these multitudinous creatures collected, recorded, and named? When, and by whom?Here a distinguished historian of science tells the story of the modern discovery of biodiversity. Robert Kohler argues that the work begun by Linnaeus culminated around 1900, when collecting and inventory were organized on a grand scale in natural history surveys. Supported by governments, museums, and universities, biologists launched hundreds of collecting expeditions to every corner of the world. Kohler conveys to readers the experience and feel of expeditionary travel: the customs and rhythms of collectors' daily work, and its special pleasures and pains.A novel twist in this story is that survey collecting was rooted not just in science but also in new customs of outdoor recreation, such as hiking, camping, and sport hunting. These popular pursuits engendered a wide scientific interest in animals and plants and inspired wealthy nature-goers to pay for expeditions. The modern discovery of biodiversity became a reality when scientists' desire to know intersected with the culture of outdoor vacationing. General readers as well as scholars will find this book fascinating.


Produkteigenschaften


  • Artikelnummer: 9780691125398
  • Medium: Buch
  • ISBN: 978-0-691-12539-8
  • Verlag: Princeton University Press
  • Erscheinungstermin: 06.08.2006
  • Sprache(n): Englisch
  • Auflage: Erscheinungsjahr 2006
  • Produktform: Gebunden, HC gerader Rücken kaschiert
  • Gewicht: 734 g
  • Seiten: 380
  • Format (B x H x T): 161 x 240 x 25 mm
  • Ausgabetyp: Kein, Unbekannt
Autoren/Hrsg.

Autoren

List of Illustrations ix

Preface xi

CHAPTER ONE: Nature 1

Natural History Survey 10

Inner Frontiers 17

Twilight Zones 30

Impressions 37

Conclusion 45

CHAPTER TWO: Culture 47

Nature-Going 50

Middle-Class Vacation: From Leisure to Recreation 56

Recreation and Natural Science 67

Nature Essay and Diorama 73

The Science of Art 82

Conclusion 88

CHAPTER THREE: Patrons 91

Natural History Surveys 94

Museum Exhibition and Collecting 107

Museum Collecting: An Overview 117

Research Museums and Their Patrons 123

Conclusion 134

CHAPTER FOUR: Expedition 137

The Field Party 139

System 149

Communication 154

Infrastructure 162

Mobility and Automobility 172

Conclusion 180

CHAPTER FIVE: Work 182

Work and Skill 183

Pleasures 192

Pains 197

Careers 205

Women in the Field 215

Identity 220

Conclusion 225

CHAPTER SIX: Knowledge 227

Species and Survey Collecting 231

Taxonomists: A Natural History 239

Subspecies and Practice 245

Subspecies: The History 253

Subspecies in Crisis 264

Conclusion 269

CHAPTER SEVEN: Envoi 271

From Collecting to Observing 272

A Changing World 278

Biodiversity Revisited 282

Abbreviations 287

Notes 289

Selected Bibliography 345

Index 357