null

Recently Viewed

New

Reading the Shape of Nature: Comparative Zoology at the Agassiz Museum by Mary P. Winsor 9780226902159

No reviews yet Write a Review
RRP: £40.00
£38.55
Booksplease saves you

  Delivery: We ship to over 200 countries!
  Packaging: All orders packed with care
  Range: Millions of books available
  Reviews: Booksplease rated "Excellent" on Trustpilot
  New & Used Books: New or Used books available
  Value: Big reader? You won't get better value than Booksplease!

SKU:
9780226902159
Available from Booksplease!
Availability: Usually dispatched within 5 working days

Frequently Bought Together:

Total: Inc. VAT
Total: Ex. VAT

Description

Reading the Shape of Nature vividly recounts the turbulent early history of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard and the contrasting careers of its founder Louis Agassiz and his son Alexander. Through the story of this institution and the individuals who formed it, Mary P. Winsor explores the conflicting forces that shaped systematics in the second half of the nineteenth century. Debates over the philosophical foundations of classification, details of taxonomic research, the young institution's financial struggles, and the personalities of the men most deeply involved are all brought to life.

In 1859, Louis Agassiz established the Museum of Comparative Zoology to house research on the ideal types that he believed were embodied in all living forms. Agassiz's vision arose from his insistence that the order inherent in the diversity of life reflected divine creation, not organic evolution. But the mortar of the new museum had scarcely dried when Darwin's Origin was published. By Louis Agassiz's death in 1873, even his former students, including his son Alexander, had defected to the evolutionist camp. Alexander, a self-made millionaire, succeeded his father as director and introduced a significantly different agenda for the museum.

To trace Louis and Alexander's arguments and the style of science they established at the museum, Winsor uses many fascinating examples that even zoologists may find unfamiliar. The locus of all this activity, the museum building itself, tells its own story through a wonderful series of archival photographs.


Book Information
ISBN 9780226902159
Author Mary P. Winsor
Format Paperback
Page Count 342
Imprint University of Chicago Press
Publisher The University of Chicago Press
Weight(grams) 454g
Dimensions(mm) 23mm * 16mm * 2mm

Reviews

No reviews yet Write a Review

Booksplease  Reviews


J - United Kingdom

Fast and efficient way to choose and receive books

This is my second experience using Booksplease. Both orders dealt with very quickly and despatched. Now waiting for my next read to drop through the letterbox.

J - United Kingdom

T - United States

Will definitely use again!

Great experience and I have zero concerns. They communicated through the shipping process and if there was any hiccups in it, they let me know. Books arrived in perfect condition as well as being fairly priced. 10/10 recommend. I will definitely shop here again!

T - United States

R - Spain

The shipping was just superior

The shipping was just superior; not even one of the books was in contact with the shipping box -anywhere-, not even a corner or the bottom, so all the books arrived in perfect condition. The international shipping took around 2 weeks, so pretty great too.

R - Spain

J - United Kingdom

Found a hard to get book…

Finding a hard to get book on Booksplease and with it not being an over inflated price was great. Ordering was really easy with updates on despatch. The book was packaged well and in great condition. I will certainly use them again.

J - United Kingdom