Why
Fish Don't Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life
by Lulu Miller
Read or Download at: http://best.ebookcollection.space/?book=1501160273
A
wondrous debut from an extraordinary new voice in nonfiction, Why Fish Don’t
Exist is a dark and astonishing tale of love, chaos, scientific obsession,
and—possibly—even murder.
“Lulu
Miller draws a heartening lesson—that chaos, which comes for us all, can be
defeated by sheer human stubbornness.” —Los Angeles Times
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 of his 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 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 reads like a fable about how to
persevere in a world where chaos will always prevail.
Product
details
Hardcover : 240 pages
Publisher : Simon &
Schuster (April 14, 2020)
Language : English
ISBN-10 : 1501160273
ISBN-13 : 978-1501160271
Product Dimensions : 5.5 x 0.7 x 8.4 inches
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