Why Fish Don't Exist
eBook - ePub

Why Fish Don't Exist

A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life

  1. 240 pages
  2. English
  3. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

Why Fish Don't Exist

A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life

About this book

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.

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Yes, you can access Why Fish Don't Exist by Lulu Miller in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Technology & Engineering & Science & Technology Biographies. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Dedication
  4. Prologue
  5. Chapter 1: A Boy with His Head in the Stars
  6. Chapter 2: A Prophet on an Island
  7. Chapter 3: A Godless Interlude
  8. Chapter 4: Chasing Tail
  9. Chapter 5: Genesis in a Jar
  10. Chapter 6: Smash
  11. Chapter 7: The Indestructible
  12. Chapter 8: On Delusion
  13. Chapter 9: The Bitterest Thing in the World
  14. Chapter 10: A Veritable Chamber of Horrors
  15. Chapter 11: The Ladder
  16. Chapter 12: Dandelions
  17. Chapter 13: Deus ex Machina
  18. Epilogue
  19. A Note on the Illustrations
  20. A Note on Change
  21. Acknowledgments
  22. About the Author
  23. Notes
  24. Copyright