The Heyday of Natural History, 1820-1870
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.88 (859 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0385125747 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 320 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 0000-00-00 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
D. Blankenship said INFORMATIVE, FASCINATING AND AN EXTREMELY ENJOYABLE READ. Let me begin by saying that I was absolutely stunned when I found that this wonderful work was no longer in print. This book was first published in England in or just before 1980 and the edition I am reviewing here was published by Doubleday in 1980 in the United States. This work is now about INFORMATIVE, FASCINATING AND AN EXTREMELY ENJOYABLE READ Let me begin by saying that I was absolutely stunned when I found that this wonderful work was no longer in print. This book was first published in England in or just before 1980 and the edition I am reviewing here was published by Doubleday in 1980 in the United States. This work is now about 30 years old but it has held up very, very well!I purchased thi. 0 years old but it has held up very, very well!I purchased thi. Amazon Customer said Read This if You Love Natural History. If there is a book that should be back in print, and should be available in every Natural History Museum, Aquarium, and Zoo gift shop, it is this one. I have searched in vain in such places for a book as relevant and interesting as this, full of fascinating historical facts yet low on political agenda, and was very fortunate to find this gem in my local li. A misplaced classic A deliciously engaging work of social history that acquaints you with all the major players of the natural history era and how they seamlessly merged religious devotion, poetry, and amateur science to create a curiosity for all things natural that ruled the Victorian era. Full of absolutely terrific anecdotes of 19th century ingenuity and eccentricity that
In the name of 'rational amusement,' the bored upper classes ventured outdoors to look for 'sermons in stones' or invited fashionable friends in for 'an evening at the microscope.' No middle-class drawing room was complete without its exotic ferns, insect collections, shell pictures, and stuffed birds. Why? What caused this popular obsession that lasted from the 1820s to the 1860s? 'This book traces the relationship between the natural history craze and 'nation theology' - the belief that the study of nature led to spiritual enlightenment. Generally Illustrated. It brings to life the notorious eccentrics of 19th-century naturalism, the gentlemen-scientists who managed to ignore the real controversies brewing between science and religion. And it describes the religious and intellectual shock waves created by the advent of Darwinism - why its impact was irreversible and how the 'Origin of Species' undermined and finally killed the popular enthusiasm for natural history. From butterfly mania to aquarium fever to gorilla madness - Victorian society yielded to the excesses of a grand passion for natural history. And, at all levels of British and American society, public demand for fascinating facts, bizarre anecdotes, and pious homilies about nature made books such as 'Marvels of Pond Life' national bestsellers