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The Naming of the Shrew A Curious History of Latin Names
John Wright
RRP £14.99
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Sue Baker's view...
The natural world including ourselves, homo sapiens all have latin names to classify us on the Tree of Life. But, what do these terms and labels mean, and why are some so bizarre or occasionally so beautiful, my favourite being Vanessa Atalanta for the Red Admiral butterfly. John Wright is here to explain and elucidate in this illuminating guide to scientific classification.
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Latin for Bird Lovers, Rober J Lederer and Carol Burr
The Good Book Guide Review. Linnaeus’s naming system for the natural world was a huge breakthrough because it put things in order; ‘not necessarily the right order’, as John Wright comments in this deeply fascinating study, ‘but sometimes the wrong order is better than nothing’. Wright tours the history of taxonomy, bringing to life its major personalities, Linnaeus chief amongst them, as well as the enthusiasts responsible for naming new species today. He explains why Latin names are important and illustrates the confusion that can arise from using ‘common names’, demonstrating the brilliance of the binomial principle, whereby each living thing has a family name and a species name.
Not only botanists and zoologists but also linguists and etymologists will thoroughly enjoy this quirky, intelligent and unexpectedly funny tome, discovering the wonderful descriptive power of such as Notiocryptorrhynchus (a beetle with a mark hidden on its nose) and micropachycephalosaurus (a lizard with a thick tiny head).
~ Victoria Bentata
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Synopsis
The Naming of the Shrew A Curious History of Latin Names by John Wright
Latin names - frequently unpronounceable, all too often wrong and always a tiny puzzle to unravel - have been annoying the layman since they first became formalised as scientific terms in the eighteenth century. Why on earth has the entirely land-loving Eastern Mole been named Scalopus aquaticus, or the Oxford Ragwort been called Senecio squalidus - 'dirty old man'? What were naturalists thinking when they called a beetle Agra katewinsletae, a genus of fish Batman, and a Trilobite Han solo? Why is zoology replete with names such as Chloris chloris chloris (the greenfinch), and Gorilla gorilla gorilla (a species of, well gorilla)? The Naming of the Shrew will unveil these mysteries, exploring the history, celebrating their poetic nature and revealing how naturalists sometimes get things so terribly wrong. With wonderfully witty style and captivating narrative, this book will make you see Latin names in a whole new light.
Reviews
Who would have thought that a book about Latin names could be quite so compelling!! Alan Titchmarsh Brims with verbal curiosities Nature Nature writing at its best: insightful, entertaining and often very funny British Wildlife I have not fully recovered from the discovery that the proper Latin name of the western lowland gorilla is Gorilla gorilla gorilla Independent on Sunday Weird and wonderful Sunday Telegraph Charming The Lady The pleasure of Wright's book is the contrast between the rigour required for giving names and the careless minds and mischievous humour of those who devise them The Times Fascinating and funny BBC Countrylife Erudite but whimsical ... a book as charming as it is wise Irish Examiner A great read Grow Your OwnAbout the Author
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Book Info
Publication date
6th November 2014Author
John WrightMore books by John Wright
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Author's Website
www.wild-food.net
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Publisher
Bloomsbury Publishing PLCFormat
Hardback320 pages
Categories
Popular scienceTaxonomy & systematicsISBN
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