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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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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
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.
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Book Info
Publication date
30th November 1999Author
John WrightMore books by John Wright
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Author's Website
www.wild-food.net
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Hardback
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