Why fish don't exist : a story of loss, love, and the hidden order of life

Responsibility
Lulu Miller ; illustrations by Kate Samworth
Edition
First Simon & Schuster paperback edition
Publication
New York : Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2021
Copyright notice
©2020
Physical description
228 pages : illustrations ; 21 cm

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Description

Creators/Contributors

Author/Creator
Miller, Lulu, 1983- author.
Contributor
Samworth, Kate, illustrator.

Contents/Summary

Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 205-228)
Contents
  • A boy with his head in the stars
  • A prophet on an island
  • A godless interlude
  • Chasing tail
  • Genesis in a jar
  • Smash
  • The indestructible
  • On delusion
  • The bitterest thing in the world
  • A veritable chamber of horrors
  • The ladder
  • Dandelions
  • Deus ex machina
Summary
"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."--Provided by publisher

Bibliographic information

Publication date
2021
Copyright date
2020
Note
Includes readers' guide book discussion questions (on 3 unnumbered pages at end)
ISBN
9781501160349 (paperback)
1501160346 (paperback)

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