Lab Girl - Hardcover

Jahren, Hope

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0349006199 ISBN 13: 9780349006192

Publisher: Fleet, 2016

Synopsis

'The perfect Christmas book for those already restless for spring' - Tim Adams, Guardian Best Biographies of 2016

Lab Girl is a book about work and about love, and the mountains that can be moved when those two things come together. It is told through Jahren's remarkable stories: about the discoveries she has made in her lab, as well as her struggle to get there; about her childhood playing in her father's laboratory; about how lab work became a sanctuary for both her heart and her hands; about Bill, the brilliant, wounded man who became her loyal colleague and best friend; about their field trips - sometimes authorised, sometimes very much not - that took them from the Midwest across the USA, to Norway and to Ireland, from the pale skies of North Pole to tropical Hawaii; and about her constant striving to do and be her best, and her unswerving dedication to her life's work.

Visceral, intimate, gloriously candid and sometimes extremely funny, Jahren's descriptions of her work, her intense relationship with the plants, seeds and soil she studies, and her insights on nature enliven every page of this thrilling book. In Lab Girl, we see anew the complicated power of the natural world, and the power that can come from facing with bravery and conviction the challenge of discovering who you are.

About this title

About the Author

Hope Jahren is an award-winning scientist who has been pursuing independent research in paleobiology since 1996. Recognized by Time in 2016 as one of the 100 most influential people in the world, she is the recipient of three Fulbright Awards and served as a tenured professor at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu from 2008 to 2016, where she built the isotope geobiology laboratories. She currently holds the J. Tuzo Wilson professorship at the University of Oslo, Norway.

From the Back Cover

People are like plants: they grow toward the light. I chose science because science gave me what I needed - a home as defined in the most literal sense: a safe place to be. As a female scientist I am still unusual, but in my heart I was never anything else. My laboratory is 'the Jahren Laboratory' and it always will be, no matter where it is located. It bears my name because it is my home. My laboratory is a place where the lights are always on.

From the Inside Flap

Lab Girl is a book about work and about love, and the mountains that can be moved when those two things come together. It is told through Jahren's remarkable stories: about the discoveries she has made in her lab, as well as her struggle to get there; about her childhood playing in her father's laboratory; about how lab work became a sanctuary for both her heart and her hands; about Bill, the brilliant, wounded man who became her loyal colleague and best friend; about their field trips - sometimes authorised, sometimes very much not - that took them from the Midwest across the USA, to Norway and to Ireland, from the pale skies of North Pole to tropical Hawaii; and about her constant striving to do and be her best, and her unswerving dedication to her life's work.

Visceral, intimate, gloriously candid and sometimes extremely funny, Jahren's descriptions of her work, her intense relationship with the plants, seeds and soil she studies, and her insights into nature enliven every page of this thrilling book. In Lab Girl, we see anew the complicated power of the natural world, and the power that can come from facing with bravery and conviction the challenge of discovering who you are.

Edition details

• Publisher: Fleet
• Publication date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0349006199
• ISBN 13: 9780349006192
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 304