Nature's Memory (Paperback)
Language: English
Published by Penguin Books Ltd, 2026
- Softcover
- New
Seller: Grand Eagle Retail, Bensenville, IL, U.S.A.Grand Eagle Retail
AbeBooks seller since October 12, 2005
Condition: New
£ 15.57
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Paperback. An affectionate and eye-opening insider's guide to the world's great natural history museumsIn Nature's Memory, zoologist Jack Ashby shares hidden stories behind the world's iconic natural history museums, from enormous mounted whale skeletons to cabinets of impossibly tiny insects.Look closely and all is not as it seems: these museums are not as natural, Ashby shows us, as we might think. Mammals dominate the displays, for example, even though they make up less than 1 percent of species; there are many more male specimens than females; and often a museum's most popular draw - the dinosaur skeletons - are not actually real. Over 99 percent of museum collections are held in immense, unseen storehouses. And it's becoming clear that these institutions have not been as honest about their complex histories as they should be. Yet natural history museums are also the only museums that can save the world - it is just starting to be understood that their vast collections are indispensable resources in the fight against biodiversity loss and climate catastrophe.Weaving together fresh historical research with surprising insights, Nature's Memory is a love letter to the joys, eccentricities and planet-saving potential of the world's best-loved museums. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.…
Seller Inventory # 9781802063837
- Title
- Nature's Memory (Paperback)
- Author
- Jack Ashby
- Publisher
- Penguin Books Ltd
- Publication year
- 2026
- Condition
- new
- Binding
- Paperback
- Language
- English
- ISBN 10
- 1802063838
- ISBN 13
- 9781802063837
A 'compelling, arresting' (New Scientist) behind-the-scenes tour through the world's greatest natural history museums, revealing their hidden secrets
Zoologist Jack Ashby spends his life working in Britain's natural history museums, and in Nature's Memory he guides us through a series of extraordinary collections, from marvellous mounted whale skeletons and impossibly tiny insect cabinets to buried treasures in vast museum storehouses.
But look more closely at these displays: all is not as it seems. While most exhibits succeed in communicating feelings of wonder and awe - a vital function when less people than ever before have access to the outdoors - Ashby argues that the version of nature natural history museums present does not always reflect reality, with specimens revealing more about the biases of curators than they do about the species they represent. Likewise, the ways in which museums have traditionally told the story of their own histories has disproportionately elevated the contributions of certain kinds of people whilst diminishing the work of others, often ignoring their complex colonial heritage altogether. But Ashby contends that these issues are precisely why it's such an exciting time to be a natural historian, for while society shapes museums, so too can museums shape society - for the good. And as we face the existential threat of cataclysmic biodiversity loss, natural history museums will emerge as indispensable resources in the fight against climate catastrophe.
Weaving together fresh historical research, entertaining zoological trivia and insider stories from Ashby's distinguished natural history career, Nature's Memory is a charming ode to the joys, eccentricities and planet-saving potential of the world's best-loved museums.
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