annieb123's Review of Every Living Thing

by Jason Roberts

The dramatic, globe-spanning and meticulously-researched story of two scientific rivals and their race to survey all life.

In the 18th century, two men dedicated their lives to the same daunting task: identifying and describing all life on Earth. Their approaches could not have been more different. Carl Linnaeus, a pious Swedish doctor with a huckster's flair, believed that life belonged in tidy, static categories. Georges-Louis de Buffon, an aristocratic polymath and keeper of France's royal garden, viewed life as a dynamic, ever-changing swirl of complexities. Both began believing their work to be difficult, but not impossible--how could the planet possibly hold more than a few thousand species? Stunned by life's diversity, both fell far short of their goal. But in the process they articulated starkly divergent views on nature, on humanity's role in shaping the fate of our planet, and on humanity itself.

The rivalry between these two unique, driven individuals created reverberations that still echo today. Linnaeus, with the help of acolyte explorers he called "apostles" (only half of whom returned alive), gave the world such concepts as mammal, primate and homo sapiens--but he also denied species change and promulgated racist pseudo-science. Buffon coined the term reproduction, formulated early prototypes of evolution and genetics, and argued passionately against prejudice. It was a clash that, during their lifetimes, Buffon seemed to be winning. But their posthumous fates would take a very different turn.

With elegant, propulsive prose grounded in more than a decade of research, bestselling author Jason Roberts tells an unforgettable true-life tale of intertwined lives and enduring legacies, tracing an arc of insight and discovery that extends across three centuries into the present day.

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

Every Living Thing is a vibrantly told narrative of the early race for classification of the natural world related by Jason Roberts. Released 9th April 2024 by Penguin Random House, it's 432 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats.

Academic rivalries are certainly nothing new. Here, the author provides parallel biographies of two very well known natural historians/scientists whose compulsion to categorize life on planet earth still resonate down to the present: Georges-Louis de Buffon and Carl Linnaeus.

The book is sparsely but well illustrated throughout, with numerous monochrome facsimile documents, paintings, and photos. The book is also very well annotated throughout, and the chapter notes and bibliography will provide readers with many hours of further reading.

Four and a half stars. This is not a rigorous academic monograph, but quite accessible and entertaining for the layman. It would be an excellent choice for public library, home use, or gift giving to fans of natural history and nonfiction.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Reading updates

27 April, 2024: Started reading

27 April, 2024: Finished reading

27 April, 2024: Reviewed