The Naming of the Shrew: A Curious History of Latin Names

A witty and occasionally uproarious treatment of a potentially dry subject.

Parts of this, like the first bit, were fascinating and quite humorous (in a nerdy way, maybe). Like this line: "The 'Linnaean system' is still what people think of on the rare occasions they think about taxonomy at all." And, of course, all the discussion of strange and humorous Latin names.It was all quite well written, but I did think a few sections were too slow and detailed for the average layman. I learned a lot (though there was so much information I'm not sure how much I'll retain, and some left me only with a basic grasp of the topic).Though I know that Latin names for plants and animals sometimes change (I've been researching cactus and a couple of important local species have changed scientific names between the publications of various sources), I've always rather thought of them as consistent, as more reliable than the multiple and changeable and fallible common names. This book, more than anything, disillusioned me about that. Well, they're still more consistent than common names, but they're not consistent. But I guess it's good that our names can bend and change along with our ever-expanding knowledge.I did find it a bit condescending (or maybe just overly academic) when he complained about so many cultures and scientists in the past classifying plants by unscientific principles such as…gasp…what is edible and what is poisonous and what is medicinal. Those seem very logical and pragmatic categories to me. Even now, if I get lost in the wilderness, I'm afraid I'd rather know what's edible than which genera are most closely related in the evolutionary tree.I still don't think I'll ever remember more than a few Latin names, despite how much I love nature. Maybe I should make it my new goal.I recommend this for anyone interested in the topic and unafraid of some deep delving and a LOT of Latin.

John Wright wrote an interesting book about how the various forms of life got their Latin names. Using anecdotes and humor, Wright lifted the subject out of what could have been a boring book. The classification of life is important, but the methods behind the classification are not well known. As a university student, I must have memorized hundreds of Latin names but never really gave the science of taxonomy much thought. I am glad that Wright has paid tribute to these scientists. The one thing about the book that I didn’t like is that there was very little said about the microbial world, but as a microbiologist, I might be biased. I recommend this book for anyone interested in the history of science.

An easy to read compendium of complicated issues. However the order of the book seems at odds with understanding. Great for beginners

I found this to be a book to live by a comfortable chair, so every now and then I pick it up and read few more pages. I love it. Full of historical anecdotes about the origin of names of plants, animals and the rest in the classification system. But it isn't as boring as that sounds. it is well-written with affection and interest, with subjects dealt with anecdotally rather than according to a scheme or formal order. I highly recommend this book if you have a love of the English language, and an interest in the names of things, and the people who classified them

The subtitle for this book just about sums it up. Though hardly lighthearted it doesn't take itself 100% seriously and there is some humour in the delivery of this trawl through the world of animal/plant and a fair bit of fungal nomenclature. It is more concerned with taxonomy as a whole rather than a string of individual organisms and has a sizey section on Linnaeus (what book on taxonomy wouldn't?). On the whole enlightening and entertaining in equal measure.

This humourous and intelligent book that delves into the beautiful language of nature. I am no latin scholar but the author has opened up this language and its application to the world of nature. It is sufficiently serious in its treatment of the subject matter, yet I laughed out loud again and again. "The 19th century botanist William Helmsley, for example, does not appear to have thought through his name for the Bramble species 'Rubus cockburnianus' with which he wished to honour the Cockburn family." John Wright has excelled himself. Informative and damned funny too!

I used it to read. What else!

Loved this book.