Every Living Thing: Man's Obsessive Quest to Catalog Life, from Nanobacteria to New Monkeys

Description

Biologists and laypeople alike have repeatedly claimed victory over life. A thousand years ago we thought we knew almost everything, a hundred years ago, too. But even today, Rob Dunn argues, discoveries we can't yet imagine still await us. More is unknown than known, whether about our bodies or the bottom of the sea. In a series of vivid portraits of scientists as interesting as the mysteries they chase, Dunn introduces the reader to breakthroughs that have changed the world and others that might still. With poetry and humor, Dunn reminds readers how tough and exhilarating it isto study the natural world, and why it matters.

Rob Dunn is an assistant professor in the department of biology at North Carolina State University. An up-and-coming science popularizer, he has written for National Geographic, Natural History, Scientific American, BBC Wildlife, and Seed magazines. He lives in Raleigh, North Carolina.

"If you have any interest in life beyond your own, you should read this book...Between the covers of EVERY LIVING THING you'll learn both about life's amazing diversity and that process of their discovery. Savor this fascinating volume and then help to preserve life's wonders." -- Paul R. Ehrlich, author of THE DOMINANT ANIMAL: HUMAN EVOLUTION AND THE ENVIRONMENT "His writing is concise and entertaining. So entertaining that I found myself laughing out loud and following my husband around saying, "Listen to this!" over and over again as I read." -- Internet Review of Books