"[Koerner's] Linnaeus is not the typical one of scholarship and
legend. And in recovering him, she has done something few do. She
has shown a way in which the eighteenth century and its
'enlightened' projects grew out of the seventeenth century and its
'baroque' ones...The text is written with wit and irony...The prose
is spare, precise, calm and repays rereading. It is, indeed,
Linnaean in spirit...Thanks to Koerner, Linnaeus has become one of
my favorite eighteenth-century figures."--William Clark"Times
Literary Supplement" (01/05/2001)
[Koerner's] prose is spare, precise, calm, and repays rereading. It
is, indeed, Linnaean in spirit. By reflecting him in so many
personae--'as a son and student, traveler, physician, botanist,
economist, theologian, teacher, husband and father'--"Linnaeus:
Nature and Nation" brings 'the flower king' back to life.--William
Clark "Times Literary Supplement "
Carl Linnaeus (1707-78) is the subject of Lisbet Koerner's
brilliant, beautifully crafted, and unsettling book...A certain
gentle irony pervades this book and its view of history...This is a
book about what Koerner calls the 'long forgotten future of the
past.' It is about a complex vision of modernity whereby nations at
the margins of progress seek their own way forward.--Thomas W.
Laqueur "Taxon "
In an extraordinarily thorough research of Linnaeus's Swedish and
Latin publications, manuscript correspondence, diaries, and lecture
notes, Lisbet Koerner" relates the quest for natural knowledge to
the ultimate goals of nation-building and eighteenth-century
cameralist economics...Students of Linnaeus will find this book
indispensable, with flashes of brilliant insight.--Martin S. Staum
"American Historical Review "
Koerner's biography of Carl Linnaeus shows that this scientist was
interested in a great deal more than just vegetation. Placing
Linnaeus's botanical studies in the larger context of his life's
work, Koerner explores his ideas about the relationship between
nature and national economics...Throughout, Koerner wisely relies
on passages from Linnaeus's own writing to illustrate her
arguments; much of what she recounts would otherwise be hard to
believe. And overall, her arguments are well crafted: she deftly
balances his shortcomings against his good intentions and
knowledge.--Marianne Stowell Bracke "Library Journal "
Linnaeus is remembered as the botanist who established the plant
classification system still used today, but actually, according to
science historian Koerner, he was a jack-of-all-trades. He was also
a doctor, teacher, economist, and theologian...Koerner, drawing on
a wide spectrum of sources, places her fascinating subject firmly
within the context of eighteenth-century European thought, and
reveals Linnaeus' grand plan for applying his systematization of
nature to politics and economics in the hope of transforming Sweden
into a self-sufficient state...[An] agile and incisive
reconsideration of a significant and misunderstood man of
science.--Donna Seaman "Booklist "
Most Linnaeus scholarship has, understandably, focused on the work
that inspired his contemporary renown. "Linnaeus: Nature and
Nation" offers something different. It is neither a conventional
biography nor a reinterpretation of Linnaeus's best-known
scientific accomplishments, although it includes elements of both.
Instead, in a series of linked essays, Lisbet Koerner repositions
Linnaeus primarily as a Swede rather than as a member of an
international intellectual community. She emphasizes his deep
family roots in the Swedish church and countryside, rather than his
links to the larger world...As Koerner puts it, 'He hoped to ride
elks, write with swan feathers, and read by the light of seal-fat
lamps.' And if there were desires that could not be fulfilled in
this way, Linnaeus hoped to persuade valuable tropical plants to
adapt to his cold northern climate.--Harriet Ritvo "Nature "
The great Swede, who was born in 1707 and died in 1778, is now the
subject of a succinct and impressively researched biography by
Lisbet Koerner. Single-handedly, Linnaeus standardized the naming
and classifying of plants and animals based on morphological
characteristics with his now famous binormial nomenclature--the
first name is the organism's genus, the second its species...In
this well-written book, the author concentrates on two big themes:
Linnaeus' concerns about his own nation and his contributions to
science.--Raymond L. Peterson "Washington Times "
This is a book about what Koerner calls the 'long-forgotten future
of the past.' It is about a complex vision of modernity whereby
nations at the margins of progress seek their own way forward. The
path was not plain in the eighteenth century, and it is not,
Koerner suggests, so clear now.--Thomas W. Laqueur "New Republic
"
[A] scholarly look at [Linnaeus's] life and times, including some
of the scientist's more foolish projects...Koerner's perspective is
interesting and yields some new insights.
A rich biographical study that documents the strange, often
unfortunate relation between the well-known scientific thinking and
the forgotten economic theories of famed Swedish naturalist Carl
Linneaus...Astute and engaging; not only a useful treatment of the
economic relatives of Linneaus' well-known taxonomy, but also a
taxonomy of its own, that of genus "Linneaus," species
"intellectual imagination,"
"ÝKoerner's¨ Linnaeus is not the typical one of scholarship and
legend. And in recovering him, she has done something few do. She
has shown a way in which the eighteenth century and its
'enlightened' projects grew out of the seventeenth century and its
'baroque' ones...The text is written with wit and irony...The prose
is spare, precise, calm and repays rereading. It is, indeed,
Linnaean in spirit...Thanks to Koerner, Linnaeus has become one of
my favorite eighteenth-century figures." -- William Clark "Times
Literary Supplement" (01/05/2001)
ÝA¨ scholarly look at ÝLinnaeus's¨ life and times, including some
of the scientist's more foolish projects...Koerner's perspective is
interesting and yields some new insights.
ÝKoerner's¨ prose is spare, precise, calm, and repays rereading. It
is, indeed, Linnaean in spirit. By reflecting him in so many
personae--'as a son and student, traveler, physician, botanist,
economist, theologian, teacher, husband and father'--"Linnaeus:
Nature and Nation" brings 'the flower king' back to life. --
William Clark "Times Literary Supplement"
Carl Linneaus' legacy is generally considered his system of plant
classification. However, scientific historian Koerner explores the
naturalist from a new angle. She argues that Linnaeus' scientific
goals helped lead to economic growth and independence for his
homeland, Sweden.
In "Linnaeus," Lisbet Koerner discovers a complex
man--paternalistic, patriotic, self-important and slightly
mendacious. Jealous of British colonial and scientific success,
Linnaeus promoted schemes for naturalising food crops such as tea,
rice and olives to improve Swedish economic self-sufficiency.
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