Reading the shape of nature : comparative zoology at the Agassiz Museum / Mary P. Winsor.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 297-315) and index.

Print version record.

Illustrations; Preface; Acknowledgments; 1. In the Prime of His Admirable Manhood -- 2. I Have Been Disappointed in My Collaboration -- 3. Our Work Must Be Done with Much More Precision -- 4. An Object Worthy of a Life's Devotion -- 5. The Many Plans Started by My Father -- 6. Shall We Say 'Ignorabimus, ' or Chase a Phantom? -- 7. The Slender Threas is Practically Severed -- 8. Results Unattainable by Museum Study Alone -- 9. Collections Never of Use to Anyone -- 10. Dependent on the Personal Feelings of the Authors

11. ""I Made Up My Mind That Very Day to Be Director""Concluding Remarks; Notes; Bibliography; Index

Reading the Shape of Nature vividly recounts the turbulent early history of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard and the contrasting careers of its founder Louis Agassiz and his son Alexander. Through the story of this institution and the individuals who formed it, Mary P. Winsor explores the conflicting forces that shaped systematics in the second half of the nineteenth century. Debates over the philosophical foundations of classification, details of taxonomic research, the young institution's financial struggles, and the personalities of the men most deeply involved are a.

English.

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