Description
Book SynopsisTrade Review"A Seminary Co-Op Notable Book of the Year"
"If categorization is crucial to making sense of the world, how should we classify Carl Linnaeus? . . . Broberg’s biography dutifully accompanies Linnaeus every step of the way."
---Kathryn Schulz, New Yorker"Whether we realize it or not, we live in a Linnaean world. . . . [A]n excellent starting point for the general reader. Dispensing with the prevalent image of Linnaeus as nature’s dullest bookkeeper, Broberg paints a moving portrait of a profoundly vulnerable human being."
---Christopher Irmscher, Wall Street Journal"A detailed account of his subject’s work as well as his 'darker aspects.' . . . Writing for a general audience. . . . Everything you ever wanted to know about Linnaeus and more." * Kirkus Reviews *
"A rich portrait. . . . [Broberg] offers readers an immersive glimpse into the life of a scientist who was instrumental to the formation of botany, zoology, and taxonomy. . . . The Man Who Organized Nature is sure to become the definitive biography of Linnaeus."
---Darren Incorvaia, Science"A striking addition to the list of key scientific biographies."
---Brian Clegg, Popular Science"A reminder of the remarkable life Linnaeus lead and the influence he had on the development of modern biology. . . . His work deserves to be remembered in magisterial biographies like this."
---Laurence A. Marshall, Natural History"Anna Paterson’s new English translation of the late Gunnar Broberg’s 2019 life of the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus offers, however, something genuinely new and valuable . . . The book is a beguiling and expert account of an extraordinary individual who helped shape our understanding of the natural world."
---Linda Colley, Financial Times"This is surely the definitive biography of Carl Linnaeus. . . .The book gives a rounded and vivid portrait highlighting his flaws as well as creative genius." * Paradigm Explorer *
"We should be grateful to Broberg for the decades of research distilled into the volume, the closest thing to a comprehensive and contextualised account of Linnaeus as we are likely to get for at least a generation."
---Lorraine Daston, London Review of Books