Review by Booklist Review
Asma, a philosophy professor, takes the reader on a journey through the history and philosophical underpinnings of the natural history museum. Talking with curators, exhibit designers, and scientists from museums in London, Paris, New York, and Chicago (homes of the world's major natural history museums), the author goes behind the scenes to discuss not only how objects are displayed but also why they were chosen. The natural history museum started as a gathering of natural oddities. Early museums often emphasized the macabre, but the author points out that much learning was taking place (almost despite themselves) among museum goers. As he delves into the nuts and bolts of exhibition, specimen preparation, and preservation, Asma shows us flesh-eating beetles (for cleaning bones), the "wet method" of preservation (literally pickling), the artistry of taxidermy, and the preparation of the world's most famous dinosaur fossil. Woven into this museum travelogue are quotes from museum personnel explaining the philosophy behind the writing of signage, the juxtaposition of exhibits, and the presentation of a story line. --Nancy Bent
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Artfully posed human skeletons and "monster" fetuses in jars are the stuff of Stephen T. Asma's fascinating Stuffed Animals and Pickled Heads: The Culture and Evolution of Natural History Museums. A professor of philosophy and interdisciplinary humanities at Chicago's Columbia College, Asma (Buddha for Beginners) dissects and catalogues his extensive research in this rigorous, entertaining work of cultural criticism. He investigates the history of "acceptable" scientific practice and affords philosophical insight into the scientific and human impulse to categorize: "To have a concept... is to have its negation already in tow.... There is a class of things called `dog,' and there is a class of things (quite substantial, in fact) that are `not-dog.'... Language and thought cannot really function without this most basic tool for carving up reality." Photos and illus. ( Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Do natural history museum visitors ever wonder how exhibits come to be or what, if any, history there may be to the presentation of the exhibits? Asma, a philosophy professor, answers these questions and more. He succeeds admirably in providing a "decoder device that readers can draw upon for future museum visits." Examining seven natural history museums in the United States and Europe, Asma provides a history of wet and dry specimens and taxidermy, how and why collections were accumulated, how taxonomy evolved, and how collections changed over time. The last half of the book explores how evolution and Darwin have influenced natural history collections, "dissects" exhibits at several museums, and, most fascinatingly, discusses how the visual arts are employed both consciously and unconsciously in the creation of natural history displays. For all medium and large collections and especially for history of science collections. Michael D. Cramer, Raleigh Research Triangle Park, NC (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Booklist Review
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Review by Library Journal Review
