Overview

In a series of vivid portraits of determined—even obsessed—scientists, Rob Dunn shows that we are not even close to knowing life on earth. We are like our ancestors: ignorant. And yet, biologists and lay people alike have through history repeatedly claimed victory over life. A thousand years ago we thought we knew almost everything; a hundred years ago too. But, even today we are unable to see what is beyond our immediate radar. Discoveries we can’t yet imagine still await. Dunn traces the history of human discovery from the establishment of classification in the 18th century to today’s attempts to find life in space. The narrative telescopes from a scientist’s attempt to find one single thing (a rare ant-emulating beetle species) to a scientist’s attempt to find everything (all the insects living in a section of the Smoky Mountains). With poetry and humor, Dunn reminds readers how tough and exhilarating it is to study the natural world, and why it matters.

Full Product Details

9780061430312

Table of Contents

Reviews

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

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

Author Information

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.

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