The career of entomologist and taxonomist Karl Jordan (1861-1959), who described 3,426 new species over the course of his career, is used in this scientific biography by Johnson (science, technology, and society; U. of Puget Sound) as a window into how social, political, and economic developments outside the walls of laboratories and museums influenced Jordan's cataloguing of species. She thus examines how the productiveness of Jordan's work depended on financial resources (provided in large part by Walter Rothschild) and networks of individual naturalists working in the field, both of which could be disrupted by such events as depression and war, as well as on scholarly presumptions about the proper activities and methods of the taxonomist, which changed over time. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
For centuries naturalists have endeavored to name, order, and explain biological diversity. Karl Jordan (18611959) dedicated his long life to this effort, describing thousands of new species in the process. Ordering Life explores the career of this prominent figure as he worked to ensure a continued role for natural history museums and the field of taxonomy in the rapidly changing world of twentieth-century science.
Jordan made an effort to both practice good taxonomy and secure status and patronage in a world that would soon be transformed by wars and economic and political upheaval. Kristin Johnson traces his response to these changes and shows that creating scientific knowledge about the natural world depends on much more than just good method or robust theory. The broader social context in which scientists work is just as important to the project of naming, describing, classifying, and, ultimately, explaining life.
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