Notice bibliographique
- Notice
Type(s) de contenu et mode(s) de consultation : Texte noté : sans médiation
Auteur(s) : Bashford, Alison (1963-....)
Titre(s) : The Huxleys [Texte imprimé] : an intimate history of evolution / Alison Bashford
Publication : Chicago : University of Chicago press, copyright 2022
Description matérielle : 1 vol. (XXXIX-529 p.) : ill. ; 24 cm
Note(s) : Notes bibliogr. Index
"This momentous biography tells the story of the Huxleys: the Victorian natural historian
T. H. Huxley ("Darwin's Bulldog") and his grandson, the scientist, conservationist,
and zoologist Julian Huxley. Between them, they communicated to the world the great
modern story of the theory of evolution by natural selection. In The Huxleys, celebrated
historian Alison Bashford writes seamlessly about these omnivorous intellects together,
almost as if they were a single man whose long, vital life bookended the colossal
shifts in world history from the age of sail to the Space Age, and from colonial wars
to world wars to the Cold War. The Huxleys' specialty was evolution in all its forms--at
the grandest level of species, deep time, the Earth, and at the most personal and
intimate. They illuminated the problems and wonders of the modern world and they fundamentally
shaped how we see ourselves, as individuals and as a species. But perhaps their greatest
subject was themselves. Bashford's engaging, brilliantly ambitious book interweaves
the Huxleys' momentous public achievements with their private triumphs and tragedies.
The result is the history of a family, but also a history of humanity grappling with
its place in nature. This book shows how much we owe-- for better or worse-- to the
unceasing curiosity, self-absorption, and enthusiasms of a small, strange group of
men and women."--Book jacket ; "This is a long-overdue biography of the Huxleys: the
Victorian natural historian T.H. Huxley ("Darwin's Bulldog") and his grandson, the
scientist, conservationist, and zoologist Julian Huxley. Both T.H. and Julian suffered
from depression, thinking and writing about the condition and genetic inheritance
in highly curious ways. And between them, they communicated to the world the great
modern story of the theory of evolution by natural selection. Because the grandson
modeled himself so self-consciously on the grandfather, celebrated historian Alison
Bashford writes seamlessly about these omnivorous intellects together, almost as if
they were one very long-lived man whose vital dates bookended the colossal shifts
in world history from the age of sail to the Space Age, and from colonial wars to
world wars to the cold war. The myriad questions that the Huxleys grappled with make
them the perfect dynasty-companions for time travel over the age of evolution: What
is the nature of time and how old is the Earth itself? What is the connection between
human history and natural history? How are humans animals and how are we not? What
is the deep past and the distant future of humankind? Can and should we actively seek
to improve future generations? What might the planet look like 10,000 years hence?
This momentous biography traces the problems and wonders of the modern world that
the Huxleys themselves raised, postured, and pondered over lives that spanned the
age of evolution"
Sujet(s) : Huxley, Thomas Henry (1825-1895)
Huxley, Julian Sorell (1887-1975)
Genre ou forme : Biographie
Indice(s) Dewey :
570.922 (23e éd.) = Biologie - Biographie collective
Identifiants, prix et caractéristiques : ISBN 9780226720111. - ISBN 022672011X (rel.)
Identifiant de la notice : ark:/12148/cb471324166
Notice n° :
FRBNF47132416
(notice reprise d'un réservoir extérieur)
