Product Description

When the imperial explorer James Cook returned from his first voyage to Australia, scandal writers mercilessly satirised the amorous exploits of his botanist, Joseph Banks. Was the pursuit of scientific truth really what drove Enlightenment science? Patricia Fara reveals the existence, barely concealed under Banks' and Linnaeus' camouflage of noble Enlightenment, of the altogether more seedy drives to conquer, subdue and deflower in the name of the British Imperial state.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #467979 in Books
• Published on: 2004-11-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

Review
"'Absorbing' Observer; 'Enticing... with a sharp eye for 18th-century mores, this is an engrossing exploration of the growth of the British Empire.'Good Book Guide; 'Delectable' Marina Warner; 'An entertaining account of the appliance of science to the needs of empire' Financial Times; 'The book's lively prose combines historical detail with humorous anecdotes.' Geographical Magazine"

Good Book Guide
"Enticing.with a sharp eye for 18th-century mores, this is an engrossing exploration of the growth of the British Empire."

Financial Times
"An entertaining account of the appliance of science to the needs of Empire."

Customer Reviews

a sad blot on the face of science writing
I was extremelly dissapointed from the moment I started this book to the moment I finished. Dissapointed that I spent so much money on a book that I took to be informative and interesting, but turned out to be anything but. Dissapointed that it paid such little respect for the lives and work of such great scientists Banks and Linnaeus. And most of all dissapointed for other people reading the book and receiving such a biased and false impression of the history and quality of the study of biology. The subject of sex was pounced upon and sensationalised in a way which indicated the authors own obsession with the subject. It was implied that the basis of taxonomy is flawed and 'dirty' as it relies on the anatomy of plant sexual structures, illuminating the vaste ignorance of the author towards the fundamental fields of biology and taxonomy. This book left me feeling sad at the evident desperation in resorting to sensational 'tabloidism' when trying to sell a book that could never be sold on its historical, scientific or informative value.

History of science that's fun and accurate
This book allowed me to look through Enlightenment eyes and see my two heroes as real people. It wasn't Linnaeus or Banks who eroticised botany as much as a prurient public and media who couldn't receive this system of classification (based on the sexual parts of plants) without endless tittering. If you seek a broader understanding of the period during which these men lived and worked, this short and easy to read book gives a surprisingly detailed account of what motivated Banks (far more than Linneaus who receives short shift) and his place in the Enlightenment and Empire as well as his posthumous status. Fara dissects the book's 14 plates to reveal much about the times, the artists and the sitters. My only complaints are that the book is very short on botany and Linnaeus wasn't given enough space. It's a fun and fascinating read and compliments the more
standard works on the same subject.