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.
Introduction 1. Joining the Naturalist Tradition ""Beetles. Beautiful beetles"" Becoming a Zoologist The Cosmopolitan Naturalists The ""nice berth"": Curating a Zoological Museum Mobilizing the Naturalist Tradition 2. Reforming Entomology The ""strange mixture"" of Entomologists How to Do Entomology The ""making"" of Species A New Type of Collection Retraining the Natural History Network 3. Ordering Beetles, Butterflies, and Moths ""The great desideratum"" Revising the Swallowtails Making Systematics Scientific Crossing over to Biology Amassing the Concreta 4. Ordering Naturalists Men of Two Classes Organizing Entomologists The End of Tring's Heyday ""Science knows no country"" A ""nation of Entomologists"" 5. A Descent into Disorder Telling ""which way the wind blows"" The Balance of Europe Is Upset The Standstill Recovering Friends, Committees, and Congresses I ""The requirements for a thorough investigation"" Taxonomy in a Changed World The Rise of Applied Entomology The Rise of Applied Entomology Various Utopias I: The Ithaca Congress Various Utopias II: The International Entomological Institute A Lad's Last Marble 7. The Ruin of War and the Synthesis of Biology The Edges of Empire Where Subspecies Meet ""The end of Tring as we have known and cherished it"" ""Provided Europe does not get quite mad"" ""Without the collection I am hopeless"" 8. Naturalists in a New Landscape Recovering Friends, Committees, and Congresses II The Quest to ""clear up the chaos"" in Weevils and Fleas Avoiding the Snake in the Grass Glorified Office Boys Late for a Knighthood Conclusion Acknowledgments
""There are layers of richness in Johnson's book and readers will doubtless draw their own conclusions for Johnson's pleasong style leads the reader by means of historical narrtive rather than proselytization.""
