Every Living Thing

More about the book

From the bestselling author of A Sense of the World comes a dramatic, meticulously-researched narrative about two scientific rivals in the 18th century, Carl Linnaeus and Georges-Louis de Buffon, who dedicated their lives to the daunting task of identifying and describing all life on Earth. Their contrasting approaches defined their legacies: Linnaeus, a pious Swedish doctor with a flair for categorization, believed in tidy, static classifications, while Buffon, an aristocratic polymath, viewed life as a dynamic swirl of complexities. Initially, both men underestimated the planet's biodiversity, but their journeys revealed starkly divergent perspectives on nature and humanity's role in shaping the world. Linnaeus, aided by explorers he called "apostles," introduced concepts like mammal and homo sapiens, yet he also denied species change and promoted racist pseudo-science. In contrast, Buffon coined the term reproduction, laid early groundwork for evolution and genetics, and passionately opposed prejudice. Their rivalry created lasting echoes, with Buffon seemingly gaining the upper hand during their lifetimes, but their posthumous fates diverged significantly. Through elegant prose and over a decade of research, the author weaves a true-life tale of intertwined lives and enduring legacies, featuring figures like Voltaire, Benjamin Franklin, and Charles Darwin, tracing an arc of insight that spans three centuries.