The Dodo, the Blue Whale and the Lonely Spider: Stories of Discovery, Obsession and Occasional Disaster

by Hanne Strager

In an old wooden box rolls a rounded skull with a huge beak and big empty eye holes. It is the skull of the extinct Dodo. The skull along with the fossil of four-legged fish, the skeleton of a blue whales and a collection of snails made by the famous fairy tale writer Hans Christian Andersen are all part of the treasures of one of the oldest museums in the world. Author Hanne Strager takes us behind the scenes of the museum and tells the fascinating stories of these and other objects in this beautiful and lavishly illustrated book. The book also recounts the tales of eccentric scientists and collectors, of expeditions that went terribly wrong and of scientific breakthroughs that have changed how we understand the world. With a deep understanding of science Strager takes the reader on an entertaining tour through centuries of discovery, from old specimens handled by Linnaeus and Darwin to the recent discoveries of new species of mammals and new phyla that have been added to the tree of life.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Ebooks

Kindle Edition

Published April 23, 2018

About the author

I am a biologist and science writer - and a passionate reader. After graduating from the Aarhus University, Denmark, I studied at the University of California, Santa Cruz, as a Fulbright Scholar.

Many years ago I cofounded a whale center in northern Norway and I remain involved in cetacean research and conservation. I have served as the director of exhibitions at the Natural History Museum of Denmark and has twenty years’ experience making science and natural history accessible to the general public.

I have been awarded the Copenhagen University Natural Sciences Faculty’s prize for science communication.

Reviews

[H.A. Leuschel · Rating 5 out of 5]

After shutting this wonderful book, it's as if I've walked through a Natural History Museum with an experienced guide who gave me anecdotes and background information about each exhibit in an entertaining way. Each small chapter contains illustrations that I found very helpful and again it was as if I'd wandered through a museum, albeit without the sore feet at the end.

[Holly L'Heureux · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. History is one of my favorite subjects! Getting to learn about a museum’s archives and the stories behind how and why they uncovered certain specimens was fantastic. I am so lucky to have won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. Im the end I just wanted to keep reading and now I want to go and visit this beautiful museum.

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you for the ebook via the First Reads program.

Museums are swell but the really great stuff is often off limits to the public and require special access. This book give you the access to many wonders that are housed in this Danish museum. Each item picked has a brief story with each giving insight into the item, its history, its place in the world, and its relation to the museum. I gained new insights on collections that I already knew about thanks to the authors commitment to details and the stories behind the collections.

The museum has amazing items like the world's largest clam fossil (over 5.5 feet!), important fossils in the evolution of life, the history of brewing beer, and much more. The author presents each item with expertise and easily accessible language. This book is great for any lover of natural history, museums, and learning.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I received this book as part of GoodReads' First Reads program.

A very interesting book detailing the history of some of the items in the Natural History Museum in Copenhagen, Denmark. A DoDo skull, a blue whale skeleton, the single known instance of type of spider, a collection of snails shells donated by Hans Christian Anderson, a collection of barnacles donated by Charles Darwin, etc. Each short chapter details the item and explains how it came to be in the museum's collection. There are plenty of interesting pictures as well. The writing seems to be at a level that would be appropriate for middle school or high school students, though I enjoyed it as a fast, light read while on the train.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book covers a range of information including fossils, meteorites, and odd collections gathered by well known poeple in history. I liked that the stories kept on topic. Usually I find that books similar to this go off an random tangents that seem to be there only to fill up space. That is not the case here. The stories themselves are interesting and I enjoyed reading about the history of the area.

The format in kindle is kindle is little odd though.

[Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book of curiosities and the stories behind them. Each chapter is independent from the rest, so it is a great book to read in-between other books (waiting for a library hold, forgot to download book onto kindle, etc.) Great info, interesting stories, easy read. (by easy I mean it flows well)

No swear words.

It's a great book to have at the ready when you need it. I highly recommend it. It is along the lines of Bill Bryson's "A Brief History of Nearly Everything".

[Kathy Webb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this Kindle Edition on a GoodReads giveaway - thank you to everyone involved. This isn't
the type of book I usually read but I really did enjoy it - it's an interesting book about the history
of some of the items in the History Museum in Copenhagen - I recommend it!!

[Rani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Won in a goodreads giveaway. I liked that each chapter was an entity to itself. Some were longer and some were very short which let me pick and choose what to read based on how much time I have. I did find some chapters dragged.

[Michael Jacobs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Premise of this is really nice. I love the various detailed stories in the book, along with the photos. Not usually the type of book I read, but I really liked it.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book as a selection of the museums collection. I found myself wanting a bit more on some of the items.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a sweet ode to the Natural History Museum in Denmark.

[Mandy]

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads Giveaway!