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Why Fish Don't Exist: A Story of Finding Our Way in a Chaotic World Kindle Edition
by Lulu Miller (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 2,757 ratings
Longlisted for the Women's Prize for Non-Fiction 2025: the profound and life-affirming memoir about finding our way in a chaotic world'A sumptuous, surprising, dark delight' Carmen Maria Machado
'Fast-moving, deftly balanced, full of surprises' Guardian's Book of the Day
'A bold and original blend of memoir and science' Elizabeth Buchanan
If fish don't exist, what else do we have wrong?
As a child, Lulu Miller's scientist father taught her that chaos will come for us all. There is no cosmic destiny, no plan. Enter David Starr Jordan, 19th-century taxonomist and believer in order. A fish specialist devoted to mapping out the great tree of life, who spent his days pinning down unruly fins, studying shimmering scales and sealing new discoveries into jars of ethanol.
At a time when Lulu's life is unravelling, David Starr Jordan beckons. Reading about Jordan's sheer perseverance after an earthquake shattered his collection, Lulu stumbles upon an unexpected antidote to life's unpredictability. But lurking behind the lore of this mighty taxonomist lies a darker tale waiting to be told: one about the human cost of attempting to define the form of things unknown.
This is a story unlike any other you've read before. It's about a very tall man with a walrus moustache, the injustices and unexpected deliverances of the universe, love that strikes like lightning and about why fish don't exist after all.
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Print length
241 pages
Language
English
Publisher
ONE
Publication date
10 October 2024
File size
11.4 MB
Product description
Review
"I loved this book for its sense of wonder as well as its suspicion of that wonder--its belief that on the other side of interrogation there are even deeper, more specific enchantments waiting."-- "Leslie Jamison, New York Times bestselling author"
"Riveting. Surprising. Shocking, even!...This book will capture your heart, seize your imagination, smash your preconceptions, and rock your world."-- "Sy Montgomery, New York Times bestselling author"
"This book is a magical hybrid of science, portraiture, and memoir--and a delight to read."-- "Susan Orlean, New York Times bestselling author"
"This book is perfect, just perfect. It's both lyrical and learned, personal and political, small and huge, quirky and profound."-- "Mary Roach, New York Times bestselling author" --This text refers to the audioCD edition.
Review
"I loved this book for its sense of wonder as well as its suspicion of that wonder--its belief that on the other side of interrogation there are even deeper, more specific enchantments waiting."-- "Leslie Jamison, New York Times bestselling author"
"This book is perfect, just perfect. It's both lyrical and learned, personal and political, small and huge, quirky and profound."-- "Mary Roach, New York Times bestselling author"
"This book is a magical hybrid of science, portraiture, and memoir--and a delight to read."-- "Susan Orlean, New York Times bestselling author"
"Riveting. Surprising. Shocking, even!...This book will capture your heart, seize your imagination, smash your preconceptions, and rock your world."-- "Sy Montgomery, New York Times bestselling author" --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.
About the Author
Lulu Miller is the cofounder of the NPR program Invisibilia, a series from NPR about the unseen forces that control human behavior. Before creating Invisibilia, she produced Radiolab for five years and was a reporter on the NPR Science Desk. She has an MFA from the University of Virginia on a Poe-Faulkner Fellowship. Her work has won honors from the Peabody Awards, the National Academy of Sciences, and the Associated Press.--This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.
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Product details
ASIN : B0D92FQ9CK
Publisher : ONE (10 October 2024)
Language : English
File size : 11.4 MB
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Screen Reader : Supported
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Not Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 241 pages
Review
"I loved this book for its sense of wonder as well as its suspicion of that wonder--its belief that on the other side of interrogation there are even deeper, more specific enchantments waiting."-- "Leslie Jamison, New York Times bestselling author"
"Riveting. Surprising. Shocking, even!...This book will capture your heart, seize your imagination, smash your preconceptions, and rock your world."-- "Sy Montgomery, New York Times bestselling author"
"This book is a magical hybrid of science, portraiture, and memoir--and a delight to read."-- "Susan Orlean, New York Times bestselling author"
"This book is perfect, just perfect. It's both lyrical and learned, personal and political, small and huge, quirky and profound."-- "Mary Roach, New York Times bestselling author" --This text refers to the audioCD edition.
Review
"I loved this book for its sense of wonder as well as its suspicion of that wonder--its belief that on the other side of interrogation there are even deeper, more specific enchantments waiting."-- "Leslie Jamison, New York Times bestselling author"
"This book is perfect, just perfect. It's both lyrical and learned, personal and political, small and huge, quirky and profound."-- "Mary Roach, New York Times bestselling author"
"This book is a magical hybrid of science, portraiture, and memoir--and a delight to read."-- "Susan Orlean, New York Times bestselling author"
"Riveting. Surprising. Shocking, even!...This book will capture your heart, seize your imagination, smash your preconceptions, and rock your world."-- "Sy Montgomery, New York Times bestselling author" --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.
About the Author
Lulu Miller is the cofounder of the NPR program Invisibilia, a series from NPR about the unseen forces that control human behavior. Before creating Invisibilia, she produced Radiolab for five years and was a reporter on the NPR Science Desk. She has an MFA from the University of Virginia on a Poe-Faulkner Fellowship. Her work has won honors from the Peabody Awards, the National Academy of Sciences, and the Associated Press.--This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.
Read less
Product details
ASIN : B0D92FQ9CK
Publisher : ONE (10 October 2024)
Language : English
File size : 11.4 MB
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Screen Reader : Supported
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Not Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 241 pages
Best Sellers Rank: 35,477 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)19 in Biographies & Memoirs of Scientists
66 in Biographies of Scientists
290 in Memoirs (Kindle Store)Customer Reviews:
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 2,757 ratings
About the author
Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
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Lulu Miller
Lulu Miller is the cofounder of NPR's Invisibilia and a frequent contributor to Radiolab. She spends most of her time reporting science stories for NPR but dabbles in the art of print essays, fiction, and weird rants from time to time.
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Write a customer review
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Top reviews from Australia
There are 0 reviews and 4 ratings from Australia
Top reviews from other countries
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Nobberd
5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring, versatile and very rewarding.Reviewed in Germany on 24 January 2025
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A complex story that primarily also deals with the biography of the founder of Stanford University. With a fresh perspective that, in addition to the highly acclaimed scientist, places his less people-friendly attitude. And deals extensively with the history and meaning of the classification of living beings. Educational, clever and exciting right up to the end.
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Translated from German by Amazon
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Anirudh Parthasarathy
4.0 out of 5 stars A good readReviewed in France on 18 October 2021
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Why Fish Don’t Exist; as mentioned above in one of the longest write-ups I have read for such a small book, is a book from the NPR reporter Lulu Miller on David Starr Jordan, a taxonomist who was also the first Chancellor of the Stanford University in California, US.
The book starts by simultaneously describing her own personal crisis and then introducing David Starr Jordan, a man born during the mid-19th century in the state of New York, who was highly interesting in observing an understanding nature during his childhood.
66 in Biographies of Scientists
290 in Memoirs (Kindle Store)Customer Reviews:
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 2,757 ratings
About the author
Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Follow
Lulu Miller
Lulu Miller is the cofounder of NPR's Invisibilia and a frequent contributor to Radiolab. She spends most of her time reporting science stories for NPR but dabbles in the art of print essays, fiction, and weird rants from time to time.
Review this product
Share your thoughts with other customers
Write a customer review
Sponsored
Top reviews from Australia
There are 0 reviews and 4 ratings from Australia
Top reviews from other countries
Translate all reviews to English
Nobberd
5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring, versatile and very rewarding.Reviewed in Germany on 24 January 2025
Verified Purchase
A complex story that primarily also deals with the biography of the founder of Stanford University. With a fresh perspective that, in addition to the highly acclaimed scientist, places his less people-friendly attitude. And deals extensively with the history and meaning of the classification of living beings. Educational, clever and exciting right up to the end.
Report
Translated from German by Amazon
See original ·Report translation
Anirudh Parthasarathy
4.0 out of 5 stars A good readReviewed in France on 18 October 2021
Verified Purchase
Why Fish Don’t Exist; as mentioned above in one of the longest write-ups I have read for such a small book, is a book from the NPR reporter Lulu Miller on David Starr Jordan, a taxonomist who was also the first Chancellor of the Stanford University in California, US.
The book starts by simultaneously describing her own personal crisis and then introducing David Starr Jordan, a man born during the mid-19th century in the state of New York, who was highly interesting in observing an understanding nature during his childhood.
Considering the author’s personal crisis, she wanted to seek inspiration from the life of David Starr Jordan, whom despite his circumstances, had immense levels of confidence and on the face of any crisis, looked for a solution to make the solution better. However, the more she learned about him, the more she learned of a dark side to his personality and the consequences of his actions.
I was initially apprehensive about the book considering I had heard of David Jordan, who was the first Chancellor of Stanford University and also an early proponent of eugenics. However, these fears did not last long as the writer explored all sides to him and it did not lead to unnecessary levels of glorification and in fact, quite the opposite.
The book did seem directionless in the initial phases and left me confused if the objective was to talk about herself or if this was a biography of David Starr Jordan. Portraying him as someone beating the odds did not sit well with me considering he seemed very successful at quite a young age. But as it went, I enjoyed reading the book, especially the latter half, where we learn a lot of dark aspects which most are unaware of – like the forced sterilisation programmes that were carried out in the United States inspired by scientists like Jordan.
The author also brought about her disillusionment over David Jordan very well, considering his work often involved exploiting the locals in Japan or Polynesia without giving them credit for the ‘discovery’ of the fish, a murder allegation against him, etc.
The ending justified the title and was also powerful as the author figures her own way to deal with her personal crisis. And I need to mention here that I loved the illustrations by Kate Samworth at the beginning of every chapter.
On that note, I would say that the book was an enjoyable read – has a beautiful cover and good illustrations, to add to the reading experience. Would recommend it as a light read (which deals with a lot of heavy topics) and on that note, I would award the book a rating of four on five.
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Karen Virnoche
4.0 out of 5 stars thought provoking and enjoyableReviewed in the United States on 24 December 2024
Verified Purchase
I liked the weaving together of memoir and history and research. It made me think and was also fun to read at the same time.
Report
Olga
5.0 out of 5 stars GreatReviewed in the United Kingdom on 24 July 2020
Verified Purchase
Amazing read
Report
Imola Kiss
1.0 out of 5 stars Worst book I read in my adult lifeReviewed in Germany on 26 April 2022
Verified Purchase
This book is a description of an (allegedly) already existing biography of a scientist who lived 200 years ago, with few parallels to the writer’s personal life.
Lengthy descriptions of someone’s often uneventful life.
I found this book extremely boring, would not recommend buying it.
Report
I was initially apprehensive about the book considering I had heard of David Jordan, who was the first Chancellor of Stanford University and also an early proponent of eugenics. However, these fears did not last long as the writer explored all sides to him and it did not lead to unnecessary levels of glorification and in fact, quite the opposite.
The book did seem directionless in the initial phases and left me confused if the objective was to talk about herself or if this was a biography of David Starr Jordan. Portraying him as someone beating the odds did not sit well with me considering he seemed very successful at quite a young age. But as it went, I enjoyed reading the book, especially the latter half, where we learn a lot of dark aspects which most are unaware of – like the forced sterilisation programmes that were carried out in the United States inspired by scientists like Jordan.
The author also brought about her disillusionment over David Jordan very well, considering his work often involved exploiting the locals in Japan or Polynesia without giving them credit for the ‘discovery’ of the fish, a murder allegation against him, etc.
The ending justified the title and was also powerful as the author figures her own way to deal with her personal crisis. And I need to mention here that I loved the illustrations by Kate Samworth at the beginning of every chapter.
On that note, I would say that the book was an enjoyable read – has a beautiful cover and good illustrations, to add to the reading experience. Would recommend it as a light read (which deals with a lot of heavy topics) and on that note, I would award the book a rating of four on five.
Read more
Report
Karen Virnoche
4.0 out of 5 stars thought provoking and enjoyableReviewed in the United States on 24 December 2024
Verified Purchase
I liked the weaving together of memoir and history and research. It made me think and was also fun to read at the same time.
Report
Olga
5.0 out of 5 stars GreatReviewed in the United Kingdom on 24 July 2020
Verified Purchase
Amazing read
Report
Imola Kiss
1.0 out of 5 stars Worst book I read in my adult lifeReviewed in Germany on 26 April 2022
Verified Purchase
This book is a description of an (allegedly) already existing biography of a scientist who lived 200 years ago, with few parallels to the writer’s personal life.
Lengthy descriptions of someone’s often uneventful life.
I found this book extremely boring, would not recommend buying it.
Report
