Patricia Fara

Mixed feelings about this. Quite a revelation how Newton spent 30 years of his life as supervisor and then Master of the Mint in London, scheming to ingratiate himself with “people of quality“ and the monarchy, and also as a not very benevolent president of the Royal Society. However, a lot of material about the appalling moral deficiencies of the English economy at the time, founded as it was on the slave trade. Very valid points, but maybe only tangiently related to the story of Newton's life in London.… (more)

The title of this book is misleading. It should have been called Botany and Empire: The Story of Joseph Banks. Linnaeus didn't appear much, although his classification system was all throughout the book as Banks collected botanical specimens. The parts about sex totaled perhaps three pages when added up. Those bits were about how Linnaeus classified plants by their reproductive organs (which was very scandalous) and a little bit about Banks' adventures in Tahiti.

But! It was a decent book on how botany changed the British empire, and vice versa. It also covers contemporary attitudes towards the plants and people found in British explorations. It's a short book, and a good quick read if you're looking for info on the subject.… (more)