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Common Knowledge

Birthdate: 1946-02-15
Gender: male
Nationality: UK
Country (for map): England, UK
Birthplace: London, England, UK
Education: University of Cambridge
Ealing Grammar School
Occupations: palaeontologist
Organizations: Natural History Museum, London
Royal Society
Geological Society of London
Awards and honors: President of the Royal Society ( [1997])
Collier Professor for the Public Understanding of Science (2001)
Lewis Thomas Prize for Writing about Science (2003)
Linnean Medal (2006)
Lyell Medal
Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature

Members

Reviews

Dry store room no. 1 : the secret life of the… by Richard A. Fortey

A nice survey of life at the British Museum of natural history. The author gossips a bit, explores the various kind of research that has gone on and still goes on in museums, and makes an impassioned plea for the importance of taxonomy and old fashioned experts.

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cspiwak | 28 other reviews | Mar 6, 2024 |

Horseshoe crabs and velvet worms : the story of the… by Richard A. Fortey

A look at creatures who have persisted through time. Fortey makes even the plants personable and interseting, though humans do not fare so well under his microscope. A bit pessimistic, or perhaps, realistic, but full of a love for living things

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cspiwak | 14 other reviews | Mar 6, 2024 |

The Wood for the Trees: The Long View of Nature from… by Richard Fortey

This was a rambly (in a good way) natural history (and history history) of the author's patch of woods in the Chiltern hills of England. It cover lots of topics: trees, fungi, moths, mammals, mosses, people, and more.
[Audiobook note: As a bonus, it was read by one of my absolute favorite narrators, Michael Page. The content and his style are a perfect match.]

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Treebeard_404 | 4 other reviews | Jan 23, 2024 |

Dry Storeroom No. 1: The Secret Life of the Natural… by Richard Fortey

Quoting the author about the book: "...to explain what museum science is about, and to try to understand how the taxonomic sciences have evolved since the early days... It does not pretend to be a comprehensive account -- it's not even representative. It is just my own collection..."

And what a collection it is. Fortey makes an impassioned and entertaining defense of systematics and taxonomy in natural history, peppered with stories and remembrances of scientists living and long since passed.… (more)

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Treebeard_404 | 28 other reviews | Jan 23, 2024 |

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