Catherine CaufieldRecensioni

A good account, particularly in extending the popular attention to the century-long ramifications of nuclear radiation research instead of merely post-Second World War.

See the chapter "Pioneers" pg. 184 about transmigrant settlers in South Sumatra.

In the Rainforest takes us to Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia, revealing a colorful and bizarre world where fish live on fruit, spiders prey on birds, and violets grow to the size of apple trees.

"I recommend In the Rainforest as scientific journalism at its best, and [Caufield's] book as the one to read to become informed about the tropical crisis. Caufield traveled the world, went to the difficult places, sometimes beautiful and often dispiriting, mastered the important ideas, and talked to an impressive number of people on all sides of the issues. . . . There are villains in abundance: corrupt government agents who aid in the destruction of native tribes, greedy caballero landowners, and even the governmental planners who with the best of intentions rush heedlessly toward the environmental degradation of their own countries."—E. O. Wilson, Science

"The whole book is filled with amazing facts. . . . Moving and informative."—Ellen W. Chu, New York Times Book Review

An absolute ripper of a book, covering a large number of British fruitcakes and oddballs. The grandfather of the Mitford sisters (quite rightfully) rates a mention, as does the sadly anonymous chap who ordered a car shaped like a giant swan for driving around India and the elderly aristocrat who liked to invite people over for dinner then pretend to be a ghost in order to scare them. The fact that guests played along and pretended to be frightened to humout the old dear only increases one's enjoyment of the book.

I enjoyed "The Emperor of the United States ..." so much that when I accidentally left my copy in a hotel room before flying off to Fiji, I immediately tracked down another copy for my library.½

There's a bit of stretching in this book; Emperor Norton I of the United States and Protector of Mexico was born in London, but had resided in the United States for several years before ascending to the throne. However, this is a marvelous collection of short biographies of people who, in a more sophisticated and allegedly more tolerant future, would have been quietly ushered off to an institution. a bibliography is provided for those more curious about a particular person.

The problem with telling stories of eccentric persons is that these folk often have a set of quirks and humorous anecdotes - and then not much more in their history. Caufield has narrowed her field to British eccentrics, and then devotes anywhere from a few paragraphs to several pages about each. The ones that are short feel - well, extremely short. For example:

"'The Scottish Homer' William Wilkie
The poet Wlliam Wilkie was once asked by Lady Lauderdale, the wife of his patron, to stay the night with them. Wilkie replied that he would stay on condition that her ladyship supply him with a pair of dirty sheets. Wlkie absolutely refused to sleep between clean sheets; and if he did have the misfortune to encounter a pair always removed them before getting into bed. A blanket was the only thing he cared for. Well, not a blanket, exactly, since he covered himself with twenty-four pairs of blankets every night.

[Skipped a paragraph here on Wilkie's preaching - he "had taken holy orders." And a line or two in here about his forgetfulness.]

Although he was a learned man, Wilkie read very badly and could not spell. He was dubbed the "Scottish Homer" after the publication in 1757 of his Epigoniad, an epic poem in the style of the Iliad. Tradition has it that Wilkie consulted only one person while writing the poem: he read each section aloud to an old village woman, Margaret Paton, changing and rewriting whatever she did not like until the whole had received her blessing."

This is a good idea of how the stories are mildly humorous - and also gives an example of how the text leaves you with more questions. I can understand not having an explanation for the sheets and blankets business - eccentrics sometimes don't have a reason for these sorts of things themselves. But you'd think with a nickname like the Scottish Homer there'd be a bit more information on that epic poem.

Which leads to the next problem - no footnotes. There's a three page "Eccentric Bibliography," but unless a book or author is mentioned in the text, or the eccentric is mentioned in the book's title, it's unclear which reference was used. Many of the references are from the 1700-1800s, so I definitely believe that the author has done her research - it's just that the primary reason of the text is to amuse, not to inspire further research. It's probably to the author's credit that I want to know more about some of the people she's chosen. And it wouldn't surprise me if there was no further information - some of these people were probably referred to only in local legends, and thus hard to track down in any written sources.

Despite this all this nittering, I'd recommend the book. The stories are amusing, and the names of the eccentrics have led me on many a merry google search. I've actually found many books in public domain - though nothing from the bibliography so far - the books I've found are authored by some of the eccentrics.

I do have to add that I'm still somewhat amazed that anyone would name their son Clotworthy. As in Clotworthy Skeffington, 2nd Earl of Masserene.

In case anyone was still wondering - the man who ate bluebottles, mentioned in the title? That would be William Buckland:

"Until he ate a bluebottle, William Buckland had always maintained that the taste of mole was the most repulsive he knew. Buckland, Oxford's first professor of geology and the father of Frank Buckland (q.v.), was remembered by Lord Playfair as 'a born expermentalist. I recollect various queer dishes which he had at his table. The hedgehog was a successful experiment. ...I thought it good and tender. On another occasion I recollect a dish of crocodile, which was an utter failure.'"

No, there's no mention of how the bluebottles were served. Or why. Yes, I'm still wondering about that.

It's been 15 years since I've read this and details are all gone. I remember some image of ants doing incredible things and the Amazon fish that live on fruit. But, what I do clearly remember is that this book totally captured me and brought the rainforest alive. Also, ever since reading this I'm on the lookout for those who describe a rainforest as a "jungle", a term which I now see as ignorant and derogatory.

In the Rainforest takes us to Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia, revealing a colorful and bizarre world where fish live on fruit, spiders prey on birds, and violets grow to the size of apple trees.

"I recommend In the Rainforest as scientific journalism at its best, and [Caufield's] book as the one to read to become informed about the tropical crisis. Caufield traveled the world, went to the difficult places, sometimes beautiful and often dispiriting, mastered the important ideas, and talked to an impressive number of people on all sides of the issues. . . . There are villains in abundance: corrupt government agents who aid in the destruction of native tribes, greedy caballero landowners, and even the governmental planners who with the best of intentions rush heedlessly toward the environmental degradation of their own countries."--E. O. Wilson, Science.

B4003