EVERY LIVING THING The Great and Deadly Race to Know All Life

Narrator David de Vries turns what could have been a ponderous story of a major scientific rivalry into a fascinating study of the legacies of two inquisitive men with two difficult temperaments. Swede Carl Linneaus (1707-1778) and Frenchman George-Louis LeClerc, Comte de Buffon (1707-1788) tried, simultaneously, to define and classify all life on earth. While their approaches were diametrically opposed--they deeply mistrusted each other--each contributed to the development of the scientific taxonomy that we use today to describe distinct species. De Vries amiably narrates Roberts's anecdotes about each man, drawing listeners into his rarefied world and once again proving that an empathetic narrator can make all the difference by fleshing out the dusty names in history books. D.G.L. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2024]