Joseph Leidy: The Last Man Who Knew Everything [Hardcover]

Dr. Leonard Warren (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 11, 1998

This is the first published biography of the remarkable Joseph Leidy (1823-91), a scientist of astonishing achievement and breadth of interests. A man who seemed to know everything, Leidy was-among many other things-the foremost human anatomist of his time, the first truly productive microscopist, the father of American protozoology and parasitology, and the founder of American invertebrate paleontology.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Considered one of America's great biologists in his day but now barely remembered outside specialist circles, Philadelphia scientist Joseph Leidy (1823-1891) deserves a better fate; hopefully, Warren's absorbing biography will rekindle interest in this remarkable polymath. A master anatomist, microscopist, scientific illustrator and pioneer of protozoology and forensic medicine, Leidy in 1858 described and oversaw the assembly of a 28-foot, duck-billed, herbivorous Hadrosaurus, the first reasonably complete American dinosaur ever brought to lightAa sensational feat that launched the nation's love affair with dinosaurs. Leidy's discovery in 1846 of Trichina larvae (the parasite that causes trichinosis in humans) in pigs earns Warren's accolade as a milestone in public health, yet, as Warren acknowledges, European biologists working out the life cycle of the parasite ignored Leidy's critical find. In this instance, as in several others, the self-effacing Leidy, though a driven, tireless researcher, refused to claim credit for the priority of his work. Almost saintly by today's standards of cutthroat careerism, Leidy, who married happily at age 41, in many ways seems an atypical scientist. He wept during theater performances, revered all lifeArefusing even to step on a cockroachAand shunned the limelight and avoided scientific meetings. That his work was almost completely descriptive, not experimental, makes him seem outdated, yet his generous life, narrated against a panoramic backdrop of the transformation of American science from elitist club to rigorous discipline, illumines how science progresses and reputations are made or lost. Warren is Institute Professor at the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia and a professor emeritus of the University of Pennsylvania. 29 b&w illustrations, not seen by PW.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Warren, a professor at the Wistar Institute of Anatomy and Biology in Philadelphia and professor emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania, presents the first extensive biography of the virtually unknown 19th-century American scientist Joseph Leidy. Although Leidy was a leading human anatomist, the founder of vertebrate paleontology, and considered the father of parasitology, he is little known today. Warren presents Leidy's life and times within the context of early American science in Philadelphia. This extensive overview eclipses other brief accounts of Leidy's life, which tend to focus on only one facet of it. A well-written, concise, and enjoyable work; recommended for public and academic libraries and specialized collections in the history of science, natural history, and medicine.?Michael R. Blake, Godfrey Lowell Cabot Science Lib., Harvard Univ.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (October 11, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300073593
• ISBN-13: 978-0300073591
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,367,631 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An absorbing account of the life of a Victorian scientist., January 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Joseph Leidy: The Last Man Who Knew Everything (Hardcover)

This book is required reading for anyone interested in natural history or the academic and scientific climate of 19th century Philadelphia. Leidy, a man of immense distinction in his time, was virtually forgotten in this century. Warren has given us an absorbing account of the life and times of this eminent Victorian, and in doing so has restored him to the stature he deserves as "The Last Man Who Knew Everything."

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A carefully researched and well-written account of a forgotten genius, August 25, 2006

By 

P. S. Neeley - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Joseph Leidy: The Last Man Who Knew Everything (Hardcover)

An outstanding account. Another reviewer has complained that there is relatively little here about Leidy himself, but the book is filled with accounts and stories of Leidy, his fears, his struggles, his hopes, and his triumphs -- there is much here about Leidy 'the man'. True, there is also much here about science in America during Leidy's life, which I found fascinating. This is a carefully researched book, with copious notes and references, and dense with facts and supporting historical perspectives. It is not a leisurely read, but a very rewarding one. Thank you, Dr. Warren, for such a fine effort.

3 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A marginal biography of a great man, December 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Joseph Leidy: The Last Man Who Knew Everything (Hardcover)

Most readers of this book who are familiar with Joseph Leidy and his work will be disappointed. The biography offers an ear full about the scientific climate during the late 1800's of America, but relatively little about, Joseph Leidy, himself. Throughout the book the author laments the fact that Leidy was not an experimental biologist or theorist, and overlooks Leidy's talents as a descriptive biologist, geologist, and (what he is most known for) paleontologist. This book, even, lacks a bibliography of Joseph Leidy's writings. I would suggest anyone to read Joseph Leidy's original words. Hopefully we don't have to wait another 150 years for the next biography to be published.