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Lawrence Weschler
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Mr. Wilson's Cabinet of Wonder: Pronged Ants, Horned Humans, Mice on Toast, and Other Marvels of Jurassic Technology Paperback – November 26, 1996

by Lawrence Weschler (Author)
4.4 out of 5 stars 205 ratings
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Finalist for Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction
Finalist for National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction

Pronged ants, horned humans, a landscape carved on a fruit pit--some of the displays in David Wilson's Museum of Jurassic Technology are hoaxes. But which ones? As he guides readers through an intellectual hall of mirrors, Lawrence Weschler revisits the 16th-century "wonder cabinets" that were the first museums and compels readers to examine the imaginative origins of both art and science.
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  1. Print length
    192 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Vintage
  4. Publication date
    November 26, 1996
  5. Dimensions
    5.13 x 0.43 x 7.85 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0679764895
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0679764892
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

New Yorker staff writer Weschler probes into L.A.'s highly unusual Museum of Jurassic Technology in this NBCC finalist.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Inside Flap

Pronged ants, horned humans, a landscape carved on a fruit pit--some of the displays in David Wilson's Museum of Jurassic Technology are hoaxes. But which ones? As he guides readers through an intellectual hall of mirrors, Lawrence Weschler revisits the 16th-century "wonder cabinets" that were the first museums and compels readers to examine the imaginative origins of both art and science. Illustrations.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Vintage
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 26, 1996
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ Reprint
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 192 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0679764895
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0679764892
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.13 x 0.43 x 7.85 inches
  • Best Sellers Rank: #275,098 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 out of 5 stars 205 ratings

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Lawrence Weschler

Lawrence Weschler

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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
205 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book excellent for those interested in cabinets of curiosities, with one noting it provides a depth look at the museum. The writing style receives positive feedback, with customers describing it as pleasant.

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InsightWriting style
14 customers mention "Insight"14 positive0 negative

Customers find the book informative and engaging, with several mentioning their fascination with every exhibit, and one noting it serves as a great natural reference for curiosities.

"...A very exciting and thought provoking read! Funny, informative and surprising!..." Read more

"Excellent book for those interested in cabinets of curiosities, museum displays and artists who wish to create installations to convey meaning." Read more

"...It was great to learn more about David Wilson, the creator of the Museum of Jurassic Technology...." Read more

"...Besides an in depth look at the museum - no details, there's too much fun to spoil - the author also looks at the phenomenon of collecting,..." Read more

3 customers mention "Writing style"3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the writing style of the book.

"...book was published as an essay in the Atlantic, and I found it more readable than the last section of the book...." Read more

"...The book is extremely well written and delightfully entertaining. I recommend it to everyone." Read more

"...To be fair, his writing style is pleasant, intriguing, and believable...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Laura Scherbing
    5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting book
    Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Am reading this book for my Masters in Art Education and it is different and interesting
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  • T. Baine
    4.0 out of 5 stars Informative book about a difficult to describe experience
    Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    The first section of this book was published as an essay in the Atlantic, and I found it more readable than the last section of the book. It was great to learn more about David Wilson, the creator of the Museum of Jurassic Technology. The author endeavors to make sense of a museum full of oddities, and the man behind its creation. I've been to the museum, and it's quite a head-scratching experience. It demands more time and attention than I'm usually willing to give in a museum setting. The book, likewise, made me reconsider the mission of museums and the many ways in which humans have tried to make sense of the world since the beginning of time.
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  • Suzanne Cooke
    5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome little book
    Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2011
    Verified Purchase
    I was led to this book through a StumbleUpon the Museum of Jurassic Technology. Besides an in depth look at the museum - no details, there's too much fun to spoil - the author also looks at the phenomenon of collecting, especially during the Renaissance and the Enlightenment.

    The author is a compelling writer with a great sense of absurdity. It was easy to see why the book, although slim, was nominated for literary prizes.

    Readers who enjoy Nick Bantock The Museum at Purgatory (Byzantium Book), Griffin & Sabine: An Extraordinary Correspondence and Barbara Hodgeson The Tattooed Map: A Novel, The Sensualist: An Illustrated Novel, will revel in this non-fiction sidebar to collecting and museums
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Helana Marie
    5.0 out of 5 stars The book does the museum justice
    Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    I found out about the Museum of Jurassic Technology from Egg the Art Show, which did a segment about the museum. I was intrigued, and very much wanted to visit. I later stumbled across this book and read it, and last week, finally got to visit the museum itself. I think the book gives a good overview of David Wilson's work of art, for that is what this museum is, and presents it very fairly, balancing wonder and skepticism. It's a very interesting book about a very interesting museum, a place for the insatiably curious. Read the book! Go see the museum!
    One person found this helpful
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  • lisa sheets
    3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on May 1, 2017
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    Good
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  • nosborm
    5.0 out of 5 stars A great and mystifying read
    Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2011
    Verified Purchase
    Let me start by saying that this book is excellent. Though readers might be a bit confused to begin with, if you stay with this novel it is absolutely worth it. This was required reading for one of my classes, otherwise I would have never even known to pick it up on my own spare time. I am extremely glad I had the opportunity to read this book, even as a person who normally does not read non-fiction. The book is extremely well written and delightfully entertaining. I recommend it to everyone.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Deb Oestreicher
    4.0 out of 5 stars A Paean to Wonder
    Reviewed in the United States on January 27, 2009
    Verified Purchase
    This odd little book celebrates the odd little Museum of Jurassic Technology (MJT) in Los Angeles. Really, the book celebrates wonder itself.

    I have not been to the MJT, but this book has certainly put it on the itinerary of my next trip to LA. Presenting itself as a natural history museum, the MJT features meticulously detailed exhibits that may or may not pertain to "real" phenomena. The pronged ant of the title, for example, may be unknown to science under the name Megolaponera Foetens but, as Wechsler discovers, its odd life history is perfectly plausible: a large ant, and the only one that produces a cry audible to humans, normally forages on the forest floor; however, after ingesting the spore of a fungus, it climbs upward and then waits to die as the fungus consumes its body from the inside, finally generating a spike about an inch long from the place where the ant's head was, which distributes spores downward, to be breathed by other Megolaponera Foetens.

    The book (and, presumably, the MJT) makes you think about the purpose of museums, and whether the relative "truth" of things that astonish you matters.

    In other words, since reality routinely trumps imagination, why quibble?
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Brianne
    5.0 out of 5 stars What makes a museum!?
    Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    A look at the purpose of museums- specifically the unconventional Museum of Jurassic Technology. A very exciting and thought provoking read! Funny, informative and surprising! Historical examples help to form an understanding of how museums have evolved and poses the question what should they become.
    2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Lorena mata
    5.0 out of 5 stars Mr wilsons cabinet of wonder
    Reviewed in Mexico on May 27, 2019
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    Bien
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  • vancouver 2010
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in Canada on June 21, 2016
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    Excellent
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  • Julianne ♡
    5.0 out of 5 stars Mr. Wilson's Cabinet of Wonders
    Reviewed in Germany on September 29, 2016
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    Schnelle versand. Buch im top zustand. Dankeschön!
    -
    Fast shipping and the book was in perfect condition. Thank you! Will buy again.
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  • Wheel
    5.0 out of 5 stars Buy this book, it is quite wonderful & will amaze
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 22, 2009
    Verified Purchase
    Those of you who have read any of my other reviews or looked at my old listmania! will have seen that I love random eclecticism, whereby the interconnectivity of virtually anything can be documented by those with an open mind. If you have know of the work of Greil Marcus, then you should appreciate this too - on the proviso that you know that this isn't a music book. Rather it tackles the subject of wonder in museums & the personalities of the people who had or have set them up. This all sounds very weighty, but Lawrence Weschler is such a great writer that it is a joy to read, you learn an awful lot, but, best of all, your sense of the strange & amazing is revived on every page.
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  • Dandyhighwaywoman
    5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing and Inspring
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 11, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    I read this book within a week and made my boyfriend read it I thought it was that good. It was bought to help inspire an art project and it is very inspiring/creative - its abit of a mystery and you start wondering if what your reading is true or false , fact or fiction - really gets you thinking. It isn't very big - but the writing is quite compact so a good book to carry around in your bag.
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