Nature's Memory

Very engaging, well researched and wide-ranging, Ashby knows more about this topic than anyone. He makes you look at museums in a different way, seeing the stories and choices beneath the surface of the displays – Thomas HallidayTruly an accessible and memorable read for the naturally curious! Each page opens up the world of museums for all, as Ashby takes us through a wealth of insights on museum objects, specimens and stories. This book makes the unseen seen – Miranda Lowe CBE, Principle Curator at the Natural History MuseumThis book is like many a museum – full of wonder and intrigue. Ashby opens the doors to their inner workings, telling us how they developed and how they are developing. Some of the stories are frustrating, others fantastical, some may even make you laugh (honestly who knew that about the Penguins) but all are thought-provoking – Erica McAlister, author of The Secret Life of Flies

Jack Ashby is the Assistant Director of the University Museum of Zoology, Cambridge, an honorary research fellow in the Department of Science and Technology Studies at University College London, and the President of the Society for the History of Natural History. He is the author of Platypus Matters- The Extraordinary Story of Australian Mammals and Animal Kingdom- A Natural History in 100 Objects, and winner of the Zoological Society of London’s award for communicating zoology. He lives in Hertfordshire.