Barely a dozen letters of the alphabet suffice to categorize every star in the cosmos, but when it comes to naming and classifying living things, the job gets more complicated. As Jason Roberts reveals in this vibrant scientific saga, taxonomists take up their mission with a mix of insight and foresight, colored by their moment in history, not to mention their foibles, their vanity, and their all-too-human prejudices. The thousands of definitive two-part labels given to plants and animals since the 18th century tell a story at once important, outrageous, enlightening, entertaining, enduring, and still evolving. * Dava Sobel, author of The Glass Universe, Galileo’s Daughter, and Longitude *A lively, panoramic contribution to the history of science. * Kirkus *Illuminating … an enthralling look at a pivotal period in the history of biology. * Publishers Weekly *Jason Roberts brings an amazing episode in the European scientific enlightenment of the 1700s to life in following the entwined careers of Buffon and Linnaeus. Naming all the species on Earth was their aim, and these two very different, brilliant polymaths progressed a long way in their aims. Jason Roberts strides confidently through a great sweep of history, introducing all the characters with verve and humour – Professor Mike BentonAbsorbing and lucidly written … In this fascinating and constantly surprising book, Jason Roberts brilliantly mines the philosophical and practical differences between the two men, demonstrating how de Buffon, although eclipsed by his rival in later centuries, may have the last laugh. * Country Life *Gripping * Economist *A tale of scientific rivalry and the race to categorise all life on Earth. Carl Linnaeus and Georges-Louis de Buffon never met. But by the middle of the 18th century both were famous-and at loggerheads. Thanks to its surprising twists and turns, this book is an unnaturally good read. * Economist (The Economist’s recommended 2024 holiday reads) *

Jason Roberts is the author of the national bestseller A Sense of the World, which was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, longlisted for the Guardian First Book Award, and named a best book of the year by the Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Kirkus Reviews, and School Library Journal. The winner of the Van Zorn Prize for fiction (founded and awarded by Michael Chabon), he is a contributor to McSweeney’s, The Believer, The Rumpus, and other publications, as well as editor of the bestselling 642 Things to Write About series. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.