Dry Store Room No. 1 by Richard Fortey

Dry Store Room No. 1 by Richard Fortey

‘Dry Store Room No. 1’ is an intimate biography of the Natural History Museum, celebrating the eccentric personalities who have peopled it and capturing the wonders of scientific endeavour, academic rigour and imagination. ‘This book is a kind of museum of the mind. It is my own collection, a personal archive, designed to explain what goes on behind the polished doors in the Natural History Museum. The lustre of a museum does not depend only on the artefacts or objects it contains – the people who work out of sight are what keeps a museum alive…I want to bring those invisible people into the sunlight.’ Behind the public façade of any great museum there lies a secret domain: one of unseen galleries, locked doors, priceless specimens and hidden lives. Through the stories of the numerous eccentric individuals whose long careers have left their mark on the study of evolutionary science, Richard Fortey, former senior paleaontologist at London's Natural History Museum, celebrates the pioneering work of the Museum from its inception to the present day. He delves into the feuds, affairs, scandals and skulduggery that have punctuated its long history, and formed a backdrop to extraordinary scientific endeavour. He explores the staying power and adaptability of the Museum as it responds to changes wrought by advances in technology and molecular biology – ‘spare’ bones from an extinct giant bird suddenly become cutting-edge science with the new knowledge that DNA can be extracted from them, and ancient fish are tested with the latest equipment that is able to measure rises in pollution. 'Dry Store Room No. 1' is a fascinating and affectionate account of a hidden world of untold treasures, where every fragment tells a story about time past, by a scientist who combines rigorous professional learning with a gift for prose that sparkles with wit and literary sensibility.

‘Fortey…in his affectionate portrayal of the institution in which he spent his working life…sneaks us behind the scenes with all the glee of a small child seeing for the first time the museum's iconic Diplodocus skeleton…always authoritative…the beauty of the book is that – just like a museum – you can visit the different sections in any order you choose, lingering in the places that most take your fancy…and there is plenty of solid science to enjoy, elucidated with brilliant flair’ Sunday Times

‘Immensely satisfying…not just enjoyable and informative, but inspiring.’ The Independent

‘Richard Fortey…a superb writer, is the perfect guide to the extraordinary Victorian edifice that he compares several times to Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast.’ The Guardian

‘An enchanting book.’ Sunday Express

'Teeming with life, Fortey's prose is eloquent, lively and suffused with often self–deprecating humour.' New Statesman

‘Fortey has a scientist's regard for fact but a poet's delight in wonder. This is a rare intoxicating insight into a hidden community intent on unlocking the universe's myriad secrets.’ Metro

‘Engaging…Fortey's writing is enough to make the behind–the–scenes work of the museum totally fascinating…(his) delightful book, like the museum it describes, is both rambling and elegant.’ Sunday Telegraph

‘Compendious and entertaining…much of the narrative interest of the book is carried anecdotally, by wonderful stories…it is a book filled with a passion for nature and pride in an institution that has done so much to compile its inventory. Fortey is a knowledgeable guide, with a keen eye and gentle humour’ Evening Standard

‘Richard Fortey’s wonderful book…shows the unspectacular elements of the museum collection as the most interesting part of its work, while placing the well-known exhibits in a new and often comical light…with eccentricity flourishing unchecked among its staff Fortey has amassed a brilliant collection of anecdotes about their habits’ Daily Telegraph

Richard Fortey retired from his position as senior palaeontologist at the Natural History Museum in 2006. He is a well known TV presenter of nature series and the author of several bestselling books, including Fossils: A Key to the Past, The Hidden Landscape which won The Natural World Book of the Year in 1993, Life: An Unauthorised Biography, Trilobite!, The Earth: An Intimate History, Survivors and The Wood for the Trees. He has been elected to be President of the Geological Society of London for its bicentennial year of 2007, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780007209880
ISBN 10	0007209886
Title	Dry Store Room No. 1
Author	Richard Fortey
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	HarperCollins Publishers
Year published	2008-01-07
Number of pages	352
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.