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Title: Nabokov's Blues: The Scientific Odyssey of a Literary Genius by Kurt Johnson, Steve Coates, Steven L. Coates ISBN: 0-07-137330-6 Publisher: McGraw-Hill/Contemporary Books Pub. Date: 19 March, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 5 (13 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Beauty and Science
Comment: At first blush this book appears to be a footnote to a writer who had an eccentric hobby. Since Professor Boyd's definitive biography some may consider that there was little else to explore. The scientific achievements of Vladimir Nabakov were not lost but perhaps overwhelmed in the literary story.
Nabakov's Blues does more than just dust off the lepidoptry papers. The book is in the final assessment a celebration of how science and research are never a sterile academic exercise but a reflection of greater issues of the beauty and elegance of intellect at work.
During the course of shedding light on the under recognized research we are reminded that the mundane work of classifying and sorting often underpins more glamorous tasks, but are also given insight into the many quiet achievers in science, who often take considerable personal risks to complete research which is part of a greater whole and leaves them only as a name in a arid catalogue.
We are too prone to identify the heros and not those who without clamor or boasting actually do the work.
Nabakov himself never "promoted" his science although he made it clear that his butterflies were an integral part of his life. We grow to specialise and those who can travel in literary circles as well as science are rare. The authors Johnson and Coates do themselves demonstrate that they too can travel the literary salons and the research laboratories, and write an elegant supplement to Professor Boyd that transcends that status to become a commentary on the man who was in many ways a true renaissance figure.
Rating: 5
Summary: A Wonderful Little Book
Comment: I picked up the paperback of this book because I'd heard about it when it was in hardback. For anyone who is fascinated by science, literature, history, sociology and much more, they will find the blend of story, information and insight in this book satisfying and enlightening. Its never gets dull because you're reading about a historical literary figure, and his biography, tons of information about science and exploration, the scientists who completed the formative work Nabokov began at Harvard before becoming famous after Lolita, and how this all fits together in todays biodiversity crisis and squabbles over whether Nabokov was really a bona fide scientist or just an boyish aficionado. I felt I had learned a great deal from this book but also enjoyed it. It is a great blend of historical fact, new stories, and insight the into world's environmental dilemmas. I also had no idea of the complex ways in which Nabokov interwove butterflies and their images and symbols into his novels.
Rating: 5
Summary: A very interesting and entertaining book!
Comment: This book is a fun read for anyone with an interest in the personal histories that shape authors, in biology and/or in the environment and ecology. It provides great insight into the scientific passion that moved one of the more interesting figures in literature, and nicely weaves the tale of Nabokov's first passion, lepidoptery, providing many interesting biographical details (including his wonderful sense of humor!), and the modern day story of the scientists who continued his work and discovered that his scientific legacy was truly as important and inventive as his literature. It discusses the science in a way that is interesting and easily understood by the non-scientist, but does not diminish the nature of the scientific information conveyed. In addition, it shows how the science impacted the literature. How interesting that a butterfly-gathering trip would provide the backdrop for Lolita! I found this book to be very interesting, informative and entertaining, and I highly recommend it.
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Title: Nabokov's Butterflies: Unpublished and Uncollected Writings by Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov, Brian Boyd, Robert Michael Pyle, Dmitri Nabokov ISBN: 0807085405 Publisher: Beacon Press Pub. Date: July, 2000 List Price(USD): $45.00 |
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Title: The Spirit of Butterflies: Myth, Magic, and Art by Maraleen Manos-Jones ISBN: 0810941155 Publisher: Harry N. Abrams Pub. Date: 01 November, 2000 List Price(USD): $34.95 |
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Title: An Obsession With Butterflies: Our Long Love Affair with a Singular Insect by Sharman Apt Russell ISBN: 0738206997 Publisher: Perseus Publishing Pub. Date: 06 May, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.00 |
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Title: Vera (Mrs. Vladimir Nabokov) by Stacy Schiff ISBN: 0375755349 Publisher: Modern Library Pub. Date: 04 April, 2000 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov ISBN: 0679723420 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 23 April, 1989 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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