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Jun 10, 2010

Joyce added it

This hilarious memoir makes the case that British eccentrics, particularly of the scientific variety, are an endangered species due to rapid habitat loss. The author spent his entire career as the "trilobite man" at the Natural History Museum in London -- in the Department of Palaeontology, reachable by a door hidden behind a skeleton of a giant sloth in the public gallery, of course -- and he is a gleeful guide to everything that will be lost in a world where research and particularl More...

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Dec 01, 2008

Melody rated it:

Wildly discursive, endlessly fascinating look behind the scenes of the Natural History museum in London. Fortey is a scientist's scientist, a naturalist's naturalist- he's compelled to explain some mind-numbing minutia along the way to imparting interesting facts. Some of his pedantic asides made me laugh out loud because they were such textbook nerd moments. There's a lot of detail here, more even than I wanted, but the narrative is terribly interesting. If you like that sort of thing, and I do More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jan 24, 2009

Carrie rated it:

This is a delightfully enthusiastic book, most interesting for anyone who has ever visited the museum in question (and anyone who hasn't). It includes some fascinating pictures. And the design of the book is pleasing. The author has a wonderfully intimate manner, and paints almost Dickensian-ly vivid pictures of his colleagues, past and present. Consequently, the book has a convivial, chatty feel. Delightful.

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Dec 28, 2008

Jess rated it:

Each chapter of this book reminds me of an incredibly detailed article in National Geographic. You can tell that each tidbit that Fortney shares is both an epitome of a departmental science and a piece of regular juicy office gossip. That’s probably why I was riveted.

I kept setting the book aside to look up whatever it is that he had just mentioned, like what a Bettong is or to see what the Diplodocus looks like at the British Museum.

I'm learning tons of new words. So fa More...

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Jul 31, 2009

Kelly rated it:

It took me many months to read this book which might make it seem that I didn't enjoy it. However, that's not the case. I especially loved the early chapters in this book which give you a walk through, behind-the-scenes look at London's Natural History Museum. It took me so long to finish it because I lack the discipline to push through non-fiction. Stories propel me forward and compel me to keep reading...even good non-fiction just doesn't do that for me.

This book includes scientif More...

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Jul 29, 2009

Wendell rated it:

I suppose it’s inevitable to compare Dry Storeroom to Douglas Preston’s Dinosaurs in the Attic, though Fortey doesn’t come out ahead in the competition. On the other hand, his Life: A Natural History of the First Four Billion Years of Life on Earth was such a fine book that Dry Storeroom had every reason to be just as engaging. It isn’t, though, and I’m still not entirely sure why. I suspect it’s because Fortey focuses almost exclusively on the scientists who work “behind the scenes” in his muse More...

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Jul 28, 2011

Derek rated it:

Richard Fortey is an authority on trilobites and was a long-time employee at London's Natural History Museum. Despite many years worked there, there were many nooks and crannies behind-the-scenes that he seldom if ever visited and many specimens (in fact the vast majority) that the public never see. These are held in backstage areas such as Dry Store Room No. 1. This book is a very personal and partial look behind the scenes of the museum, its workers, and the whole field of natural history. I f More...

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Feb 05, 2009

Bookmarks Magazine added it

"The Natural History Museum is, first and foremost, a celebration of what time has done to life," writes Fortey, whose engaging book similarly commemorates the vast record of life on Earth. As he meanders through the halls of the museum's back rooms, Fortey proves to be an excellent, witty guide to the scientists and specimens that give testament to this history. Far from being a dry read, Dry Storeroom No. 1 weaves together colorful anecdotes about the scientists, their research, and

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Apr 05, 2009

Alex rated it:

Interesting. I went into this thinking it would be much like "Peaceable Kingdom", which chronicled a year in the life of the Philadelphia zoo, and which was very much a social history of the zoo itself; lots of stories about the people who worked there, the animals, other zoos. Backstage stuff on the Natural History Museum (in England, not the US, which is something else I failed to notice when I picked it up. This fact obviously doesn't affect how I might think of the book, but it More...

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Mar 25, 2011

Strey rated it:

Okay, peeling the negative away first... From the cover design & description I thought this was going to be easier on the brain!! I was interested in the history & practical 'behind the scenes' story of the Natural History Museum, but felt I didn't get this. I was also bemused by the, at times very involved (for a layman) technical minutae, interspered with discursive recollections & often extremely comic interludes. At other times I was left quite disturbed, or saddened by some of the personal More...

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Oct 05, 2011

Brittany rated it:

This book is like Beauty and the Beast.

Let me explain.

Beauty and the Beast is my very favorite fairy tale. I will read adaptations of that story all day long, and well into the night. My favorite part of any version is when Beauty explores the castle. She's alone, and it's quiet, and she's wandering through room upon room of wonders and marvels. Beauty's sense of of awe, discovery, and curiosity perfectly mirrors Fortey's experience wandering through the hallways, storer More...

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Jun 18, 2009

Chris rated it:

I may not have been in the mood to read this book; it was really very good. There was a ton of information that was new to me: lots of scientists working at the museum, how they preserve some of the things; the challenge of naming everything. The fact that he loves the museum and what he does there came through clearly and was pretty infectious. I had trouble getting my head around spending your whole life finding out everything there is to know about an obscure insect nobody has ever heard of. More...

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Jun 30, 2011

Kirsten rated it:

This is part memoir, part history of the British Natural History Museum, part paean to the glories of science, and part gossipy tell-all. The parts don't always mesh quite as well as I would like, but I still greatly enjoyed this book. I've really enjoyed a Fortey's works of natural history, and I think this book is at its best when he is gleefully geeking out about how taxonomy or exclaiming over a strange find in a cabinet in a dusty corner of the Museum. Less enjoyable are his stories of the More...

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Jul 09, 2011

Sarah rated it:

I really enjoyed this book, the balance of information and humour was perfect in keeping my full attention; with other non-fiction books they can become a chore to get through at times but Fortey's humour pushed it along nicely and I am definitely a fan of the way he writes. Once picked up it was hard to put down but also very easy to get back into when picked up again after a break.

Fortey takes us into the secretive world of the museum, to get to know the cogs of the machine, witho More...

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Nov 13, 2010

Cindy rated it:

Themes: natural history, conservation, research, weird science
Setting: The Natural History Museum in London, England

Ever read books where they talk about going up to the British Museum for the day? Well, the British Museum is now the Natural History Museum (and a few other spin-offs) and Fortey takes the reader behind the scenes for an insider's view on what really goes on in such a huge museum.

Fortey started his career as a biologist back when the museum was a slig More...

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Sep 22, 2008

Harry rated it:

Dry Store Room No. 1: The Secret Life of the Natural History Museum is about the behind-the-scenes work at the Natural History Museum in London. Whether you find that an appealing subject for a book depends, I suppose, on your feelings about museums and/or natural history; personally I found it irresistible.

The public face of the museum — animatronic dinosaurs and overexcited schoolchildren — gives relatively little sense of the scientific work that goes on behind the scenes, all of More...

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Oct 26, 2008

Steven rated it:

Kind of read this on a whim, but I'm very glad I did. I spent a college semester in London back in the 80s, and although the Natural History Museum was less than a mile from where I lived, and I must have walked by it dozens of times, I never visited it. I have no idea why. Something to do with the priorities of youth, I suppose.

Fortey takes the reader on a anthropological, cultural and historical tour of the museum. He very cleverly does this managing to avoid laundry lists and a sy More...

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Jul 31, 2010

Karen rated it:

Wow, this book is boring. I love books that give me a new perspective on something known, but wow, this is a painful book to read. And do we really need to know that some British palaeontologist 30 years ago loved to grope women? Just an odd assortment of any fact he happened to know thrown into one book. I give it two stars simply because not a lot of people in the world could have written this book (thank goodness!). Very unique perspective, even if it's the perspective of a very boring person More...

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Oct 25, 2010

Amanda rated it:

I just finished this book a few days ago and really enjoyed it. I didn't read parts of it very carefully (like the bit about geology), but it didn't take away from the whole message. It gave me a new appreciation for everyone working behind the scenes to make a museum work. It also beautifully comments on the changes to how science is portrayed and given to a public that only craves the new, exciting and tech-savvy. A fun book and a great natural history lesson!

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Jan 19, 2009

Ted rated it:

Dry Storeroom No. 1 informally explains the work of the British Natural History Museum. It is based on the author's 30+ years career at the museum and on conversations with other employees. The mixing of technical explanations with anecdotal tales provides insight into how scientists work as well as what they technically accomplish.

The book is dry at the beginning but picks up after the first chapter. Perseverance will pay.

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Mar 20, 2011

Marfita rated it:

Richard Fortey peppers his description of the behind-the-scenes views of the Natural History Museum with salacious gossip about the past denizens. Apparently, scientists are not immune to the amorous arts. Who'd've thought?! Historically, the museum changed from being run by the elite in scientific fields and wealthy dilettantes to bean counters. These days its all about how your research can aid commerce or agriculture and there is precious little science for its own sake. Scientists around More...

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Jan 03, 2012

Emma rated it:

Any individual with a basic working knowledge of museums may find parts of this book rather dry. As ever Fortey is engaging and a joy to read. The real charm of this book lies in the formerly untold stories of the scientists themselves and the wisdom imparted to the reader about their organisms of study. It is surprising just how many people have tried (successfully!) in the past to obtain treasures from the museum for themselves.
After reading this book I was hoping to have obtained some pr More...

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Mar 18, 2010

Rachel rated it:

Richard Fortey is an expert on trilobites and he was a long time employee of the Natural History Museum in England. In this book he spends time behind the scenes of all the major departments in the museum and tells stories about a few scientists from each area. He also spends a lot of time discussing the importance of taxonomy and the change in science in todays world where research is so heavily tied to getting grant money. An interesting book.

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Dec 13, 2008

Marginalia2 rated it:

I was totally captivated with this book. Richard Fortey has that rare ability of describing what may seem arcane information in a manner that not only makes it readable, but also makes it important for our planet. Whether he is writing about some of the eccentric researchers, the corridors of the old building, the importance of maggots or someone's flea collection he is fascinating.

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Jul 05, 2010

Converse rated it:

Explains the purpose of the Natural History Museum in London (and similar institutions) as a center of taxonomic & systematic research, & what this entails, through a series of stories about researchers in the museum. In Fortey's view the requirement in the last 15 years or so that everyone have to apply for grants to fund their research is having a negative effect.

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Nov 12, 2008

Iris rated it:

Endearing, but I felt like a 7-year-old listening to a reminiscing grandfather: Fortey is vague and chatty in a way that felt a little condescending.

I was expecting a scholarly work of how curators and scientists interact with collections, what we learn from collectors' nutty obsessions (care for a few dozen giraffe heads?), and how these historical materials informed the science we use today. Then I remembered a book that nailed all these points: Possessing Nature by Paula Findlen. More...

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May 20, 2009

Mo rated it:

This is a fantastically entertaining book, dipping into paleontology, geology, botany, history, microbiology and so forth. Fortey weaves bizarre, often hilarious, anecdotes about various staff members who spent their days tucked away in hidden cubbies and labs, bent over pickled bats and strange slime molds, together with fascinating scientific accounts of the Museum's richly diverse collections.

Cursed gemstones, flesh-eating flies and "generously endowed" fossilized creat More...

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Jun 10, 2010

Erik rated it:

Formerly part and parcel of the British Museum, the Natural History Museum – also located in London – is given an insider’s treatment by longtime trilobite specialist Fortey. His narrative is as detailed as it is discursive. He ventures into the odd personalities of its earliest movers and shakers, as well as the amazingly diverse array of natural artifacts that have been collected within its walls. You can almost smell the desiccated fossils and the lingering dust motes collecting behind its bo More...

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Apr 15, 2009

Anna rated it:

I have always always wanted to go behind those sacred doors in every museum that conceal 'the back rooms'. Fortey only proves that this urgent desire is well founded. A loving and humorous history of the Natural History Museum in London full of all kinds of great little biographical artifacts.

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Oct 20, 2010

Pat rated it:

A wonderful book about the history and nurturing of Britain's Natural History Museum. The stories of people and their dedication, along with their idiosyncrasies, are delightful. I do admit, however, to skipping the details of louse and flea research. But I loved the trilobites.

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