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Fish Caught in Time
I will not be hushed, said the woman, speaking English. "The man is a good man, and he will do us no harm. We are tinkers, sir; but we do many things besides tinkering, many sinful things, especially in Wales, whither we are soon going again. Oh, I want to be eased of some of my sins before I go into Wales again, and so do you, Tourlough, for you know how you are some...more
Paperback, 496 pages
Published
May 22nd 2006
by The Echo Library
(first published 1999)
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Recommends it for:
People interested in natural history, evolutionary biology, environment and, of course, fish.
This is both an educative and entertaining book about the search for a prehistoric fish. Long believed extinct, the Coelacanth was first discovered off the waters of South Africa in the Indian Ocean in 1938. Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer was a young curator at the East London museum when she recognized there was something odd in one of the fish brought to her by a fishing boat. She contacted J.L.B. Smith, a recognized scientist who would become obsessed with the living fossil--and would later name ...more
Comoros.
Title: A Fish Caught in Time: The Search for the Coelacanth
Author: Samantha Weinberg
Year: 2000
Publisher: HarperCollins
Country: Comoros (place-holder)
240 pages
Weinberg describes the discovery of the coelacanth (or perhaps the "discovery," since the fishing communities knew it was there even if scientists didn't). The story is engagingly told and contributes to the reader's understanding of the historical and political context...more
Title: A Fish Caught in Time: The Search for the Coelacanth
Author: Samantha Weinberg
Year: 2000
Publisher: HarperCollins
Country: Comoros (place-holder)
240 pages
Weinberg describes the discovery of the coelacanth (or perhaps the "discovery," since the fishing communities knew it was there even if scientists didn't). The story is engagingly told and contributes to the reader's understanding of the historical and political context...more
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This is not really about the coelacanth intself, but is, instead, about the men and women involved in first realizing what it was and what it meant when one was caught by fishermen in 1938, and about the quest to find out where they live and how they function. I suppose you could call it a modern history of the coelacanth, though a fairly shallow one. I would have liked more back story--information about the first coelacanth fossils found and what people thought about them when they were discove...more
This is what I look for in a book on a scholarly subject. The author handles the facts well, but is able to make the people involved come alive, allowing the reader to care about them. Weinberg's good writing makes the transitions from fact to biography in such a manner that you never feel disconnected from the story of the search. I found myself getting excited about the search and the trip to a far-away island to collect a specimen was almost daring-do. And amidst all of this publicity, concer...more
An exciting look at the history of the discovery of the coelacanth, from the first unexpected find off the coast of South Africa in the 1930s until the most recent findings, including conservation efforts and new scientific analysis.
Weinberg is not a scientist, and although there was enough discussion of the scientific points to make me happy, it is not overwhelming or too technical for the average reader. I found the story very engaging, and was surprised at all the politics and con...more
Weinberg is not a scientist, and although there was enough discussion of the scientific points to make me happy, it is not overwhelming or too technical for the average reader. I found the story very engaging, and was surprised at all the politics and con...more
In this piece Samantha Weinberg is able to take accounts from JLB Smith's classic "Old Fourlegs" as well as accounts from his family, from Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer and her family, and from a variety of modern sources to piece together an accurate portrayal of the discovery of the coelacanth, the search for a second specimen, and all that falls between then and now. For anyone unable to locate a copy of "Old Fourlegs" or wanting a more modern approach to the story, this piec...more
Great book! It is just as much about the fish as it is about the people that found it and what they did to protect it and learn about it. The website that is mentioned (dinofish.com) turns out to be a pretty interesting site. If you take the time to read the book take the time to go and check out the site.
This was a very interesting read. It is more a story about the people who discovered and described and hunted for the coelacanth than about the fish itself. The story was both exciting and informative and really peaked my interest in this fish which I first saw as a boy in visits to a local museum. This fish may have even played a role in determining my professional career - a fish pathologist!
Since when did all fish other than the coelacanth and sharks have only one dorsal fin?...in Appendix A under "Fins and Scales": "apart from sharks, all other fish have one dorsal fin only."
What about mullets (Mugilidae), drums (Sciaenidae), darters (Percidae), and a whole host of other fish that have two dorsal fins? Some of them might not be separated by a whole lot of space, but there's definitely two.
Could understand if it seemed like a typo, but ...more
What about mullets (Mugilidae), drums (Sciaenidae), darters (Percidae), and a whole host of other fish that have two dorsal fins? Some of them might not be separated by a whole lot of space, but there's definitely two.
Could understand if it seemed like a typo, but ...more
This was an interesting read but ultimately depressing. Why does humanity have to destroy creatures in the name of scientific discovery? Can't wait until everything is quantum and we can stop physically dissecting everything, which is ultimately pointless.
Learned a lot from this book about I subject I knew nothing of - almost always a pleasure! Reasonably well-written and gave me a new window into the world of the naturalist's practical and political challenges.
Such a surprising book. After I finished I tried to think of how I could explain it to people, "it's a really interesting and fun book about the history of a fish..."? But it is.
This book was great! It was a well written nonfiction book on the Coelacanth. It is an inspirational read for any woman interested in science.
I can not write an unbiased review, because I am so taken with the idea of the coelacanth..
To quote the last sentence of the book... "a schoolchild, in response to the question posed in a German magazine article, 'Why is it worthwhile living this week?' replied that 'coelacanth still exist.'
I heartily agree.
To quote the last sentence of the book... "a schoolchild, in response to the question posed in a German magazine article, 'Why is it worthwhile living this week?' replied that 'coelacanth still exist.'
I heartily agree.
Sho gave 4 stars: SDMB recco: movingfinger "A very worthwhile book, and not just for the ichthyologically inclined. "
A fascinating look into the history of the discovery of this amazing elusive fish!
Very interesting if you are interested in evolutionary biology.
I LOVE this book! An engaging science/history read.
This is a fascinating story! I thoroughly enjoyed it!
A re-read. Always a treat.
This book turned out to be terrific! There were a few slow spots, but it was a really good story with some really interesting characters. Not the least of which is the coelacanth itself.
It was so exciting to discover that the scientists had actual video footage of the fish. And so interesting to learn all the things we still don't know -- for example, how they eat and procreate.
It's a beautiful fish and to know it's survived 400 million years, well, it is just amaz...more
It was so exciting to discover that the scientists had actual video footage of the fish. And so interesting to learn all the things we still don't know -- for example, how they eat and procreate.
It's a beautiful fish and to know it's survived 400 million years, well, it is just amaz...more
I am not a big non-fiction reader, but this reads like a novel! The story is extremely intriguing and Weinberg made every person involved jump of the page. You can feel the excitement when you read this book.
under bed
Interesting...excellent history of the *rediscovery* of the coelacanth but it was written 2000 there is a lot more out and about via le internet and so i was a little annoyed. C'est la vie. I still recommend for folks who are mildly geeky.
Tells the long and crazy history behind the discovery of the coelacanth, and the characters who brought this ancient lineage of fish back into the sphere of knowledge.
True story of a fish thought to extinct, love these type of non-fiction books!
A really good biological adventure story about rediscovering the ancient coelacanth.
Nice recap of the long-lost fossil fish story.
fish chasing. really liked this
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