Runner of the Mountain Tops: The Life of Louis Agassiz

by Mabel Louise Robinson

Runner of the Mountain Tops: The Life of Louis Agassiz is a children's biography of the nineteenth-century paleontologist and natural scientist Louis Agassiz by Mabel Robinson. It tells his life story from his boyhood in Switzerland to his professorship at Harvard. Illustrated by Lynd Ward, the biography was first published in 1939 and was a Newbery Honor recipient in 1940.

Genres: Biography, Biography Memoir, Nonfiction, History, Juvenile

312 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1939

About the author

Attended Radcliffe College 1900-03, earning bachelor's degree in education (1903) and later master's degree (1907).

Taught classes in zoology at Wellesley College from 1904 to 1916.

Earned PhD from Columbia University (1915) and taught advanced fiction workshops there from 1919 to 1945.

Reviews

[Natalie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh boy. I don't even know where to start with this book. I imagine that the author had a shrine with a bunch of creepy cutouts and homemade dolls in her attic. The EXTREME hero worship is strong with this one. Louis Agassiz is her golden idol.

Basically she thought it was totally cool and fine for Louis to ignore his family, foist a bunch of men on his wife to take care of (he always had study buddies living with him), and make everyone else provide for him. It's all cool because Louis liked NATURE. He loved NATURE. He studied NATURE so all other terrible personality traits (ahem, racist) were not important because NATURE.

Nor did he ever return the money which Humboldt had tactfully considered a loan; being, he said, pleased to remain his debtor.

Yet in spite of bad judgment, debts and disagreements, Louis Agassiz at thirty was a man of importance in science.

The book is filled with flowery phrases telling us how AMAZING Louis is.

But there are people, now and then, so rare indeed that most of the world denies their existence, people who are so filled with abundance of all we most desire from life, so enriched with gaiety of spirit, with acuteness of thought, with wit of tongue and sweetness of affection, that all we ask is a chance to stand by and serve.



I think this book could be a prime example of how you can twist words and facts all the way around to try and give them a positive spin. Reading between the lines I got that Louis was a first class a-hole and I don't give a fig what he did for science.

Louis studied glaciers and I guess that's why he's famous. He proved that glaciers used to cover many parts of the earth. He thought he was brilliant and believed everyone should partake of his genius.

Agassiz poured out his splendid stores of wisdom and knowledge before them, and they carried away all that they could bear.

The man on the mountain top sees far views, and Agassiz had had his vision of an icebound earth which he could not leave unshared.

When it came to family, Louis was the WORST. He wanted a mother, not a wife. He wanted to someone to look after him and expect nothing in return. I felt so bad for his first wife Cily and the author kept passively-aggressively snubbing her for not appreciating Louis's brilliance. She should've sacrificed every last shred of happiness to be Louis's perfect housekeeper. Just imagine, you think you're marrying the man you love and you'll look after one another. Instead this dude just invites a bunch of other dudes to tear your house apart and expects you to cook and clean for them.

The household at Neuchâtel where Louis had brought his bride so few years ago, had turned into a science laboratory which existed only to house and feed its workers.

And the money...

Agassiz had spent all of his inheritance from his father; his salary was gone before he drew it; his relatives were drained and unhappy. For himself Agassiz needed not one sou, but for his science his needs knew no end.

The author literally made it seem like it was fine for Louis to bleed others dry because SCIENCE. There were plenty of scientists who earned a living and still loved and took care of their families. I just read a book about Alexander Graham Bell. Agassiz could've learned MANY lessons from him. Or he could've been like Newton and just took care of himself, that would've been the best thing to do because he didn't seem to give one fig about his family. Louis even knew it himself:

"I feel that I shall never cease to consecrate my whole energy to the study of nature; its all powerful charm has taken such possession of me that I shall always sacrifice everything to it; even the things which men value most.”

Some more hero worship....

He brought to us in America a man of great sweetness and power whose genius would demand of us our interest, our affection, our money, and any other of our resources which he happened to need, and whose returns for our investments cannot be computed because they belong as much to the future as to us.

The author liked his second wife, Elizabeth, because she did give up her whole life to Louis' whims. Therefore she was worthy of admiration.

Yet now she looked at Elizabeth, waiting quietly her turn, and knew somehow with her infinite understanding of Louis’ needs that here at last was the woman that she herself might have chosen for him.

Nor was Elizabeth less fortunate. For where else in the whole world would she want to be, and how else could she make her man so contented?

Then there was some horribly racist nonsense about what Louis believed. From what I could tell, he actually thought that people of different ethnicities, or maybe just people with black skin, would move off by themselves in some "natural" progression.

The mulattoes, unhappy in their mixed blood, would move about restlessly toward the North, but like most mixed breeds, they were infertile and would die out.

He looked ahead to a future of rather complete segregation of the races from natural causes.

For a supposed "genius" his views about race and the fact that he didn't believe in evolution are VERY ignorant. And that's a nice word for it.

The author kept trying to make Louis' attitude toward money (he didn't feel he needed any) seem like some marvelous character trait. It was disgusting.

Alexander had provided for himself what his father had never had, enough money to finance all the scientific expeditions of his own and his father’s accumulated longings. Nor can anyone tell whether they gave him more pleasure and profit than the harum-scarum, debt-ridden, high-hearted expeditions of Louis Agassiz.

I've never read such disgustingly, cloying, obsessive, worshipful, fanatical writing. It was the worst.



Somehow this pile of trash won a Newbery Honor in 1940.

[Manuel Alfonseca · Rating 2 out of 5]

ENGLISH: Atypical biography of Louis Agassiz, written by one of his fans. Instead of displaying documentation on Agassiz's life, the author sometimes appears to invent stories about him, which, although based on real situations, show so many details that they seem more typical of a historical novel than a biography.

There are too many praises like this: Probably because his genius had a way of arranging his life without consulting anybody, including Louis himself... I think the genius of Agassiz should be deduced by the reader through Agassiz's life. There's no need for the author to tell us every three or four pages that Agassiz was a genius.

ESPAÑOL: Biografía atípica de Louis Agassiz, escrita por una de sus fans. En vez de mostrar documentación sobre la vida de Agassiz, la autora parece inventar historias sobre él, que aunque se apoyan en situaciones reales, exhiben tantos detalles que parecen más propias de una novela histórica que de una biografía.

Hay demasiados elogios como este: Probablemente porque su genio era capaz de organizar su vida sin consultar con nadie, incluido con el propio Louis... Creo que el genio de Agassiz debería ser deducido por el lector a partir de su vida. No hace falta que la autora nos diga cada tres o cuatro páginas que Agassiz era un genio.

[Matt · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book, even though I am only giving it 2 stars, was actually charming. Robinson clearly loves Agassiz, flaws and all. She can't help knowing that many of his anti-Darwin theories were wrong, and that he was at the very least unkind (more aptly, cruel) to his first wife, but she loves his zest for life, his enthusiasm for science and science teaching, and the way he charged through life. The book largely relies on atmospherics (and anecdotes of various childhood and adulthood scientific expeditions) to convey this, though, as some of the biographical details are glossed over or somewhat obscure -- if not for reading The Metaphysical Club, I'm not sure I'd have any real idea what Agassiz's theories were.
Not my favorite book, but an interesting read and a very different approach to biography than most of what I've read.

[Archy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Continuing on the revere-Newberry Honor plan: Louis Agassiz was a naturalist who shaped modern comparative anatomy. He taught a generation of young scientists and founded zoology programs in the Europe and the US. This book suffers from the same problem as _Nansen_. Agassiz (as Nansen) was a fascinating person. His religious beliefs and personal life were not straight forward. Within the scope of a 70 year old children's biography, all the more controversial (?interesting) parts of his life are artfully avoided.

It does have some pretty cool fish pictures.

[Melinda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Even though I knew nothing about this famous natural scientist before opening this book, due to the writer's constant lavish praise, it was difficult to truly understand the real man that he was. Actually, despite his many scientific discoveries and contributions, as a brother, son, husband, father and colleague, he was extremely selfish and negligent. During his early adult years, while struggling financially as he would throughout his life, his benefactor friend Humboldt, sent him a loan of 1000 francs, without notice or request. As grateful as Agassiz was for this much needed gift, he never repaid it nor thanked Humboldt for it. Instead, he used some of it immediately to take a vacation.
Cecile Braun, patiently waited during a six year courtship/engagement for Agassiz to finally consent to wed her. From the very beginning of their marriage, his attention to her was minimal, often leaving her for months on end for expeditions and scientific travels. He often commented that he preferred his mother to his wife, and when he sent Cecile and their young children back to her childhood home, his mother came to keep the house organized and running. Agassiz admitted that he loved his wife, but did not miss her. He showed little remorse when Cecile died at a young age, surrounded by her three young children, all while Agassiz was creating his academic legacy in America. He later married Elizabeth Cary, a woman for whom he was much more suited.
The quote that perfectly summarized his view of life to me is as follows:
"Whatever befalls me, I feel that I shall never cease to consecrate my whole energy to the study of nature; its all powerful charm has taken such possession of me that I shall always sacrifice everything to it; even the things which men most value."

[Thomas Bell · Rating 2 out of 5]

The content of this book is approximately as follows:

The Life of Louis Agassiz: 15%
Trying to justify all of the faults of Louis Agassiz: 10%
Worshiping Louis Agassiz: 5%
Guessing what people were thinking: 20%
Guessing what people would have done differently had they met Louis Agassiz: 20%
The author's lame attempts at deep philosophy: 30%

Yes, it is true. The author said that it was okay for Louis Agassiz to never pay back his debts because he liked being indebted to people. The author said that he never expected anything of his wife - with the specific exceptions of keeping home and cutting ties with friends and family. I returned the book as soon as I could too, or else I would give some quotes of the author's REALLY lame philosophy. One example is that she categorized people into three categories: scientists, authors and regular people. Then she goes on to explain why scientists and authors are the smartest and the best but that we need regular people too so that the better people can have stuff made for them and done for them and so that they can have lower people so that they can be on a higher plane.

Also, the author not only justifies but rather PRAISES the fact that Louis Agassiz was arrogant. And I believe the author was arrogant too and proud of it.

Needless to say, if I didn't learn anything about this guy I would only give this book 1 star - meaning I'm worse off for having read it. However, I did learn a little about one of those historical figures who has fallen through the cracks of modern curriculum, so I'll give it 2. It doesn't deserve it though.

[Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Weird serendipity - connections with two other books I’m reading: Why Fish Don’t Exist by Lulu Miller is about David Starr Jordan, president of Stanford, fish taxonomist and racist. And The Signature of all Things by Elizabeth Gilbert.

Written in 1939. Newbery Honor. Mostly glosses over the not believing in evolution. Strange, troubling mention of Agassiz racist beliefs that finishes: “He looked ahead to a future of rather complete segregation of the races from natural causes. But nature has not seemed to act exactly as he expected.”

Scroll down to Thomas’s review for the perfect breakdown of this book.

[Joy · Rating 2 out of 5]

1940 Newbery Honor Book

This book is a biography of Louis Agassiz, the famous naturalist. It looks at his early life in Switzerland with his pastor father and encouraging mother as well as his education in different European cities. It mentions his brush with Darwin and his eventual move to America where he marries his second wife after his first died.

It was interesting enough but it seemed to drone on and on. If I were using it in class, I would only use sections of it.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is my second DNF. The subject, Louis Agassiz, should have been fascinating, but the author is far too worshipful of her subject for me to finish. What I did read covered his childhood and his education. My impression is that he'd have been extremely difficult to live and work with; he had a tendency to expect money to simply appear and scraped by on the kindness of friends and strangers. I read this for my 2019 Reading Challenge and my Newbery Challenge (Honor 1940).

[Roni · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is the biography about a naturalist named Louis Agassiz who has a passion for science, geology, medicine and history in 19th century. He also found the theory about Ice Age after noticing the glacier pattern and trend. The illustrations of fishes and animals are spectacular even before the time of photography is even existed. It is a nice and easy reading.

[Don Gubler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Burnished a bit too much and some poetic license taken but a fitting portrayal of an amazing person. Would have preferred more personal impact stories about student interactions.

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Things I Believe About Biographies Written for Children:
1. There is nobody important enough that they're biography cannot be written for children in 200 pages or less. Longer than that and it's flowery fill-ins or complete conjecture, or it's more events than a child is actually going to remember individually.
This book was so painfully overwritten. I trudged through 87 pages, and I wanted to skim to find his racist stuff, but I just can't make myself read anymore. There was seriously a chapter after he had decided to leave one school and go to another that was imagining back and forth his dismay at leaving one school and his excitement at going to the next. Nothing real happened. It was all conjecture.
2. It does not do anybody any good to try to pretend that all of a historical figure's flaws are not actually flaws. Nobody is perfect. We can acknowledge that someone made important contributions to science and also that they weren't a great person. Blowing through other people's money?? Not a great trait. You don't have to make it show that his mind is focused on other things that you and he found more important. You can explain it, but still admit that it's not a great trait. I would imagine this should apply to how she addresses his horrible racism that he twists science to justify.

Unlike other bad Newbery biographies I've read, I'm not sure if there is a better, more recent biography of Agassiz, but I learned everything I needed to know about him from his Wikipedia article.

[Desiree']

1940 Newbery honor book

[Christina Packard · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book must have told all there is to know of Louis Agassiz, and how important a man he was. This is a long book and just was not exciting to read for me.

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating story of an inquisitive man with superhuman drive. The target audience is a little unclear. Perhaps bright high school students of today could read this. For adults, there is a bit too much romanticizing. It is interesting to see how Robinson, whom I consider a fiction writer, handles biography. The stunning reality is that Robinson herself taught zoology classes at Wellesley College from 1904 to 1916!

[Mckinley · Rating 2 out of 5]

European-trained biologist and geologist, first to scientifically propose that there was an ice age.