Joseph Leidy: The Last Man Who Knew Everything

By Leonard Warren

This is the first published biography of the remarkable Joseph Leidy (1823-91), a scientist of astonishing achievement and breadth of interests. A man who seemed to know everything, Leidy was-among many other things-the foremost human anatomist of his time, the first truly productive microscopist, the father of American protozoology and parasitology, and the founder of American invertebrate paleontology.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0300073593
• ISBN13: 9780300073591
• Release Date: October 1998
• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.63 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.4" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

A carefully researched and well-written account of a forgotten genius

An outstanding account. Another reviewer has complained that there is relatively little here about Leidy himself, but the book is filled with accounts and stories of Leidy, his fears, his struggles, his hopes, and his triumphs -- there is much here about Leidy 'the man'. True, there is also much here about science in America during Leidy's life, which I found fascinating. This is a carefully researched book, with copious notes and references, and dense with facts and supporting historical perspectives. It is not a leisurely read, but a very rewarding one. Thank you, Dr. Warren, for such a fine effort.

An absorbing account of the life of a Victorian scientist.

This book is required reading for anyone interested in natural history or the academic and scientific climate of 19th century Philadelphia. Leidy, a man of immense distinction in his time, was virtually forgotten in this century. Warren has given us an absorbing account of the life and times of this eminent Victorian, and in doing so has restored him to the stature he deserves as "The Last Man Who Knew Everything."