Nabokov's Blues: The Scientific Odyssey of a Literary Genius

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Synopsis: Vladimir Nabokov had no formal training in biology, but during the 1940s he was an acknowledged expert on "Blues," a family of butterflies that inhabit some of the remotest parts of Latin and South America. In 1945 he published a radical new classification of Blues, a paper that initially caused a stir in the rarified field of lepidoptery. However, it was fifty years before scientists followed up on his pioneering work. Part biography and part detective story, Nabokov's Blues explores the rich and varied place butterflies hold in Nabokov's fiction, as well as far-reaching questions of biogeography and evolution, and the worldwide crisis of ecology and biodiversity.

"A view of Nabokov's science and art that is both eerily evocative and stunningly new, that makes delectable reading without patronizing the reader."-Dmitri Nabokov

"Vivid and varied, surprising and thoughtful, wry and poignant, Nabokov's Blues will appeal to anyone with a taste for adventure and contrast."-Brian Boyd

Chapter: The Most Famous Lepidopterist in the World

"Frankly, I never thought of letters as a career. Writing has always been for me a blend of dejection and high spirits, a torture and a pastime-but I never expected it to be a source of income. On the other hand, I have often dreamt of a long and exciting career as an obscure curator of lepidoptera in a great museum..."-Vladimir Nabokov, Strong Opinions

Lepidoptery, the branch of science dedicated to the study of butterflies and moths, has its own legendary figures, and its history is both long and glorious. But for lepidopterists, as in fact for most entomologists, the light of celebrity seldom shines outside a narrow but passionate circle of scientists and collectors.

During the Age of Exploration, when the influx of exotic new plants and animals from the four corners of a seemingly boundless globe astounded Europe, the study of biology, often a preserve of the well-born, offered a path to wealth and fame. Sir Joseph Banks, the 18th century English biologist who accompanied Captain James Cook on his three-year circumnavigation aboard the British ship Endeavor, was a friend of King George III and one of the most fam

Review: The title Nabokov's Blues is sure to bewilder many: was the great author depressed? Nothing of the sort--unknown to all but the most dedicated Lolita-philes, the great Russian author was a dedicated lepidopterist; the book, by fellow scientist Kurt Johnson and writer Steve Coates, explores his life's work with the Blue butterflies of South America. Nabokov brought the same gentle sensibility to his scientific work that he used in his writing and teaching careers, and the authors have found great new depths to the man that an army of biographers had failed to excavate. Entomology buffs will find much to love in Nabokov's Blues, with collecting trips into the field and anatomical detective work taking the forefront. Literati seeking new insights into the man's life will also be pleased to find his story told from a new perspective, focusing more on his exacting research than his tumultuous personal life.

Nabokov's life reflects 20th-century biology as well as literature; he involved himself in many of the great debates of his time from his vantage points at Cornell and Harvard (where he held a post at the Museum of Comparative Zoology). His contributions to our thinking about speciation, some of which have only come to light recently, are clear-headed and invaluable. The authors know Nabokov's life well and are eager to share this side of it with us; while he will always be better known for his literary work, Nabokov's Blues throws light into the shadows cast by his great stature. --Rob Lightner

Bibliographic Details

Title: Nabokov's Blues: The Scientific Odyssey of a...
Publisher: Brand: Zoland Books
Publication Date: 2000
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: very good