This biography of Linnaeus impressed me in several ways. First, Wilfred Blunt is an excellent writer. His prose flows smoothly and he throws in touches of humor both about the idiosyncrasies of Linnaeus and about the experiences that Linnaeus had, especially on his treks through Lapland and other parts of Sweden. The humor is never condescending but always in sympathy with the book's subject. I never thought a book on the life of Linnaeus would be a page-turner but Blunt's writing is so good that you look forward to the next chapter. Terrific writing.
Second, the book is filled with magnificent color plates of flowers and plants that Linnaeus dealt with. As Blunt says (and shows), Linnaeus himself could not draw well at all but he had associates who were superb wildlife artists and Blunt takes full advantage of their work. He also utilizes later plant artists to make a point. The book also includes portraits of Linnaeus and his friends by well-known artists and some recent color images of the places that Linnaeus lived and frequented. There are also innumerable black and white drawings that tie into the text. I think it is rare to get a full-blown, well-written biography along with so much superb artwork in one book. The Compleat Naturalist has both.
Third, the reader gets a real sense of how botany as a science developed. Prior to Linnaeus, the name of a plant was most commonly an unwieldy multi-word name that had something to do with how the plant looked. Linnaeus had an incredible mind for organization. He knew that what he was doing in his "sexual system" using genus and species was not a "natural" ordering, i.e., it did not describe any inherent natural relationships among the plants. (That is a much more recent phenomenon.) But he also knew that botany would go nowhere without a useful and clear organizational system. His sexual system of consistent binomial nomenclature did this. His system may be dated today but it is universally agreed that his Species Plantarum of 1753 is the starting point of modern botanical nomenclature. It was an idea first conceived when Linnaeus was much younger and Blunt does a nice job of tracing the development of Linnaeus' thought.
The only qualm I have about the book is at places in the last few chapters Blunt agrees with many of Linnaeus's friends about Sara Lisa Linnaeus (his wife) being a shrew and "hag." Blunt does cite several examples of this not being true but he seems oblivious at times to what Linnaeus' wife went through so that her husband could do nothing but his scientific work. The situation is more complex than Blunt lets on.
But, aside from this issue, the book is a masterpiece of scientific biography - well-written, easy to follow, with sufficient detail and a truly empathetic understanding of the book's subject. The artwork will leave you breathless at times. It is a terrific combination and I highly recommend the book.
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