University of Chicago Press
Nature's Mirror: How Taxidermists Shaped America's Natural History Museums and Saved Endangered Species
Key Metrics
- Mary Anne Andrei
- University of Chicago Press
- Hardcover
- 9780226730318
- 9.1 X 6.1 X 1.1 inches
- 1.3 pounds
- Science > History
- English
Secure TransactionBook Description
Witnessing firsthand the decimation caused by hide hunters, commercial feather collectors, whalers, big game hunters, and poachers, these museum taxidermists recognized the existential threat to critically endangered species and the urgent need to protect them. The compelling exhibits they created--as well as the scientific field work, popular writing, and lobbying they undertook--established a vital leadership role in the early conservation movement for American museums that persists to this day.
Through their individual research expeditions and collective efforts to arouse demand for environmental protections, this remarkable cohort--including William T. Hornaday, Carl E. Akeley, and several lesser-known colleagues--created our popular understanding of the animal world and its fragile habitats. For generations of museum visitors, they turned the glass of an exhibition case into a window on nature--and a mirror in which to reflect on our responsibility for its conservation.
Author Bio
I write and produce videos, podcasts, and multimedia stories for Nebraska Public Media, the state's PBS & NPR station. I also freelance, producing work for All Things Considered, Latino USA, the Food and Environment Reporting Network, and numerous print magazines.
For Nebraska Public Media, I am currently producing a podcast about skateboarding culture in the Midwest. Previously, I have written and produced a PBS Digital 360° video series about the Platte Basin Watershed, a short film about the history and current state of conservation of the American bison, and a podcast about the Farm Bill, co-sponsored by Harvest Public Media and FERN.
My photographs have appeared in Bloomberg Businessweek, The Guardian, Harper’s, Huffington Post, In These Times, Maclean’s, Mother Jones, The Nation, The New Republic, and OnEarth.
My book, Nature’s Mirror: How Taxidermists Shaped America's Natural History Museums and Saved Endangered Species, was published by the University of Chicago Press in December 2020.
Source: maryanneandrei.com
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