Staff Pick
Mr. Wilson's Cabinet Of Wonder: Pronged Ants, Horned Humans, Mice on Toast, and Other Marvels of Jurassic Techno logy

Mr. Wilson's Cabinet Of Wonder: Pronged Ants, Horned Humans, Mice on Toast, and Other Marvels of Jurassic Techno logy

Lawrence Weschler
$16.95
Publication Date: November 26th, 1996
Publisher:
Vintage
ISBN:
9780679764892
Pages:
192
Charter Books
On hand, as of Apr 27 1:07am
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Staff Reviews

This book espouses the old adage that truth is stranger than fiction. I first encountered this book in a class about the History and Culture of Museums, and when I did my first assigned reading--the first chapter--I thought for sure I'd misread the syllabus and grabbed the wrong book. As it happens, the (very real) Museum of Jurassic Technology in LA, and this book, are just Like That(TM). You'll have to read it to know what I mean.

— Kat

Description

Finalist for Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction
Finalist for National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction

Pronged ants, horned humans, a landscape carved on a fruit pit--some of the displays in David Wilson's Museum of Jurassic Technology are hoaxes. But which ones? As he guides readers through an intellectual hall of mirrors, Lawrence Weschler revisits the 16th-century "wonder cabinets" that were the first museums and compels readers to examine the imaginative origins of both art and science.

About the Author

Lawrence Weschler was for over twenty years (1981-2002) a staff writer at The New Yorker, where his work shuttled between political tragedies and cultural comedies.  He is a two-time winner of the George Polk Award and was also a recipient of Lannan Literary Award. his nonfiction book Mr. Wilson's Cabinet of Wonder was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Critics Circle Award.

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