Why Fish Don't Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life Hardcover – April 14, 2020

WHY FISH DON'T EXIST is a short but well-written and captivating book which combines biography, memoir, science (particularly taxonomy), and philosophy. Written by Lulu Miller, who cohosts both RadioLab and NPR’s Invisibilia podcast, the book recounts Miller’s fascination and subsequent disillusionment with David Starr Jordan, a prominent scientist and scholar during the late 19th and early 20th century. An ichthyologist, passionate about taxonomy, Jordan rose to become the first president of Stanford University and, following his retirement, an outspoken advocate for peace. But as Miller shares her discoveries about Jordan with the reader, a darker side of the man emerges.Miller’s writing is engaging, even poetic at times, and she certainly knows how to tell a story. She punctuates the biographical chapters with sections on her own life and her struggle to find meaning and order in a universe where chaos reigns supreme. Despite some darker sections*, it’s ultimately a hopeful book, and one I am glad to have read.*CW: Readers should be aware that the book includes discussions of some difficult topics, including suicidal ideation, eugenics, and murder.

This is a book in three parts, memoir, philosophy, biography. The memoir is of a thirty year old on a quest of self-discovery. The philosophy is a deep analysis of the interrelation of all things in nature and the uniqueness of each one. The biography is of David Starr Jordan, the first president of Stanford University and an ichthyologist who identified and catalogued over 2500 species of fish.The author's insights are provocative and her point of view is interesting to read and appreciate without regard to whether it can be accepted in whole cloth. She is intrigued by David Starr Jordan and his tenacious pursuit of his objectives regardless of the hardships, disappointments set-backs that he encountered. She tries to incorporate that tenaciousness into her own quests.The book is admirable for the amount of research she put into its writing. Its one major flaw is the author's need to "cancel" David Starr Jordan because of his adoption of eugenics. As odious as we view the eugenics movement today, a century ago it was "accepted science." David Starr Jordan may have been one of the more prominent proponents of eugenics, but he was not the only one, by far. To the contrary, the eugenics movement largely drove American immigration policy in the late Nineteenth Century and early Twentieth Century. To dismiss Jordan because of his views on eugenics deprives us of the breadth of his other notable work.

The last time I raved about a book was Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude--and that was over 25 years ago. I'm always hesitant to push a book strongly, but this book was well written, heavily (but not too) detailed, full of twists and turns, and just took my breath away as it ended. Read it!

Had David Starr Jordan been in his lab and crushed to death under thousands of holotypes on the morning of April 21, 1906, his historical reputation might be higher today. It would be still higher had he not bothered to go to Hawaii immediately following the death the year before of the widow of the founder of the university of which he was then president (June Stanford).As a historian the parts of this book which are of the most interest to me are those dealing with Jordan's life, but the book was written as a sort of philosophical statement that every individual matters, by Lulu Miller of NPR, whom I never get tired of listening to on that network. Jordan's ability to bounce back from a terrible loss is legendary and is how Miller chooses to open the book. However, she then reminds us that he was on the side of the movement, eugenics, which ultimately morphed into fascism. Had he died in 1906 (before people began to realize what a terrible idea this was) he never would have spent enormous amounts of energy and ink fighting the opponents of eugenics, which is why his reputation would be higher. Had he not gone to Hawaii apparently for the express purpose of debunking the idea that Stanford was poisoned, no one would today suspect that he was really behind her death. Got away with it if he was behind it. . .but failed to play the long game.Miller is ultimately concerned with the question of significance of humans in general and the individuals close to you in particular. Chapter 12 had me close to tears and is a powerful reminder that we could all use that everyone has something to offer and that you (the reader) probably have more to offer than you think. Like me and many people I know, Miller spent years pining for someone who wasn't right for her only to eventually find the person who was. That is the other great reason to read this book. Five stars.

The author has dug deep into the life of David Starr Jordan, famous Ichthyologist and founding president of Stanford. Her search for the the answer to the question of who matters is one we all need to ask ourselves in today’s world. Her search fir this meaning is brilliant woven through her research on Jordan who moves from hero to horror. I bought a second copy for a friend.

I only read the first few pages and it’s an interesting book…also the cover page is nice

This has easily been one of my favourite books that I've read this year. I have never read anything like it. The story really pulls you in, even though you don't really know where it's going to take you in the beginning. Lulu Millers style of writing is exceptional and made the book unputdownable.

I bought the paperback version. Book arrived in perfect condition. The paper color is a sort of bluish grey, which is different from the usual yellowish white I'm used to but it was easy to adapt to.On to the book itself, I finished it in a day but it's worth buying because I keep going back to it. It has made an impact ony worldview, which doesn't happen very often with books. Loved it start to end. It tackles family, political, and environmental issues all in one go, without ever sounding dull. Absolutely engaging.

Why Fish Don’t Exist; as mentioned above in one of the longest write-ups I have read for such a small book, is a book from the NPR reporter Lulu Miller on David Starr Jordan, a taxonomist who was also the first Chancellor of the Stanford University in California, US.The book starts by simultaneously describing her own personal crisis and then introducing David Starr Jordan, a man born during the mid-19th century in the state of New York, who was highly interesting in observing an understanding nature during his childhood. Considering the author’s personal crisis, she wanted to seek inspiration from the life of David Starr Jordan, whom despite his circumstances, had immense levels of confidence and on the face of any crisis, looked for a solution to make the solution better. However, the more she learned about him, the more she learned of a dark side to his personality and the consequences of his actions.I was initially apprehensive about the book considering I had heard of David Jordan, who was the first Chancellor of Stanford University and also an early proponent of eugenics. However, these fears did not last long as the writer explored all sides to him and it did not lead to unnecessary levels of glorification and in fact, quite the opposite.The book did seem directionless in the initial phases and left me confused if the objective was to talk about herself or if this was a biography of David Starr Jordan. Portraying him as someone beating the odds did not sit well with me considering he seemed very successful at quite a young age. But as it went, I enjoyed reading the book, especially the latter half, where we learn a lot of dark aspects which most are unaware of – like the forced sterilisation programmes that were carried out in the United States inspired by scientists like Jordan.The author also brought about her disillusionment over David Jordan very well, considering his work often involved exploiting the locals in Japan or Polynesia without giving them credit for the ‘discovery’ of the fish, a murder allegation against him, etc.The ending justified the title and was also powerful as the author figures her own way to deal with her personal crisis. And I need to mention here that I loved the illustrations by Kate Samworth at the beginning of every chapter.On that note, I would say that the book was an enjoyable read – has a beautiful cover and good illustrations, to add to the reading experience. Would recommend it as a light read (which deals with a lot of heavy topics) and on that note, I would award the book a rating of four on five.