Naming Nature A Cabinet of Natural Curiosities for Word Lovers

About this book

From butterflies and hummingbirds to narwhals and leopards, Naming Nature celebrates our wondrous natural world by exploring the language we use to describe it. Take elephants, for instance. African languages often focus on the power of the animal; Tswana and Tsonga refer to 'the unstoppable one' and Zulu 'one crashing through'. In ancient European languages, however, elephants were seen as commodities. When Homer and Hesiod wrote about elephas in the seventh century BCE, they simply used the word for ivory. Bestselling author T.A. Barron brings together his love of the natural world and his joy in language, creating an inspiring – and often surprising – collection.

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Biography

T. A. Barron is a passionate conservationist and New York Times bestselling author. He has won various literary prizes, including the Nautilus Award Grand Prize and the de Grummond Medallion, and his popular children's series The Merlin Saga is currently being adapted into film by Disney. Barron's lifelong love for the natural world has led him to found various initiatives to encourage environmental awareness, including scholarships in environmental law at Harvard University and a biodiversity research fund. Born in Massachusetts, he studied at Princeton, Oxford and Harvard before moving to Colorado, where he now lives with his family.