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thespiritoftheage's review against another edition
3.0
Thank you to NETGALLEY for providing me with an ARC of this book before publication in exchange for an honest review.
This is a very thorough exploration of Joseph Banks' scientific and intellectual contributions to British history. It is easy to follow in spite of it dealing with dense scientific information, and all of Musgrave's main ideas are conveyed clearly and convincingly in a well-organised manner. All in all, this biography fulfils its objective and makes academic scientific history accessible to all readership.
I am a literary historian specialised in the eighteenth century, so many of the names of the people who knew and interacted with Banks rang a bell. There are a lot of these characters, all of whom were leading figures in their respective fields, and perhaps due to this overabundance, they are reduced to their names, a few accompanying biographical facts unable to integrate them in the narrative. Similarly, and again, I believe this is due to the massive amount of information Musgrave is able to manage, at times the reader feels lost in a sea of information (definitely too many sheep!), and the reading becomes less lively. Finally, I believe it is important to note that Banks' role in the colonial expansion is acknowledged, but not dealt with (which, in turn, is also acknowledged, although it didn't completely convince me). Nevertheless, this biography makes an important contribution to its field.
This is a very thorough exploration of Joseph Banks' scientific and intellectual contributions to British history. It is easy to follow in spite of it dealing with dense scientific information, and all of Musgrave's main ideas are conveyed clearly and convincingly in a well-organised manner. All in all, this biography fulfils its objective and makes academic scientific history accessible to all readership.
I am a literary historian specialised in the eighteenth century, so many of the names of the people who knew and interacted with Banks rang a bell. There are a lot of these characters, all of whom were leading figures in their respective fields, and perhaps due to this overabundance, they are reduced to their names, a few accompanying biographical facts unable to integrate them in the narrative. Similarly, and again, I believe this is due to the massive amount of information Musgrave is able to manage, at times the reader feels lost in a sea of information (definitely too many sheep!), and the reading becomes less lively. Finally, I believe it is important to note that Banks' role in the colonial expansion is acknowledged, but not dealt with (which, in turn, is also acknowledged, although it didn't completely convince me). Nevertheless, this biography makes an important contribution to its field.
mylogicisfuzzy's review
4.0
This is a great account of one of the 18th century’s most fascinating characters. Partly due to not being associated with one big discovery, Joseph Banks is less known than some of his contemporaries. Yet as the subtitle of garden historian Toby Musgrave’s book, Banks was the natural historian who shaped the world in so many ways. I hope this new book gets a wide readership as Banks really should be better known.
The man had so many fingers in so many pies, it’s as if he belonged to the earlier era of Natural Philosophers rather than single discipline scientists and perhaps that’s one of the reasons why he is sometimes referred to as jack of all trades. I’d first read about him in an account of Cook’s first voyage on the Endeavour some years ago and was intrigued. I later learned he established Kew Gardens, was the longest serving president of Royal Society, instrumental in sponsoring Mungo Park’s explorations in Africa. I also knew that he had lots of critics so I was really keen to read Musgrave’s account of his life and work.
Musgrave’s view is very well balanced. It’s not all unreserved praise as Banks could be despotic and authoritarian on occasion. For example, he was going to join Cook on his second voyage but quit in protest when his specially designed cabin for plants situated on deck made the ship unseaworthy. The cabin had to go so Banks threw a fit. He remained friends with Cook for life though and kept a portrait of him in his library. Of course, Cook’s voyages are quite controversial because of subsequent colonisation and exploitation and subjugation of native populations. Musgrove addresses some of these issues. Banks was undoubtedly a colonialist and Musgrave puts his views in context as a man of his time, which is not an apology.
I very much enjoyed learning more about the early years of Kew, Banks’s vision and plans for the gardens and the plant hunters he would send on sometimes extremely perilous botanising trips around the world. As I write, Kew has reopened following the lockdown and I can’t wait to visit again. Quite a chunk of the book is dedicated to Banks’s association with Kew and it is worth reading the book for this alone, especially now that so many plant species are threatened and Kew (and Wakehurst) remain committed to preserving and propagating as many as possible.
If I had one small criticism, it is that the last part of the book reads a bit too much like an endless list and is a little dry. Still, I thought it very good overall.
My thanks to Yale University Press and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review Multifarous Mr Banks.
The man had so many fingers in so many pies, it’s as if he belonged to the earlier era of Natural Philosophers rather than single discipline scientists and perhaps that’s one of the reasons why he is sometimes referred to as jack of all trades. I’d first read about him in an account of Cook’s first voyage on the Endeavour some years ago and was intrigued. I later learned he established Kew Gardens, was the longest serving president of Royal Society, instrumental in sponsoring Mungo Park’s explorations in Africa. I also knew that he had lots of critics so I was really keen to read Musgrave’s account of his life and work.
Musgrave’s view is very well balanced. It’s not all unreserved praise as Banks could be despotic and authoritarian on occasion. For example, he was going to join Cook on his second voyage but quit in protest when his specially designed cabin for plants situated on deck made the ship unseaworthy. The cabin had to go so Banks threw a fit. He remained friends with Cook for life though and kept a portrait of him in his library. Of course, Cook’s voyages are quite controversial because of subsequent colonisation and exploitation and subjugation of native populations. Musgrove addresses some of these issues. Banks was undoubtedly a colonialist and Musgrave puts his views in context as a man of his time, which is not an apology.
I very much enjoyed learning more about the early years of Kew, Banks’s vision and plans for the gardens and the plant hunters he would send on sometimes extremely perilous botanising trips around the world. As I write, Kew has reopened following the lockdown and I can’t wait to visit again. Quite a chunk of the book is dedicated to Banks’s association with Kew and it is worth reading the book for this alone, especially now that so many plant species are threatened and Kew (and Wakehurst) remain committed to preserving and propagating as many as possible.
If I had one small criticism, it is that the last part of the book reads a bit too much like an endless list and is a little dry. Still, I thought it very good overall.
My thanks to Yale University Press and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review Multifarous Mr Banks.
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