Curators: Behind the Scenes of Natural History Museums

A great behind the scenes look at museums and the curators who run them. It's a brisk, warm read from someone that clearly knows the turf. As a bonus it's physically a very beautiful book. Just a pleasure to hold and read all-around.

If you like Natural History museums, or for that matter any museum, I think you will enjoy this book. If you’ve always wondered about the history of the objects you go to see and how they got there, then I strongly suggest that you read it. I think the next time you go to the museum, you will get more out of your visit afterward!

As usual Lance Grandma is right in thinking and ability to write. Difficult to put down.F

interesting read!

Lovely book. No issues with the transaction.

I love museums and I am particularly a huge fan of our museums in Chicago--including the Field Museum where the author and curator Lance Grande is a Distinguished Service Curator. Dr. Grande not only brings you "behind the scenes" of the Field and other natural history museums but he takes you throughout the world on expeditions and even time travels back billions of years ago. You don't need to be a scientist or even a citizen scientist to enjoy this book. It is fascinating on so many levels. "Curators" makes an excellent gift for that hard-to-find-for person. Who? Obviously those who love museums and science (but even the most learned may not have this book on their shelf) AND ALSO: teachers and parents who take children to museums (there's so much you can learn in this book and then retell it at the appropriate learning level), those who like traveling and/or learning about different countries and cultures, people with a passion for the environment and climate change activists, readers who prefer history books over others, Chicago fans, career counsellors...the list could go on. Also, this would make a great gift for a high school or college graduate who is considering a STEM career but not quite sure what direction...When I walk into the Field Museum--I feel like the richest person in the world. It's as though this grand museum itself is saying "Welcome--many have travelled the world to bring before you marvelous and mysterious treasures and riches...just for you to enjoy." This book has reinforced and magnified my belief that without the work of curators and their museums, we would be void of so much today and at risk of losing even more in the future. Every chapter of "Curators" gives you a link to the past, insight into our current natural world and/or a look into our future.

As other reviewers have noted, this book is genuinely engaging and easy to read: It is chock full of engaging stories and richly interwoven with the author's personal insights into the individuals and historical events that have shaped our perspectives on science itself. I greatly appreciated the insight into the true work of museums - the laborious, highly personal process involved in the creation of the world of "known knowns" - which is undertaken by brilliant people who have so utterly consecrated themselves to their work. It also struck me that this book does a very good job of (gently) making a broader point that natural history museums are a largely under-appreciated resource, and their collections and knowledge are increasingly relevant to our lives as we face climate change, the rising use of genetic modification, the proliferation of invasive species, the long-term effects of having so many billions of humans on the planet, etc. A marvelous, thought-inducing read, highly recommended.

I enjoy travel and museums around the world. I picked this book up recognizing the authors name from the Chicago Field Museum and half expected a dry but educational read about both of these interests. I quickly realized how much more it was. I was drawn from the start into the interesting and, dare I say it, exciting world of the curator. Lance Grande has a talent for storytelling with both humor and intrigue far beyond what you would expect from a paleontologist. Who knew! It would not surprise me to find this on the required reading list of high schools and colleges in the near future and by that means spark the interest in a whole new crop of up and coming curators. I hope Dr. Grande writes a follow up with more tales from his life and that of his fellow curators.

Well written, full of interesting stories and it helps to understand what really goes behind the closed doors at the museum.I read it on my Kindle and I must say that the images would have been way more beautiful in color, but of course it's a hardware limitation, not anything that the author could've changed.

Un "curator" américain parle de son expérience, de chercheur, en tant que paléontologue au muséum de Chicago, mais aussi de dirigeant de l'institution. Bien documenté, rempli de détails et précisions intéressantes sur l'histoire de ce Muséum et le parcours d'un homme de science.

Ouvrage très décevant qui s’apparente davantage à une série de biographies qu’à un sujet de fond sur les muséums. Quelques anecdotes intéressantes tout de même.