Nature's Memory

An affectionate and eye-opening insider's guide to the world's great natural history museums.

In Nature's Memory, zoologist Jack Ashby shares hidden stories behind the world's iconic natural history museums, from enormous mounted whale skeletons to cabinets of impossibly tiny insects.

Look closely and all is not as it seems—these museums are not as natural, Ashby shows us, as we might think. Mammals dominate the displays, for example, even though they make up less than 1 percent of species; there are many more male specimens than females; and often a museum's most popular draw—the dinosaur skeletons—are not actually real. Over 99 percent of museum collections are held in immense, unseen storehouses. And it's becoming clear that these institutions have not been as honest about their complex histories as they should be. Yet natural history museums are also the only museums that can save the world—it is just starting to be understood that their vast collections are indispensable resources in the fight against biodiversity loss and climate catastrophe.

Weaving together fresh historical research with surprising insights, Nature's Memory is a love letter to the joys, eccentricities, and planet-saving potential of the world's best-loved museums.