Mr. Jefferson and the giant moose : natural history in early America /
Dugatkin, Lee Alan,1962-
Chicago, Ill. ; London : University of Chicago Press,
2009.
Capturing the essence of the origin and evolution of the so-called "degeneracy debates," over whether the flora and fauna of America (including Native Americans) were naturally weaker and feebler than species elsewhere in the world, this book chronicles Thomas Jefferson's efforts to counter French conceptions of American degeneracy, culminating in his sending of a stuffed moose to Buffon.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Preface: "A moose more precious than you can imagine" -- "Dictatorial powers of the botanical gentlemen of Europe" -- The count's degenerate America -- "Noxious vapors and corrupt juices" -- "Not a sprig of grass that shoots uninteresting" -- "Geniuses which adorn the present age" -- Enter the moose -- Thirty-seven-pound frogs and Patagonian giants -- Extracting the "tapeworm of Europe" from our brain.
Capturing the essence of the origin and evolution of the so-called "degeneracy debates," over whether the flora and fauna of America (including Native Americans) were naturally weaker and feebler than species elsewhere in the world, this book chronicles Thomas Jefferson's efforts to counter French conceptions of American degeneracy, culminating in his sending of a stuffed moose to Buffon.
Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826
Buffon, Georges Louis Leclerc, comte de, 1707-1788
Degeneration
Human beings
Life sciences