Lulu Miller struggles with finding meaning in life as she tells this story that primarily focuses on her infatuation and obsession with naturalist David Starr Jordan. Jordan was a taxonomist but also a swashbuckler, eugenicist, and possibly a murderer. However, he also played a seminal role in the development of Stanford University, having been its first president after coming into favor, then disfavor with Jane and Leland Stanford.
Miller conducted much research related to the influences on Jordan’s life and possibly her own. Sections of the book focus on Louis Agassiz, a Harvard professor who believed that species were fixed and unchangeable. Of course, Darwin’s work influenced Jordan when he realized that change was an essential focus of species development. However, Jordan held onto the concepts of hierarchies in species, including the human species. His views, especially those having to do with eugenics, have led to Stanford features, named for him being renamed. A Stanford statue of Agassiz has also been removed from Stanford.
It seems that despite disagreeing with many of his beliefs and theories, Lulu Miller is impressed with Jordan’s ability to bring order to chaos. Additionally, he had an uncanny ability to persevere after suffering significant setbacks in his career and personal life. Miller seems to admire his confidence and resolve. Through extensive interviews about and study of Jordan, Miller gained an appreciation for the fact that although Jordan spent so much of his time naming and classifying them, fish don’t really exist in the eyes of modern taxonomists. Accepting this realization assisted Miller in sorting out her own life.
