Warum es keine Fische gibt

David Starr Jordan was a professor of taxonomy. A man who dedicated himself to classifying living beings into systematic categories and was obsessed with bringing order to the natural world. Over time, he was credited with the discovery and naming of nearly one-fifth of all the fish known to people of his time. Yet, the more he uncovered elements of the hidden blueprint of life, the more the universe seemed to want to thwart him. His collections were destroyed by lightning, fire, and ultimately in 1906 by the San Francisco earthquake, which caused more than a thousand fragile specimens stored in jars to crash to the ground. In an instant, his entire life's work was obliterated.

Many might have given up and felt despair in that moment. But not Jordan. He looked at the rubble at his feet, found the first fish he had named back then, and confidently began to rebuild his collection.

When NPR reporter Lulu Miller first heard this anecdote in passing, she considered Jordan a fool—a cautionary tale of overconfidence or denial. Yet, as she slowly unraveled her own life, she began to ponder him. Perhaps he was instead a role model for how to carry on when everything seems lost. What she didn't know was that everything she would discover about his life would profoundly change her understanding of history, morality, and the world beneath her feet.

Part biography, part memoir, part scientific adventure: "Why There Are No Fish: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life" is a wondrous fable about perseverance in a world where chaos will always prevail.