My J Author

Dunwoody Pond: Reflections on the High Plains Wetlands and the Cultivation of Naturalists by John Janovy Jr.

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


"In a small and -- to the untrained eye -- unimpressive pond, microscopic life abounds, breeding myriad mysteries. Indeed the mysteries ripple well beyond the pond's edge, where budding scientists stoop over their specimens, and one question in particular intrigues John Janovy Jr.: What make these otherwise normal young people want to study parasites? The parasites that Janovy peers at in Dunwoody Pond, living their intricate lives on or in beetles, damselflies, frogs, toads, fish, and tiny crustaceans, are no less interesting and involved than the lives of the young scientists he observes in their pursuit of these microorganisms.

An exploration of a small farm pond in Nebraska, the creatures that inhabit it, and the people who study them, this engaging book captures the spirit of scientific inquiry at its source. Janovy, a celebrated scientist, naturalist, and teacher, introduces us to five of his most gifts students at critical junctures in their scientific careers. As we watch these young people at work and learn about the fascinating microscopic universe that preoccupies them, we also learn firsthand about the curiosity, wonder, and excitement that animate scientific practice. As closely observed and warmly written as all of John Janovy's works, Dunwoody Pond is, above all, a highly original and insightful meditation on the nature of science itself."
~~back cover

I missed it. All that insightfulness about the students and then the metalevel of science itself -- I missed it all. At least I think I did. The book was so specific, so tied to dreary, isolated water tanks or ponds in ditches by the side of lonely dirt farm roads, that it was hard for me to relate. I tried to correlate my experiences as a graduate student in archaeology -- why did I choose prehistory over historical archaeology? Why lithics, rather than faunal analysis? But somehow the students, as portrayed in the book, didn't come across as real people struggling with those kinds of questions. Oh, they got close a couple of times -- I almost felt that I could understand what I was being shown. But in the end, I missed it.