You don’t have to be a scientist to enjoy this examination of the lighter side of taxonomy, but it helps to have an interest in science. Jonathan Todd Ross offers an easygoing narration of the author’s commentary on how plants and animals are named. Ross’s voice has almost an impish quality when he recounts stories like the ones about how the cartoonist Gary Larson ended up the namesake of a louse and Jerry Garcia’s name was given to a roach. There are more serious chapters, such as the history of and controversies surrounding naming, and Ross handles those in a more appropriate straightforward manner. R.C.G. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine

You don’t have to be a scientist to enjoy this examination of the lighter side of taxonomy, but it helps to have an interest in science. Jonathan Todd Ross offers an easygoing narration of the author’s commentary on how plants and animals are named. Ross’s voice has almost an impish quality when he recounts stories like the ones about how the cartoonist Gary Larson ended up the namesake of a louse and Jerry Garcia’s name was given to a roach. There are more serious chapters, such as the history of and controversies surrounding naming, and Ross handles those in a more appropriate straightforward manner. R.C.G. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine