Smithson's Gamble: The Smithsonian Institution in American Life, 1836–1906 by Tom D. Crouch instant download

Smithson's Gamble: The Smithsonian Institution in American Life, 1836–1906 by Tom D. Crouch instant download

Discover the incredible history of the Smithsonian as it grew to meet the needs of a nation
Follow the fascinating growth and development of the world's largest museum and research complex during its first 60 years. The English chemist and mineralogist James Smithson never visited the United States, yet he bequeathed his estate to the country to establish the Smithsonian Institution. The rest is history, told in rich detail in Smithson's Gamble. This book reveals how, as it defined a role rooted in curiosity and exploration, the Smithsonian helped to shape the nation's developing identity.
The Smithsonian evolved from a small, narrowly focused organization into an institution leading the way in fields from astrophysics to zoology. Smithsonian researchers, and the hundreds of citizen scientists who they recruited, created a collection that documented the natural and human history of a continent. The American conservation movement and a national...