Podgorny, Irina (Author)
Edhasa
Physical Details: 461
Language: Spanish; Castilian
A finales del siglo XIX, las ciencias en la Argentina eran un mundo por construir. En particular la arqueología y la paleontología, la investigación del pasado remoto. La palabra prehistoria apenas se usaba. En ese entonces, hacia 1870, un joven llamado Florentino Ameghino, maestro en una escuela de Mercedes, en la Provincia de Buenos Aires, decide cambiar su profesión por la búsqueda de huesos, de las huellas de la vida antigua en el continente americano. Con la ayuda de sus amigos de Mercedes y Luján y una capacidad de trabajo a prueba de cualquier contratiempo, Ameghino inicia una carrera fulgurante. Sus descubrimientos, su talento para que alcancen notoriedad pública, lo vuelven una figura de referencia. En 1878 viaja a París para la Exposición Universal, escribe libros, compra y vende piezas paleontológicas, aprende –de la mano de colegas y comerciantes europeos y estadounidenses- a observar estratos, a preparar fósiles, a clasificarlos. Se casa y regresa a Buenos Aires, donde suma a sus hermanos a su cruzada, rastrea en el norte y en el sur los restos que validen sus teorías, se bate en polémicas con colegas argentinos y extranjeros que desconfían mientras otros aplauden sus hallazgos, presiona a las autoridades nacionales y provinciales para que apoyen sus investigaciones y funden un Museo. Nunca solo, pero –a veces- mal asesorado. O por lo menos, sorprendido por la política de un país imprevisible. Cuando muere en 1911, nace el Sabio Nacional. Irina Podgorny, con una prosa exquisita y una investigación exhaustiva, reconstruye la vida de Florentino Ameghino y las tramas del saber y la política, de la prensa y la enseñanza, donde batalló sin descanso, con suerte diversa, pero sin rendirse jamás. Su libro es una biografía de una figura impar y de una Argentina que en muchos aspectos todavía estaba en formación, que premiaba el rigor pero también los emprendimientos de los aventureros y los cantamañanas. [English translation by DeepL.com: At the end of the 19th century, the sciences in Argentina were a world to be built. In particular archeology and paleontology, the research of the remote past. The word prehistory was hardly used. At that time, around 1870, a young man named Florentino Ameghino, a teacher at a school in Mercedes, in the Province of Buenos Aires, decided to change his profession for the search of bones, the traces of ancient life in the American continent. With the help of his friends from Mercedes and Luján, and a work capacity that would withstand any setback, Ameghino began a dazzling career. His discoveries, his talent for making them public notoriety, made him a figure of reference. In 1878 he travels to Paris for the Universal Exposition, writes books, buys and sells paleontological pieces, learns -from European and American colleagues and traders- to observe strata, to prepare fossils, to classify them. He marries and returns to Buenos Aires, where he adds his brothers to his crusade, searches in the north and south for remains that validate his theories, fights in controversies with Argentine and foreign colleagues who are suspicious while others applaud his findings, pressures national and provincial authorities to support his research and found a Museum. Never alone, but -sometimes- badly advised. Or at least, surprised by the politics of an unpredictable country. When he died in 1911, the National Sage was born. Irina Podgorny, with exquisite prose and exhaustive research, reconstructs the life of Florentino Ameghino and the plots of knowledge and politics, of the press and teaching, where he battled tirelessly, with varying fortunes, but without ever giving up. His book is a biography of an odd figure and of an Argentina that in many aspects was still in formation, which rewarded rigor but also the adventurous and the adventurous. Translated with DeepL.com (free version)] Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
...MoreReview Chris Manias (2024) Review of "Florentino Ameghino y hermanos". British Journal for the History of Science (pp. 142-144).
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