The Lives of Dillon Ripley : Natural Scientist, Wartime Spy, and Pioneering Leader of the Smithsonian Institution (Hardcover)

from book58lover

I must confess this book puzzled me. I did not find the beginning with the bird discussions very interesting. I thought it would get better with the second part, SPY. Unfortunately it did not. I am still not sure exactly what he did as a spy and did not feel the explanation given rose to that lev...

from MissPrudence

This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers. This book was a quick read about an interesting, well-lived life. Though the book gave a quick overview of Dillon Ripley's childhood (especially about childhood travel and adventures), it focused primarily on Ripley's professional life, wh...

from yukon92

This book about the longtime "boss" of the Smithsonian in DC started out really strong. I enjoyed reading about the very interesting life of Mr. Ripley (who I had never heard of before). However, once the book went past the actual "civilian" life and only concentrated on the working life of Mr. R...

from eduscapes

THE LIVES OF DILLON RIPLEY by Roger D. Stone tells the story of a natural scientist, wartime spy, and Smithsonian leader. Although the biography provides an overview of his Ripley's life, it lacks the multi-dimensional qualities of many of the newer works of nonfiction narrative. In other words, ...

from bostonian71

Sadly, there's not much life in this book. The most interesting part comes at the beginning, since it features some colorful anecdotes about Ripley's childhood interests and early travels. But his adult life -- particularly his time at the Smithsonian -- gets the resume treatment; Stone dutifully...