Book Description

Retaining his unique emphasis on function and evolution of vertebrates, complete anatomical detail, and excellent pedagogy, author Kenneth Kardong includes a substantial amount of new, beautifully-illustrated art and updated narrative in this new edition. This one-semester text is designed for your upper-level majors course. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Good improvement from last edition
This is the book that I used to teach comparative vertebrate anatomy. The previous major flaw of the book was the many inaccuracies in the figures. However many of these appear to be changed. All in all this book is a good book to reference to for a variety of questions about vertebrates. Not the easiest of books to wade through for a beginner but Kardong for the most part does a good job in explanations and descriptions for a book of this level

A very good text, but....
I've used Kadong from the first edition and admire much about the text. As another reviewer commented, one has to be deliberate about the organization or the first time reader might feel as if he were going in circles. However, the single greatest shortcoming of this comparative anatomy text is the chapter on muscles which is inadequate and confusing unless one has already studied this subject. Kardong simply fails to provide an arganized description of trunk and appendicular muscles of the primary vertebrate models. The begining student would be well advised to turn to Walker, Kent or Romer for this topic.

I took the Comparative Anatomy class from Kardong.
I took the class from which this book was written for. When I took the comparative anatomy class from Kardong he was giving us photocopies from his work in progress and still had editors notes and omissions on the papers. Just from reading all those photocopies, I couldn't wait for this book to come out. I recieved my B.S. in Zoology before this book ever came out and when I recieved my first copy, I was elated. If your serious about zoology, this is a good book for you. However, this book is not for light reading or the beginning zoology student.

Vertebrate morphology supreme
This university textbook on vertebrate morphology is clearly written and is actually suitable for the general reader with no experience in the subject. Basic concepts such as morphological concepts, phylogeny, paleontology and evolution are discussed at the start of the book. A good overview is presented regarding theories of chordate emergence. Early vertebrates are then presented, starting with a reconstruction of a conodont animal. Chapters on biological design (ie, what adaptations are actually possible) and embryology then follow. Chapters describing and comparing organ systems in various vertebrates then follow, and include the integument (ie, skin), skeletal system, muscular system, respiratory system, circulatory system, digestive system, urogenital system, endocrine system, nervous system and sensory organs.

very good, not so easy to read
a student of vertebrate comparative anatomy will find almost everything he needs in this book. the writings are clear, the drawings excellent, the topics are all very thoroughly covered. it gives not just dry facts but also highly stimulating explanations, within a broad evolutionary context. why "only" 4 stars? well, it is not so easy to navigate through, to the point of being not well organized. you will have to look hard for what you need, especially if you are a novice. it might have been a better book still, where it differently organized, but, all in all, an excellent and important, up to date textbook ... Read more

Amazon.com

Is our tendency to "fix" our bodies with medicine keeping them from working exactly as they're supposed to?Two pioneers of the emerging science of Darwinian medicine argue that illness is part and parcelof the evolutionary system andas such, may be helping us to evolvetowards better adaptation to our environment. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

A Different Perspective
This book offers a stimulating challenge to medicine and a thoughtful discussion of how (Darwin) evolution theory applies to us. Mr. Nesse and Mr. Williams provide a careful survey about how evolutionary factors can shape and affect human health - the causes and effects are being discussed in a plain-language manner. Have you ever thought about how the sneezing, the fever, and the coughing are all front-line responses of our immune system? Why do you think the once-eradicated TB come back with a more potent strand? The book provides a refreshing yet convincing view that bacterial resistance to antibiotics is an everlasting arm race.

Readable introduction to the ideas of evolutionary medicine
This is a very readable book and an excellent introduction to a subject that has hitherto been sorely neglected. The main argument presented by Nesse and Williams is that disease must be understood from the perspective of evolutionary biology.

The authors begin by asking, "Why, in a body of such exquisite design, are there a thousand flaws and frailties that make us vulnerable to disease?" Through evidence and insights from evolutionary biology, the authors carefully give a detailed answer to this question, which might be summed up thus: The mechanism of evolution fits our bodies for reproduction, not for optimum health. Furthermore the mechanism is imperfect and subject to mutation. Additionally we are in competition with other organisms, e.g, viruses, bacteria, etc., that work toward their fitness, sometimes at our expensive (the parasite-prey "arms race"). Noteworthy is the idea that natural selection cares little for the maintenance of the organism after the age of reproduction, and that sexual reproduction actually fosters mechanisms that increase the fitness of youth while neglecting the aged, leading to the phenomena of senescence and death.

Seeing disease from the viewpoint of evolution, the authors argue, helps us to understand disease and the mechanisms involved, which in turn can help us to fight disease. Allergy, for example, is a disease characterized by an over active immune system. Copious amounts of histamine are produced to fight off a few molecules of pollen. Why? The authors make the point that our immune systems operate on the principle that better an overreaction to something harmless than an under reaction to a real threat. It's like jumping at the sight of a piece of rope lying on the ground. It's not a snake, but better this little harmless error than being too slow to get back from the real thing.

Some other interesting ideas: Fever has a purpose. It raises body temperature enough to interfere with the chemistry of some pathogens, thereby killing them. If we take medicines that reduce fever, are we prolonging our illness? In some cases, the authors answer, yes. If we take medicines that suppress coughs and sneezing can that also prolong our illness? Again the answer is in some cases, yes. The point is that in treating the symptoms of disease we need to make a distinction between which are defensive mechanism of our bodies and which are not. Some pathogens, for example, make us sneeze or cause diarrhea in order to better spread themselves to the next victim. The rabies virus makes a dog bite other animals in order to spread itself. But our bodies cause us to cough and sneeze primarily to expel pathogens.

The authors see some of our health problems as the result of genetic "quirks," or evolutionary hangovers. Dyslexia as an example. In the Environment of Evolutionary Adaptation back in the Stone Age, dyslexia was no problem because there were no books to read. Indeed, it might be that the dyslexic approach to some perception problems, is better than the "normal" one, allowing a quicker, better understanding of the objects being viewed. Other genetic quirks include our predisposition to eat too much fat when available because in the EEA there was precious little fat to be had so it made sense to eat as much as possible when it was available. Something similar can be said of alcohol. Before agriculture, and especially before the process of distillation, a predisposition to alcoholism was no danger because there was very little alcohol to be had. These "quirks" are examples of disease caused by "novel environments," much of the modern world being a novel environment to our Stone Age bodies.

Nesse and Williams show that the modern environment, which requires a lot of close work from all of us, especially the reading of books, is the cause of the epidemic of myopia that modern humans experience. I would like to add that it is possible that myopia under some conditions could be adaptive. In the rainforest it would probably be better to see well close at hand than far away (the opposite of what would be valuable on the savannah). Also those people who concentrated on things small and up close might well identify and process food sources overlooked by others.

While this is an excellent book, gracefully written and full of valuable information and insight, it is now a little dated (copyright 1994), and some of the ideas need reworking in light of recent discoveries. For example, while the authors discuss the ill effects of too much fat and sugar in our diets, they say nothing about the carbohydrate intolerance that leads to obesity. This too can be seen as an evolutionary quirk since there were no cultivated fields of amber grain in the prehistory, and the grains that were available were small and required a lot of hand processing so that it was very difficult to overindulge. Consequently there was no need for natural selection to evolve a protection against eating too much. Also their discussion of heart disease and how it is the result of genetic factors and faulty diet fails to mention the idea that heart disease might be caused by a bacteria. (See for example, Plague Time: How Stealth Infections Cause Cancers, Heart Disease, and other Deadly Ailments (2000) by Paul W. Ewald.)

All things considered, though, this is a classic of evolutionary literature, nicely presented to a nonspecialist, but educated public. Now if we can only get the doctors to read it!

Stimulating, important, clear.
From an evolutionary standpoint, it is reasonable to ask why we are plagued with disease, both physical and "mental", and why we age. It is not so hard to understand if the disease is due to viruses or bacteria, which evolve along with us in an evolutionary arms race. For this reason, some scientists have postulated that many illnesses ranging from heart disease to schizophrenia are also due to living organisms, and certainly there is increasing evidence for the importance of this viewpoint. Nesse and Williams provide other answers. Some of these answers - changes in environment and habits, rare mutations - are straight forward, others are more subtle and interesting. More than anything, there are inevitably tradeoffs. The gene which causes sickle cell anemia helps protect against malaria. In a few instances, an evolutionary perspective provides immediate suggestions for changes in medical practice, in the care of newborns and in the treatment of fever. More significantly, it has a role to play in the guidance of future research aimed at specific diseases. The book falls somewhere between a popular explication, and an original contribution, the contribution primarily being that it organizes many separate findings, and sets them out in a more general framework, while posing a host of possible PhD research questions. Much of the background information in Why We Get Sick is of great interest, and I only wish there was more background on the immune system. The writing is competent, and almost always clear.

Evolutionary thinking is critical to managing disease
There is a growing realization that many diseases are related to or caused by pathogens. Lack of understanding of evolution of microorganisms makes us ineffective at treating disease.

The evolution of antibiotic resistance is a good case in point. Working with advanced electromagnetic technologies to eliminate pathogens quickly demonstrates that evolution of microorganisms can occur quickly enough to affect treatment during the course of treating a single episode of a disease in a single patient. There needs to be a new field of the science of internal ecology of the body that builds understanding of the ecosystems of the microbiological agents that outnumber our cells.

That said, Nesse and Williams give an easily readable primer on some of the fundamental evolutionary thinking essential for successful understanding and treatment of disease. It is unfortunate that more physicians are not deeply familiar with these issues. The improper handling of disease with current antibiotics makes the organisms that cause them more deadly. This could easily be minimized by correctly approaching treatment from a base of understanding of evolutionary biology.

While this book is a good step into the deep waters of internal ecology, its easy reading makes it somewhat superficial. To start getting the real scoop, you need to read Ewald's work. A good starting point is Plague Time: How Stealth Infections Cause Cancer, Heart Disease, and Other Deadly Ailments.

As one simple example, Plague Time points out that the Borna virus is usually associated with Bipolar disease. After working with a few individuals with Bipolar disease, I've found they invariably have the Borna virus. This is untreatable by conventional medicine. Using electromagnetic techniques, the virus can be eliminated or reduced in number. This results in immediate cessation of a manic/depressive episode in some people. There are numerous other examples of these issues in heart disease, cancer, auto-immune diseases, and so forth.

The fact that microorganisms are becoming more resistant to treatment and getting deadlier from improper management, combined with the fact that many diseases are caused by unrecognized pathogens, means that every individual needs to come to grips with evolutionary biology or risk becoming a victim of it.

Practically reads itself
This book is extremely readable, and hard to put down. The authors make a very compelling case for the usefulness of a evolutionary perspective in medicine. I have a couple minor complaints (but don't let this discourage you). The authors seem to move freely between fact and speculation, without making clear distinctions. Not a problem if you're paying attention, but they may sometimes give the impression that their is more data to support a contention than there actually is. Anyway, I highly recommend this book - it's easy to read, stimulating, and bound to make you look at illness and health in a new way. ... Read more

Amazon.com

"Don't trust your instincts." Hardly the standard self-help fare, to be sure. Arguing that Darwin has a lot more to tell us about ourselves than Freud, Mean Genes is high on evolution and low on inner child. Deemed "brilliant" by E.O. Wilson himself, the book is the work of two young Wilson disciples: Terry Burnham, an economics professor at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, and Jay Phelan, a professor of biology at UCLA.

Burnham and Phelan divide life issues into 10 categories (debt, fat, drugs, risk, greed, gender, beauty, infidelity, family, and friends and foes), and then offer a two-step guide to better living. "Step 1 is to understand our animal nature, particularly those desires that get us into trouble and can lead to unhappiness. Step 2 is to harness this knowledge so that we can tame our primal instincts."

Needless to say, Nancy Reagan-esque bromides don't fit into the Mean Genes scheme of things:

"Just say no" to drugs is the simplest way to kick a habit. Unfortunately, this obvious and low-cost approach is also the route most likely to fail. For example, only one person quits smoking for every twenty who attempt to just say no. Raw willpower seems like a great solution right up until weakness strikes and we light up a cigarette or mix a margarita.

Instead of slogans, the Mean Genes approach to overcoming drug addiction is to first recognize that "every person has strong, instinctual cravings for destructive substances." This, coupled with a thorough scientific understanding of a given drug's pleasurable effects on the brain, offers a more realistic course of action, such as finding a less harmful substitute for achieving a similar buzz.

Be it talk of weight loss, saving for retirement, or resisting the neighbor's wife, such practical, tough-love suggestions for subduing the beast within are provided throughout the book. Phelan describes how he instantly smears mayonnaise all over tempting sweets served with airline meals to keep from eating them during long flights, and Burnham writes of giving away his Internet access cable in order to free himself of a serious day-trading fixation.

The authors also rely heavily on findings from the animal world in stating their case, which makes for fascinating reading, if not always for readily transferable lessons to daily life. Consider, for example, certain frog species that "continue individual bouts of mating for several months. If people mated for a similar percentage of our lives, a single round of intercourse would last almost ten years." And then there's the famed black widow spider. "Shunning the more traditional chastity belt, the male breaks off his sexual organ inside the female, preventing her from ever mating again. When the act is completed, the female kills and eats the male."

Put off by all the sex and violence? Don't worry. There's also a nod to family values in the form of the Australian social spider. "Soon after giving birth to about a hundred hungry spiderlings, Mom's body literally liquefies into a pile of mushy flesh. The babies then munch on the flesh so they can start their lives with full bellies." Mean genes, indeed. --Patrick Jennings ... Read more

Reviews (101)

Hilarious and Enriching!
Mean Genes does three things very well: it teaches you to control yourself, it educates you about evolutionary biology, and it makes you laugh.

For the uninitiated, the basic premise of evolutionary biology is that all human behavior is driven by genetic traits, traits that are incredibly well-adapted -- for the desert humans evolved in 250,000 years ago.

Burnham and Phelan take the human-as-cavemen-unadapted-to-the-modern-world view and illustrate why many of our common weaknesses are actually based on behaviors that were quite useful a quarter of a million years ago.

When you view human nature this way, a few things will happen. First, you'll understand the persistence and prevalence of many seemingly self-destructive human idiosyncrasies (for example, adultery and gluttony). Second, you won't feel as bad about yourself! And third, and most useful, by understanding the roots of these common behaviors and by following Burnham and Phelan's recommendations, you'll have the tools to effect genuine self-improvement.

Finally, the book is quick and entertaining, so it's a fabulous investment.

Mean Genes Rocks!
Wow. This book made me laugh, was extremely informative, and has already changed my life.

I've always battled with my weight. Now I realize that my urge for chocolate or a second helping comes from deep within my evolutionary history, not some innate weakness of character. Now when I consider that hot-fudge sundae, I know I want it not because I'm bad or weak, but becuase once upon a time it paid to indulge when I could, in an environment where food was scarce.

Somehow the knowledge of where these and other urges come from makes it easier for me to resist them. When I feel weak, I don't beat myself up. I make changes in my environment to achieve my goals, instead of just trying to "outwill" my mean genes. I feel more powerful because I have a better understanding what it is that I'm fighting.

It's not often that a book can be this informative and obviously well-researched, and so hard to put down. Best of all, Mean Genes offers practical advice on how to gain control over our lives and achieve the goals we set for ourselves. Worth every penny.

This Book Makes Sense.
Terry Burnham, a visiting scholar at the Harvard Business School, holds a PhD in Business Economics from Harvard, while Jay Whelan is a Biology professor at UCLA. Together they have collaborated to produce an excellent book that explains why we humans so often act in what appear to be irrational ways.

The essence of their argument is that we human beings come from a long line of hunter gatherers, and are genetically ill-equipped to deal with many of the challenges we face in the modern world. Using specific examples, Burnham and Whelan describe how our genes drive us to make irrational decisions in the major areas of our life (work, love, friendship, sex, and consumption). Forewarned is forearmed. Once you've read this book, you'll have the necessary tools to anticipate and avoid failure.

Highly recommended.

Fabulous
I had the honor of reading "Mean Genes" as a textbook when Dr. Phelen, the co-author, taught my Life Science Class at UCLA. This is book worthy of ANY generation's read-I particularly thought it "answered" some of those questions of life that torment the average college student, let alone humans. The insights and personal stories add warmth to "Mean Genes, and the book is immensely enjoyable (hardly "textbook" like.) Overall-buy the book for keeps-you will want to keep it as a manual for life.

Responding to "Amazon Customer"
If you are a believer in all this Freudian crap, this is not the reason to trash a really good book, which approaches things from really scientific point of view, and tries to give a logical picture of our psychology, its origins. Psychoanalysis is not a science, it is bunch of fairy tales, and has nothing to do with science; but I'm afraid people like you would never admit this.
This book is excellent! ... Read more

Book Description

Balancing coverage of both classical and modern genetics, this book presents a succinct overview of genetics. Known for a clear writing style, an emphasis on concepts, and thoughtful coverage of all areas of genetics, the authors capture readers' interest with up-to-date coverage of cutting-edge topics and research. The new edition features "How Do We Know What We Know?" boxes to focus readers on the experimental aspects of genetics. This book covers the latest information on genetics, such as genomics, conservation genetics, sex determination and sex chromosomes, genomics and proteomics,molecular genetics, and population genetics. It will appeal to evolutionarily-oriented professionals in the biological sciences, zoology, agriculture, and health science fields.

Reviews (3)

Just perfect!
A standard introductory textbook of nuclear astrophysics written by a real expert in a superb style. It has taught nuclear astrophysics to most of us and will teach many more. I keep refering to it all the time. It is my favorite. I warmly recommend it.

A standard reference on stellar structure and evolution
"Principles of Stellar Evolution and Nucleosynthesis" is a standard work on stellar structure and evolution. It is clearly written and approachable even by a senior undergraduate. It is a "must" for anyone seriously interested in stellar astrophysics.

Please create an audio adaptation ...
To the publisher I would appreciate it if the publisher could produce an audio adaptation of this book. I would love to listen to this while I drive to work and to let my 16 month old son listen to it as a bedtime story. Arnold D Veness ... Read more

Book Description

Using fundamental physics, the theory of stellar structure and evolution is able to predict how stars are born, how their complex internal structure changes, what nuclear fuel they burn, and their ultimate fate. This undergraduate textbook provides a clear, methodical introduction to the theory of stellar structure and evolution.Starting from general principles and axioms, step-by-step coverage leads students to a global, comprehensive understanding of the subject. Throughout, the book uniquely places emphasis on the basic physical principles governing stellar structure and evolution. All processes are explained in clear and simple terms with all the necessary mathematics included. Exercises and their full solutions allow students to test their understanding. This book requires only a basic background in physics and mathematics and assumes no prior knowledge of astronomy. It provides a stimulating introduction for undergraduates in astronomy, physics, planetary science and applied mathematics taking a course on the physics of stars. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Excellent book for beginners
A truly excellent introductory book. It has worked problems at the back and actually has an index that allows you to find anything you need for reference. I actually used this book more than Padmanabhan's books for my graduate course, because Prialnik explains things very well.

This book should be the basis of any undergraduate stellar astrophysics course. ... Read more

Reviews (42)

No more monkeying with history
It's one of the defining scenes of our century. The young science teacher, John Scopes, is chased from his class by a rabid bunch of anti-evolutionists. He's thrown in jail and a show trial is set up to punish him. Then Clarence Darrow arrives ... the white knight for science and rationalism. In a brilliant oration he destroys the older fundamentalist, William Jennings Bryan, exposing him as a fool and winning the case, making the world free for evolution. One small problem.

The truth is nothing like that happy story. What you're thinking of is the plot of Inheirit the Wind, a second-rate movie that used the Scopes trial to dramatize the McCarthy hearings. Spencer Tracy and Gene Kelley weren't in Dayton for the trial, and what really happened was far from black and white.

But in the hands of Edward Larson, it's also far more interesting. Larson's book, Summer for the Gods is a brialliantly reasoned look at what led to the trial, the trial itself, and its continuing impact on society. (Okay, on American society ... but it's still interesting.) Larson manages a tremendously difficult task: he manages to be unbiased and dispassionate without becoming dull. And he walks the line masterfully. There were times when I couldn't honestly say whose "side" Larson was on ... which is kind of the point. I read a lot of history, and it's very seldom I come across something that's so even-handed. Which would be a triumph in itself, even if it weren't so darn readable. For the rest of the review, visit my web page at exn.net/printedmatter

A lively and timely account of the Scopes Trial
Like many of my generation, I learned of the Scopes "Monkey" Trial through the Lawrence and Lee play, "Inherit the Wind." Edward J. Larson's Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate over Science and Religion is a fine and lively historical account of the trial and its aftermath. Winner of the 1998 Pulitzer Prize, Larson's book sets the battle between fundamentalist religion and the "modern" science of Darwinism in both an historical and cultural context. In the 1920s, several states attempted to pass anti-evolution laws, and Tennessee finally succeeded in 1925. Thereafter, the ACLU found a test plaintiff in teacher John Scopes, and a test venue in the sleepy town of Dayton, Tennessee, which hoped to use the trial to "get on the map" and increase tourism. Using newspaper accounts, memoirs, and other contemporaneous sources, Larson displays in vivid detail both the seriousness and naivete of the battle between religion and science, William Jennings Bryan and Clarence Darrow. He also argues, convincingly for me, that the trial did not -- contrary to the Lawrence and Lee depiction -- leave Bryan a broken man (although he died within a week of the verdict). Going beyond the trial and its immediate aftermath, the final section of this book examines how later historians and writers -- including Lawrence and Lee -- have interpreted and often mis-interpreted the trial for later generations. In particular, Larson argues that "Inherit the Wind", like the Arthur Miller classic "The Crucible", must be viewed as both a product of and attack upon the McCarthy era of the 1950's. This is an insightful and enjoyable account.

Good book, but favors humanistic view
Sadly, it is only too true that in modern-day America, to get a truly lucid view of facts and history one often has to look to secular scholars. In the past many of the greatest works, in any sphere of life or calling, were authored by men of biblical faith. For example, Issac Newton, a prolific writer on matters of science (and acknowledged as the greatest scientist who ever lived) actually devoted more words to commentary on the Bible. Therefore if one desires a truly comprehensive and fairly accurate account of the "Trial of the Century", this is a good book. No question about it.

Nevertheless one must be prepared for the subtle bias throughout this work, in favor of the pro-humanist, pro-evolution cabal. For example this book contains a full-page photograph of Clarence Darrow (who was, after all, only a lawyer) and no photograph at all of William Jennings Bryan, who was one of the greatest statesman (regardless of one's opinion of the man) of his time.

Dr. Larson correctly points out that the trial was part of the struggle between a "majoritarian" vs. "individual rights" interpretation of our constitution. The indivdual rights interpretation is dominant today, but that doesn't necessarily make it right. You wouldn't know that from reading this book.

As I write this review I have on my desk the results of an ABC News poll, released 02/15/04, that demonstrated 61% of all Americans believe God created the world in six literal 24-hour days. Read this book for a good and accurate account of the Scopes trial but don't be lured in by Mr. Larson's patronizing insinuations that any American who believes in the Biblical account of creation is not only half-witted, but in the minority. Facts (like those revealed in the ABC poll) are troublesome things Dr. Larson.

History as Myth, a careful reinterpretation
I come to the book as part of a self-directed study of the issues involved in the creation-evolution-design debate(CED). I deeply enjoy history and appreciate good historical writing. This book is such good, informative history. The author is a careful, balanced, objective-striving historian, and i like his writing. His intention is to dissipate the myths that have grown up around the Scopes trial via a careful reinterpretation of the events and personalities that were involved. To a very great extent he does so. My only sadness in reading the book is that it reaffirms my belief that very little has changed in the conservative/fundamentalist community since the trial, an unfortunate problem. For i continually hear the exact same arguments on the discussion boards, it seems no one is listening to books like this.

W.J.Bryan and C.Darrow are the primary characters involved in the trial. Their polarization of the issues as between religion and godless atheism on Bryan's part, and between science as reason and fundamentalism as unthinking faith are exactly the polarizing demands from their respective successors today. The real issues (like one line in the book pointed to epistemology), the problem of taking past each other, the radical 'emptying' of any compromise positions, these are still the issues people fight about. If you are interested in these things this book will be a gentle introduction to the historical and continuing character of them.

The book is history, it doesnt try to answer these perennial questions, but rather is trying to clear the field of misconceptions as in the movie "Inherit the Wind". It has places that if the author had desired to could have been jumping off points for extended discussions, as in the introduction of the theistic evolutionist as expert witnesses. But this was not followed up, as it was not the author's intention to move past the history towards solutions, sadly for i think his ideas and research could help here. Maybe that is another book for him.

One real strength is the presentation of the trial as politically contrived, for the purpose of bringing people and money to Dayton. Contrived as a platform for the presentation of ideas or the playing to the crowd. I ended up with a greater respect for Bryan and a lesser one for Darrow, having read what their intentions were, and how they tried to accomplish them. Bryan ends up as an anomolous character, progressive in his politics, but holding to a somewhat childish faith with an inability to logically inform or express it. Sadly i feel that he died before he could begin to learn for the experiences of the trial and grow as a result of the troubles he had.

It's a good book, but i dont know who to recommend it to. Perhaps a history buff, or someone who liked Inherit the Wind and wants to learn the truth of the issues. It didnt really give me a lot of details about the issues in CED that i didnt already dig up myself, but it did confirm the fundamental correctness of several things i have thought about.

The Definitive Work on The Scopes Trial
This was a very good book. Having the whole fiasco narrated in such detail completely changed my impression of both the defense and the prosecution. I was surprised to learn what a jerk Clarence Darrow was - and how the ACLU kept trying to manipulate him out of the trial. Also corrected were some of my misunderstandings (and misgivings) about fundamentalism and Freethought (in the trademarked sense of the word) in the twenties and thirties.

Read this book and learn how the Scopes trial was an early pre-television episode of Reality T.V. Compared to it, "Inherit the Wind" is almost real. ... Read more

Book Description

This latest book by Elof Carlson (The Unfit)is a first history of classical genetics, the era in which the chromosome theory of heredity was proposed and developed. Highly illustrated and based heavily on early 20th century original sources, the book traces the roots of genetics in breeding analysis and studies of cytology, evolution, and reproductive biology that began in Europe but were synthesized in the United States through new Ph.D. programs and expanded academic funding. Carlson argues that, influenced largely by new technologies and instrumentation, the life sciences progressed though incremental change rather than paradigm shifts, and he describes how molecular biology emerged from the key ideas and model systems of classical genetics. Readable and original, this narrative will interest historians and science educators as well as today's practitioners of genetics. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

An Admirable Way to do History of Science
This book is a labor of love by a professional geneticist with a sharp intellect and a mature understanding of society as well as science. The book is beautifully produced, with many diagrams and portraits of the scientists, as well as photographed excerpts from famous papers (although there are no color plates).

Perhaps the most attractive aspect of Carlson's approach is the care with which he presents the evidence for specific genetic principles, and the arguments used by opponents of what are now elementary textbook principles. Appreciating basic genetic principles is much enhanced by realizing the intellectual struggle involved in each piece of the puzzle. For instance, I have read a dozen times that quantitative geneticists rejected Mendelism because they believed in evolution by continuous, incremental change, whereas Mendel's laws appear to support discontinuous, saltationist, change. I always thought this to be a quite silly objection, and that R. A. Fisher's demonstration of the compatibility of the two views was stating the obvious. Carlson suggests a far deeper objection. Following Galton, quantitative geneticists believed in regression to the mean and blending inheritance, both seeming incompatible with Mendelism. Overcoming these objections is quite a sophisticated task.

In another passage, Carlson presents Sewall Wright's reasons for developing his position on gene interaction and environmental effects on natural selection, based on his study of coat color in guinea pigs. Again, he shows that opposition to Mendelian segregation was not just conservative stubbornness, but rather a reaction to the fact that a considerable fraction of inheritance studies did not conform to Mendelian segregation. We now know why, with our understanding of transpositions, gene jumping, and the like.

The glory of this book is simply reading the detailed history of marvelous discoveries in an almost blow-by-blow fashion. But, almost as welcome is Carlson's historical method, which he presents briefly at the end of the book. Science, he says, is the "winning of the facts." I interpret this to mean that truth needs no explanation---it is its own justification. "I have read accounts" Carlson says (p. 208) "...that attempted to explain science in sociological (in-groups versus outsiders), political (Marxism versus capitalism), or historical (depression, war, and ideology) contexts, and I found these either false or extraneous." This viewpoint is such a breath of fresh air after plowing through so many insufferable post-modern treatments of science.

Carlson does have strong and interesting arguments concerning the time and place of scientific discoveries. He notes that genetics was a European stronghold in the Nineteenth century and became an American-led endeavor in the classical period from 1900 to 1930. He attributes this to the scientific freedom offered by the American graduate school, among other things. Hitler and Stalin account for the continued prominence of the American school after 1930, since they induced extremely talented scientists to emigrate to the United States, where they had the freedom to do their research. It is not unreasonable to think that if freedom triumphs in the world, it will be in no small part because good science requires it. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A good alternative to larger Ecology texts
I used the earlier edition of this book twice for an ecology course that I teach, and my students appreciated the length, price, readability, and content. The rating that I give the book (four stars) is mostly based on their satisfaction. This updated version is very similar to the fifth edition, but has some nice additions, such as a chapter on Phylogeny that mentions Felsenstein's independent contrasts methods. If you are interested in reviewing this book as a possible book for your course, I would first read this brief chapter on phylogeny (16) to get a feel for the brevity of all the topics in ecology that are covered. Because many details are left out (as are many important references), this book cannot be used without supplemental literature. I usually require readings of at least 5 additional papers per chapter in this book. In fact, without supplemental readings and additional material presented in lecture, I would probably only grant two stars to this book. Strengths of the book include: very easy to read, excellent figures, adequate treatment of mathematical models, logical organization, and some nice examples from the literature. ... Read more

Book Description

Building on the proven strength of Russell's step-by-step problem-solving approach, Essential iGenetics blends a classic, Mendel-first approach with modern molecular coverage. This easy-to-read introduction to genetics presents full coverage of the subject in a brief and manageable format. Readers develop and apply critical thinking skills as they work step-by-step through a number of solved genetics problems. Readers can also apply the principles and techniques learned to a variety of problems at the end of each chapter.The book covers basic genetics principles, with balanced coverage of Mendel, historical experiments, and cutting-edge chapters on Genome Analysis and Molecular Evolution.For anyone interested in genetics. ... Read more

Amazon.com

This is the most complete and original biological field guide in history. Lynn Margulis, one of the most brilliant biologists of the 20th century, and her colleague Karlene Schwartz provide a roller-skate tour of the whole world of living things, from the smallest bacteria in the hot springs of Yellowstone to the mightiest oak (humans too, but we are set firmly in our place). In his Foreword, Stephen Jay Gould says "If the originality comes before us partly as a 'picture book,' it should not be downgraded for that reason--for primates are visual animals, and the surest instruction in a myriad of unknown creatures must be a set of figures with concise instruction about their meaning--all done so admirably in this volume." --Mary Ellen Curtin ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Life¿s vast pageant
This book is a stunning compendium of the range of life forms found on our planet. Margulis and Schwartz describe it as "a catalog of the world's living diversity." It is a vividly descriptive assortment of selected examples from the Five Kingdoms of life formulated by R.H. Whittiker. The authors stress how much new knowledge, particularly in the study of unicellular life forms, has been gained in recent years. They explain how classification identifies organisms and show how modern techniques have led to the expansion of life's kingdoms from two to five. A description of prokaryotes and eucaryotes is given, followed by the body of 92 phyla descriptions. The book is arranged to be either studied as a reference or browsed as an introduction to biological forms. Each entry is carefully organized with the type of information [environment, measurement scales, diagrams] in a consistent location.

However, this is more than simply a collection of illustrative examples of various organisms. The most fascinating chapter relates the authors' proposal to modify one of the standard classifications of life - the Protoctists, replacing Whittiker's Protists. "The Kingdom Protoctista is defined by exclusion," they state. "Its members are neither animals, plants, fungi nor procaryotes." Their common characteristics are nucleated cells, some kind of flagellum and live in an oxygenated atmosphere [unlike many unicellular forms which cannot tolerate oxygen. Their argument contends that many multicellular forms are more
directly related to these unicellular forms than they are to other multi-celled organisms. The new classification "also solves the problem of blurred boundaries that arises if the unicellular organisms are assigned to the multicellular kingdoms." They list 27 phyla [of 36 total]with diagrams exhibiting a range of bizarre structures and life cycles.

Another noteworthy entry is Trichoplax adhaerens. Remember the name of this creature - "it is the simplest of animals." Composed of but a few thousand cells, it is a dull gray body just visible to the unaided eye. In looking at the photo and diagram of this creature invokes a sense of wonder - this is, after all, a distance relative living in the nearest aquarium with the shad.

This book is a delight to browse following one of the authors' intents. Their second purpose, using this book as a reference, is even more admirably met. Clear photographs coupled with excellent diagrams, including typical environments of the selected specimens, add visual support to a readable text base. Any reader interested in the way life is structured and seeking insights into evolutionary development would do well to consider this book. It's not an academic text, but conveys a wealth of meaningful information.

Surprisingly Fun
Although this is primarily intended to be an illustrated reference guide, it's a surprisingly fun one to thumb through. Part of that is the delight of looking at pictures and illustrations of some truly strange organisms (science fiction writers should really buy this book to see what genuinely alien creatures are like), but also due to the plethora of interesting facts.

I know that when I was reading through the section detailing the Animal phylla, I was struck by how many creatures -- entire phyllums -- get along without even rudimentary brains (or digestive systems, respiratory systems, circulatory systems, or even organs, altogether, in some cases). Likewise I was surprised to learn that only two phylla (including our own) ever developed winged flight.

The sections comprising the non-Animal kingdoms were of particular interest to me mainly for the simple reason that they invariably get little attention from most texts. At best, you'll usally find a chapter dealing with micro-organisms as a whole, and a brief chapter on plants. To see how much sheer diverity there is in just the Fungus kingdom is eye-opening.

I will note that the book does assume a basic level of biological literacy and that it sometimes throws jargon at the reader with little warning or explaination but, as a whole, this is a very accessible work and well worth having on one's shelf.

WOW-- it's all linked.
At first, a person like myself might seem somewhat hard to convince that all the 100's of thousands of species on the planet can be divided up into just five kingdoms or "Groups." However, by the half way mark I could not only see how this is true--more importantly I could understand--and agree with the author. What this truly gifted scientists has done is to "break down" the walls of convention and show people (even myself) how it all really worls. Lynn Margullis is the worthy sucessor to Charles Darwin. Period.

Most comprehensive, yet phylogenetically out of date
I recommend this book partly on the basis of the two page descriptions and line drawings of each phylum. But I am most impressed with the substantially less animal bias in the treatment of every form of life. Regardless of whether one believes in a five kingdom system or a ten or more kingdom system, this book gives fair coverage to the less celebrated protist groups.

But with all the recent molecular studies that could have served to compliment Lynn's endosymbiotic scenarios, I was disappointed to not see any grand synthesis. With respect to algal phylogenetic hypotheses, a college phycology text published in 1995 (Algae : An Introduction to Phycology by C. Van Den Hoek and others) was more up to date than this 1998 work. In fact some of the groupings made were definitely artificial even without the benefit of the most recent molecular data. Among the most disappointing findings was the lumping of some Heterokonts with choanoflagellates into a "Zoomastigota". The Heterokonts is a fairly diverse group that includes brown algae, diatoms, and water molds and others on the basis of their undulipodia (flagella)and molecular characters. Choanoflagellates are simple organisms that are said to resemble sponge cells, and thus have been proposed to share the most recent common ancestor with true animals. Though I have no problems accepting paraphyletic taxa, even then this "Zoomastigota" would be artificial if molecular evidence continues to suggest that animals (with choanoflagellates) and fungi are closer to each other than they are to heterokonts or green plants.

A less serious quibble that I have was the unnecessary splitting of the Desmids, spirogyra, et al. from Chlorophyta (all green algae). The phylogeny illustrated within this book implies that this subset of the green algae is more closely related to Rhodophyta (red algae) and slime molds than to other green algae. I guess either she chooses to ignore many other characters (morphology and molecular) in favor of a few overriding features, or she feels that classification need not have reflect evolutionary relationships (if so she should say so). But still, to her credit, she still provides a coverage for many groups such as foraminifers, haptophytes, and cryptophytes that have not been adequately studied to place into the phylogeny of life. As the science of life evolves, no book can be counted on as the last word.

fascinating!
Terrific book. I enjoy it immensely. Nice combo of great intellectual material and nice pictures :) One of my favorites in this area of science. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (10)

Wow!
It's unfortunate that Bateson died before postmodern thought really made it over the Atlantic since it appears he was quite concerned about many of the old views held by North American philosophers. The chapters concerning contextualization and language use echo what Foucalt, Lyotard and Derrida have been trying to get across except Bateson really managed to put these ideas into somewhat more accessible form.

Bateson was around for the beginnings of information theory and cybernetics and again, he was probably very disappointed in their state when he died. However, if one now looks at what people like Perlovsky and Chaitin have worked on one may begin to see that science is finding more and more problems with maintaining even the idea of objectivity.

In particular, if one looks at the work of Wilson ("Spikes, Decisions, and Actions") and Prigogine then the theory of objectivity within the physical world comes falling down. The only book close to giving a complete overview like Bateson managed is Jantsch's "Self-Organizing Universe", now out of print.

This is well worth reading and pondering. One can only hope more people begin to realize that we have a great opportunity for advancing ourselves (instead of rushing towards anhilation)if we can just change some of present system of thought.

Back in print at last!
It is unbelievable that this masterpiece has been out of print for so long. I have been looking fruitlessly for a copy for some years, having eventually had to return a loan copy. I am delighted that it is available again.

Organised as a collection of relatively short essays, this has a legitimate claim to be the outstanding book of the 20th century for anyone interested in mind, change, evolution, systems thinking, ecology, epistemology, organisations, therapy and more. Be warned - it can be very dense in places, but the effort is worth it. On the right day it's really stimulating - on a bad day, I'd read something easier!

'Form, Substance and Difference', 'Conscious Purpose versus Nature' and 'The Logical Categories of Learning and Communication' are absolutely central texts for anyone considering how we need to respond to the current world crisis. Other key papers include 'The cybernetics of "Self": A theory of alchoholism' and 'Social Planning and the Concept of Deutero Learning'. If you work in the field of Organisational Development you will probably be familiar with some of the content through the many writers who have built on Bateson's work. Fritjof Capra writes about him a great deal. The original is best though.

The fact that it is back in print is tremendous. How can something this good have been out of print for so long?

David Ballard

A true masterpiece!
Bateson's writings are profoundly layered with meaning that a brief glance will overlook. His prolific influence can be found in sundry fields of study, including psychiatry, communication theory, and marriage and family therapy to name a few.

This is the type of book (among few) that can be read over and over again while discovering new facets of understanding every time.

I highly recommend the metalogues.

Buzzwords mixed toghether in a pile of dross
Take all the buzzwords in fashion in psychology and philosophy: classification, genotype, flexibility, somatic, discrete, threshold, characteristics, analytic... mix everything together and you get this book.
In other words there's not an ounce of meaning in those 700 pages, it's all worthless. No case studies, no examples, long phrases full of self importance written by someone who thinks he's an authority in everything from zen to medecine to evolution theory to archeology. Not only does he prove he doesn't understand anything, you'll laugh yourself silly reading any paragraph of the book at random.

If you have to read this for an assignment, you'd better change major and give it to your worst enemy for toilet paper. That's how low I think of this. And to think that a tree was felled for this. Ha !

Very good intro. to Bateson
Reading "Steps" helped save me from the unremitting horrors of divorce court; I'd probably be on a death row somewheres if not for this & some peripherally associated material. I am very pleased to see that it's in print again.

From those meticulous metalogues to those essays on the Theory of Logical Types, Bateson can mesmerize, if you're prepared for it. "Steps" is to science & reason what Frost's "West Running Brook" is to poetry: an intense meditation, soliloquy & dialogue. It's worth your while. ... Read more

Book Description

How can we identify events due to intelligent causes and distinguish them from events due to undirected natural causes? If we lack a causal theory how can we determine whether an intelligent cause acted? This book presents a reliable method for detecting intelligent causes: the design inference. The design inference uncovers intelligent causes by isolating the key trademark of intelligent causes: specified events of small probability. Design inferences can be found in a range of scientific pursuits from forensic science to research into the origins of life to the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. This challenging and provocative book will be read with particular interest by philosophers of science and religion, other philosophers concerned with epistemology and logic, probability and complexity theorists, and statisticians. ... Read more

Reviews (22)

Best book by a creationist I have ever read
I just finished a two-month reading group consisting of both supporters and critics of Dembski, so I finally feel competent to review this book.

While I am a naturalist and evolutionist, I greatly appreciate the writing of anybody who is intellectually honest and attempts to be rigorous: at least in this book, Dembski shows these traits with flying colors. 'The Design Inference' is Dembski's attempt to formalize valid inferences about design. That is, how can we validly infer, for any event E, that E is the product of intelligent design? Most people make such inferences all the time (how does the average person explain Stonehenge). What is the logical structure of such inferences?

Despite the math, the argument structure is actually quite simple. The way to infer that E is the product of design is to run it through what Dembski calls the 'explanatory filter.' Try to explain event E according to presently known statistical regularities (e.g., Newton's laws). If event E cannot be explained by any such statistical regularity, then it passes through the explanatory filter, and is therefore the product of design.

This argument structure is the first main weakness in Dembski's book. In employing the explanatory filter, TDI elevates an anachronistic fallacy to an imperative. Simply showing that we can't presently explain a phenomenon is not sufficient to show that it can never be explained! In the nineteenth century, the precession of Mercury in its orbit could not be explained in a well-confirmed classical worldview, but to infer design based on that would not be good science. The problems with this kind of reasoning are made clearer when we consider our early ancestors who made poor design arguments about weather patterns and illness that they couldn't explain based on physical principles.

The inferential strategy outlined above sounds rather simple, so where does all the notorious math come in? It comes in as Dembski attempts to quantitatively unpack just how to demonstrate that an event cannot be explained by a statistical regularity. For those who know some statistics, this is essentially a detailed account of how to rationally generate a rejection region in a probability distribution. The formalism emerges because Dembski's account is idiosyncratic, as he tries to show that you can generate a rejection region even *after* you have already observed the event. Most scientists would balk at this, as it would allow you to retroactively put a rejection region over the event, which to put it simply, is cheating (imagine drawing a bull's-eye around a randomly shot arrow and saying that you hit the bull's-eye by skill).

Dembski claims that it is perfectly appropriate to retroactively generate rejection regions if it would have been *possible* to specify the region before the event E actually occurred. For example, say you see someone shoot an arrow that hits a tree at a seemingly random location where there happens to be a worm. Later, however, you find out and that the person was actually hunting worms and was wearing infrared worm-hunting goggles. In such a case, you would rightly conclude that the worm was hit because of skill rather than blind luck. More importantly, it would have been possible to predict that the arrow would land on tree-worms even if you hadn't seen it happen.

While many people in our discussion group disagreed, I think this is a reasonable way to retroactively reject a chance-based explanation. However, I do *not* think that Dembski is simply describing the rejection of a hypothesis. Rather, he is describing the replacement of one hypothesis with a more reasonable alternative (in this example, the alternative to chance is that the person is a skilled worm-hunter). This leads to what I think is the second main weakness in *The Design Inference*: the engine driving the inference is not a positive theory of design, but simply the elimination of other theories. The problem is that this does not seem to conform to how people do (or should) perform design inferences. That is, people don't run through an explanatory filter, eliminating all possible statistical explanations of something, and then end up with 'design' as the last node in an explanatory filter (or explanatory sink, as I like to call it). Rather, people have a *positive theory* of intelligent agents (i.e., things with desires, beliefs, and certain capacities) and they apply this theory (or network of theories) to explain events in the world. Design inferences are not different in kind from explanations of physical, biological, social, or psychological phenomena. It is the development of such a theory and its predictions which should be the focus for Dembski.

A final note: to those interested in the debate about creationism and evolution, caveat emptor. This book contains very little direct discussion of that issue. Rather, it does what should have been done long ago: tries to outline the inferential strategy people should be employing in this debate.

Despite the two main problems outlined above, I still recommend this book to anyone seriously interested in how we make inferences about design, in particular those interested in the creation-evolution debate. While the book does no damage whatsoever to the evolutionist (partly because, as mentioned above, it does not directly address that debate) it at least makes for stimulating, thought-provoking reading. Most importantly, it will direct the creationists to be more rigorous in their arguments about design.

Book destined to endure
Depsite Eli Chiprout's critical review of The Design Inference, readers can be assured that Dembski stands by his calculation and is prepared to defend it. Chiprout's chief objection seems to be that Dembski's conditional independence condition founders when human agents get into the act. Chiprout may register his complaint, but we should all note that this book and the theories it puts forth have been thoroughly vetted: it was Dembski's doctoral dissertation, it went through a grueling review process with Cambridge University Press, and the author sent preprints to probably fifty or so scholars and academics for comment. No one, and I mean **NO ONE**, corrected Dembski on what Chiprout suggests is an obvious oversight. Long after the dust of criticism settles, The Design Inference will surely stand as an important and enduring advancement in our understanding of the theory of Intellgent Design.

Consistent inconsistency
This book has been highly aclaimed by Dembski's cohorts as a revolutionary breakthrough on a par with the work by Newton. It is saturated with mathematical symbols creating an impression of inordinate sophistication. However, an elementary analysis of Dembski's opus reveals that whereas he indeed is well versed in many fields of knowledge and is a man of many talents, his book actually is full of inconsistencies. His treatment of probability makes no sense whatsoever. For example, his alleged definitions of probability and likelihood are pure tautology. According to his definition, whatever has a larger likelihood is more likely to occur. True. Also whatever is larger has a larger size, but does such a platitude require a special scientifically sounding definition? The same relates to his quasy-definitions of complexity and difficulty. Wherever there are interesting things in this book, they are not new (fo example, axiomatization of probability which is just variation on Kolmogorov's classical approach without a reference to the source). Wherever there is something new in this book, more often than not it is logically deficient (for example, the procedure Dembski suggests for the first and th second nodes of his explanatory filter). His final design inference is based on a set of arbitrary hypotheses. A completely useless book.

Unmasking ideological design behind Darwinism
William Dembski "The Design Inference", helps us to infer the "ideological design" that lies behind Darwinism. In my mind, there is no doubt that Darwinism still exists because it has been able to protect itself from competition and cross-examination. Darwinism is afraid to expose itself to the same logic it defends: that of "the survival of the fittest". Darwinism knows it is not fit to survive in the free and open encounter with alternative explanations. Men like Richard Dawkins and Steven Jay Gould are more and more aware that Darwinism depends to its survival on the proof that a succession highly improbable events, which corresponds to a highly complex patterns, can reasonably be described as the result of mere chance. Richard Dawkins and Steven Jay Gould are more and more aware that they risk to be the laughing stock of the academia,"the last ones to know". Beeing unable to distinguish between casuality and causality, chance and design, they would never be successful detectives, forensic experts, SETI scientist, anti-trust and intellectual property lawyers.The only place where there modes of thought and inference seem to be acceptable is in the field of naturalist science, and even here, as "desperate resistants". By clarifying concepts such as design, information, intelligence, and pattern, through the concept of complex specified information,William Dembsky puts Richard Dawkins in a position that I doubt he can hold for a long time. William Dembsky allows one to understand the "clever" way Richard Dawkins uses the Occam's razor: "as long as I can speculate about naturalist explanations for reality, I will keep ignoring all the evidence of intelligent design, no matter how strong and convincig it may be". For Richard Dawkins, it is clear that "appearence of design" (Dawkins) plus "high improbability of design" (Fred Hoyle) can only be seen as a refutation of a "design inference" (Wlliam Dembsky). As a law professor, I find this (ideo)logic totally unacceptable. I'm glad to see, by reading Dembsky, that I'm not the only one.It is more and more clear that Darwinism, a complex set of naturalistic "memes", fears to become a standard example of "extinction by competition". But the game will soon be over.

Brilliant
Brilliant. Questions alot of assumptions and really stirs the pot. Get his other books as well! ... Read more

Reviews (4)

A FASCINATING JOURNEY BACK THROUGH TIME
Curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Western Australian Museum in Perth, Western Australia, John A. Long is a thoughtful scholar. He writes in his introduction, "The story of fishes through time is also the story of changing continents and climates, devastating mass extinctions, and changing faunas and floras."

So begins a fascinating journey back through our planet's distant ages to begin the story of the evolution of fishes - the first creatures to have a skeleton. Armosred fishes, monster sharks, fishes with arms and fishes that breathe are all characters in this ongoing panorama of life then and now.

Some 220 vibrant color photographs plus numerous color drawings and black and white photos enhance this meticulously prepared volume.

For those with an interest in evolution, fossils or fish, The Rise of Fishes is not to be missed.

- Gail Cooke

Easy to read evolutionary history of fishes
Easy to read, containing hundreds of color illustrations, this reference nonetheless gives a detailed evolutionary history of the fishes. The reference starts with tunicates, cephalochordates and conodonts and moves on to the agnatha, sharks and the extinct acanthodians and placoderms. The emergence of the bony fish (class osteichthyes) in the late Silurian is then discussed. Major groups of this class include the ray-finned fishes (actinopterygii), the predatory lobe-finned fishes (crossopterygii) and the lungfishes (dipnoi), and each is discussed in more detail. The final chapter of the reference discusses the evolutionary transition from fish to tetrapod.

Fossil fish with a slight "Aussie" bias.
John A. Long, a vertebrate paleontologist in Perth, is proud of the fossil record found in Austrialia. In this book he presents a manageable overview, encompassing 500 million years of fish evolution, with some interesting anecdotes about his own research. Long is a talented writer and brilliant scientific educator with a gentle, but obvious, bias towards the "land down under". The Rise of Fishes is well organized and beautifully illustrated. Photography of fossil specimens and locations is artfully presented. The chapters on lungfish development and tetrapod evolution (independent of one another) are easily understood and well documented sections. It's certainly one of the most visually compelling reference books available for the amateur fossil hunter or professional icthyologist/vertebrate paleontologist.

An authorative synopsis of the evolution of fishes downunder
John Long presents a beautifully illustrated summary of the 500 million year evolution of arguably the most successful of the chordate faunas. If you have found the exclusion of Australian fishes from general texts on marine evolution irritating, then you'll be pleased at the wealth of information and photograph's on Australian - Gondwanaland - fishes that is contained within these pages. John is vertebrate curator at the West Australian Museum, has published over 80 scientific papers, and is author of the book "Dinosaurs of Australia and New Zealand ...". If you are a professional Paleontologist, or aspire to be, or an enthusiastic fossil-hunter, then this book is cumpulsory reading. Order it today! ... Read more

Book Description

The sweeping diversity of complex life on Earth, Ward and Brownlee argue, evolved out of an extraordinary set of physical conditions and chance events that would be extremely hard to duplicate- though not impossible. Many planets throughout the vastness of the Universe may be teeming with microbial life, but advancement beyond this stage is very rare. Everyone with an interest in the possible extent of life in the Universe and the nature of life's evolution on our own planet will be fascinated by RARE EARTH.

"...likely to cause a revolution in thinking..." The New York Times

"...[the book] has hit the world of astrobiologists like a killer asteroid..." Newsday (New York)

"...a sobering and valuable perspective..." Science

"...a startling new hypothesis..." Library Journal

"...Peter Ward and Donald Brownlee offer a powerful argument..." The Economist "...provocative, significant, and sweeping..." Northwest Science & Technology

"...a stellar example of clear writing..." American Scientist ... Read more

Reviews (85)

Interesting, but fl