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Relics of Eden: The Powerful Evidence of Evolution in Human DNA 15 reviews
Daniel J. Fairbanks
Prometheus Books, 2007
Reclaiming the reluctant
+ Very handy for defending evolution from the naysayers
+ How robust though fragile we are
+ Relics of Eden
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The Making of the Fittest: DNA and the Ultimate Forensic Record of Evolution40 reviews
Sean B. Carroll
W. W. Norton, 2006
The Fittest Record
+ Designed intelligently
+ Not easy reading, but very interesting
+ Destined to be a classic.
+ Black box no more
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Ken Libbrecht's Field Guide to Snowflakes 5 reviews
Ken Libbrecht
Voyageur Press, 2006
Reason to Weather the Storm: Observe & Appreciate Nature's Icy Masterpieces.
+ Beautiful snowflakes
+ Makes cold weather fun, or at last fascinating
+ Beautiful Pictures
+ Amazing!
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Second Nature: A Gardener's Education23 reviews
Michael Pollan
Grove Press, 2003
Lawn Mowing et al
+ Delightful reading
+ philosopher of gardening
Pollans description of what is a green thumb and the sysiphean art of mowing reminded me how therapeutic gardening can be and why it cures depression. Thank you Michael for making me look at my roses in a totally different way. You will love this book if you tend to think in pictures and love the ...
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The Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinction65 reviews
David Quammen
Scribner, 1997
Plotting the roadmap to species extinction
+ Science Journalism? Yeh, it rules!
+ Fabulous
"Islands are where species go to die." - David Quammen, author of THE SONG OF THE DODO
This book is all about the birth, maturation, and real world applications of the science of island biogeography as it relates to the circumstances of species isolation and diversification and subsequent ...
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Endless Forms Most Beautiful: The New Science of Evo Devo39 reviews
Sean B. Carroll
W. W. Norton, 2006
The "Butterfly Effect" in the genes
+ Sean Carroll has done it again
+ Interesting reading
The best feature of this book is the fantastic sense of the complexity of the development of the organism from the genes. Sean shows with genius how the tiniest changes in a gene can lead to huge effects in the developing organism -- much like in Chaos theory (see the book "Chaos: making a new ...
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In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto191 reviews
Michael Pollan
Penguin Press HC, The, 2008
Just Eat Food. Real Food.
+ Ayurveda and Food equals Health & Longevity
+ enlightening
+ Blew Through This GREAT Book
+ Powerful Message
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The Diversity of Life36 reviews
Edward O. Wilson
W. W. Norton & Company, 1999
A Good Introduction to the Tapestry Of Life
+ Great Book
+ The Diversity of Life
+ Second time round
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Kluge: The Haphazard Construction of the Human Mind 67 reviews
Gary Marcus
Houghton Mifflin Co, 2008
I enjoyed the Unabridged CD version
+ The Mind and You
Ideally, I'd have given this a 4.5 star rating, as a number of the studies sited in Kluge I'd heard of before [but in fairness, I read or listen to lots of psyche-science books]. Still, very worthwhile, for giving a convincing portrayal of how our... [appropriately, I can't think of the right word] ...
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The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature39 reviews
Steven Pinker
Penguin (Non-Classics), 2008
Excellent
+ Still a Good Read in Spite of its Flaws
+ Good but dense
Take One: Steven Pinker is the premier purveyor of the parsed poesy of plain prose.
No, that won't do. No matter how accurate that statement is, its excessive alliteration is bound to sound too cutesy for such an engaging read as his latest foray into the way mankind thinks and speaks.
...
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Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters (P.S.)183 reviews
Matt Ridley
Harper Perennial, 2006
Great Read, Interesting Primer on Our Genes
+ Recomend it
+ The autobiography of a species "forced" into 23 chromosomes
+ So much more than genetics
+ serendipitous genes
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The Canon: A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science 76 reviews
Natalie Angier
Mariner Books, 2008
A Fine Introduction To The Major Areas of Science
+ Thanks, Natalie....
Sometimes the best explainers of a topic are outsiders or laymen, rather than practitioners in the field. The author isn't a scientist so she can still see complex topics from the layman's viewpoint. This is, simply put, a great book. It covers not only the nuts and bolts of science (what is the ...
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Dr. Tatiana's Sex Advice to All Creation: The Definitive Guide to the Evolutionary Biology of Sex34 reviews
Olivia Judson
Holt Paperbacks, 2003
Sex Advice
+ Very amusing and informative
+ A fun look at evolutionary biology
What do you get when you cross a biology textbook, a Dr. Ruth show, a Dear Abby column, and a "Far Side" cartoon? Well, the offspring might be a brilliantly original book named Dr. Tatiana's Sex Advice to All Creation. This collection answers the desperate questions from species as varied as the ...
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Before the Dawn: Recovering the Lost History of Our Ancestors81 reviews
Nicholas Wade
Penguin, 2007
Simply the Best Survey of Human Prehistory for the Layman
+ Very Interesting Read.
+ Great Book
+ Ammo for conservatives
+ Engrossing
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Monkey Girl: Evolution, Education, Religion, and the Battle for America's Soul51 reviews
Edward Humes
Harper Perennial, 2008
Reads like a thriller
+ I wasn't sure I really wanted to read this book
+ Exposing Intelligent Design's Breathtaking Inanity
+ "Design" floored
+ Purposeful and Polemic
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Doubt is Their Product: How Industry's Assault on Science Threatens Your Health5 reviews
David Michaels
Oxford University Press, USA, 2008
How industry shanghaied science
+ Detailed expose with real solutions
+ This year most important book for environment-, health-, and safey people.
+ Industry gives us cargo-cult science
+ Decades of Deception
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The Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution and Future of the Human Animal (P.S.)99 reviews
Jared M. Diamond
Harper Perennial, 2006
Diamond is Brilliant
+ As Chimpy as You Wanna Be
+ This book is a Great Leap Forward
A good read for anyone who's interested in anthropology or evolution. One of Diamond's main points in this book is that humans are not so different from our biological cousins, the apes. In fact, he says, we are more genetically close to chimpanzees than some species of orangutans are to other ...
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The World Without Us242 reviews
Alan Weisman
Picador, 2008
Fascinating Look at Our Effect on the Planet
+ Great Book
+ excellent
When I first picked up this book, I was concerned that it would simply be a lesson on how plants and animals would overtake our cities and houses once humans had disappeared from our planet. That is a major part of the book, but I never found it to be overdone. The parts of the book that I loved ...
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The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals463 reviews
Michael Pollan
Penguin, 2007
Amazing Read
+ The True Cost of Eating Your Lunch
+ Changed My World View
+ Eye-opener/mouth-closer
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The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature67 reviews
Matt Ridley
Harper Perennial, 2003
Superb Book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
+ The Red Queen
+ Picking up where The Selfish Gene left off....
+ The content is good but the quality of the book not
+ A fascinating analysis!
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