A provocative thesis agreeably presented.
Music played a key role in making societies and civilizations possible.
So argues research scientist Levitin (Laboratory for Musical Perception, Cognition, and Expertise/McGill University; This Is Your Brain on Music, 2006, etc.), who believes that music and the human brain co-evolved. What distinguishes us from all other species, he declares, is not language or use of tools, but the impulse toward artistic expression. The auditory art of music became part of our brain’s wiring tens of thousands of years ago, and human nature has been shaped by six broad categories of songs, by which Levitin means music of all kinds. Devoting a chapter to each category—friendship, joy, comfort, knowledge, religion and love—the author speculates about its origins and how it influenced the human spirit over thousands of generations. Levitin sees songs as efficient systems for preserving tribal histories, transmitting essential how-to information from generation to generation and communicating spiritual feelings and deep emotions. In his discussion of the music of friendship, he explores the role of synchronous, coordinated song and movement in creating strong bonds between early humans, arguing that these allowed the formation of large groups and, eventually, society as we know it. Besides citing research by sociologists, linguists, psychologists and biologists, the author illustrates his line of reasoning with a multitude of examples from his own extensive musical experience. Excerpts from familiar songs, conversations with musicians he knows and anecdotes from his years in the music industry make this an enjoyable and easy read. Whether evolutionary scientists will be persuaded remains to be seen, but they will surely be entertained.
A provocative thesis agreeably presented.Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-525-95073-8
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2008
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An informative if somewhat self-serving brief for the various militias that augment America's professional soldiery during times of crisis, from a former Pentagon official who knows the territory at firsthand as a political minefield. In making a persuasive case for greater and more effective use of so-called weekend warriors in brushfire or weightier conflicts, attorney Duncan (an Annapolis graduate and decorated veteran of the Vietnam War) draws on his experience as director of reserve affairs under three secretaries of defense during the eventful Reagan and Bush administrations. While recapitulating in considerable detail the yeoman service organized auxiliaries provided in combat as well as support during the Desert Storm campaign, he reviews the contributions National Guard and ready-reserve units have made to US war efforts throughout history, from the Revolution's Minutemen through those who were called to the colors in two global conflicts. The author goes on to suggest how part-time GIs could better complement active-duty personnel pursuant to the Total Force concept that now constitutes Department of Defense doctrine. Addressed as well are deferments in the wake of unexpected call- ups; recruitment, retention, and resource allocation during a postCold War era in which the all-volunteer military is being downsized; the hesitancy of civilian leaders to activate reservists at times of national peril or need; Washington's concurrent reluctance to demobilize standby units based in politically powerful constituencies; and a host of other touchy issues. Not one to undervalue his own role in the debates of recent years, Duncan reprints a rather full measure of the memos and testimony he put on the record while helping make policy in office. This cavil apart, an enlightening introduction to an important aspect of America's security.
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-89141-609-9
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Presidio/Random
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1996
Venus is sometimes described as Earth's twin planet; here's an up-to-date look at that world next door. Grinspoon (Astrophysics/Univ. of Colorado, Boulder) draws on data from US and Soviet space missions, as well as conventional astronomical observations (and folklore) to present the most detailed picture of Venus available for lay readers. Venus is the brightest of the planets, and it approaches Earth more closely than any other; its orbit is locked to ours in a complex harmonic relationship that repeats five times every eight years. But its thick sulfuric-acid cloud cover prevented direct observation of its surface, and so imaginative Victorian astronomers had a field day guessing at its features (planet-wide oceans or primitive swamps were common guesses). When space probes began to return data from Venus, they brought a harsh blast of reality. Surface temperatures turned out to be close to 900 degrees Fahrenheit, and the atmospheric pressure was crushing. Our planetary ``twin'' began to look a lot less like home; indeed, press reports invariably referred to the Venusian climate as hellish. But for the scientists Venus became more intriguing: Why should a planet almost exactly the same size as Earth be so different? As radio telescopes and further space vehicles (notably Magellan, launched in 1989— Grinspoon is a scientist with the mission) allowed them to map the surface, they began to find other mysteries: an apparent shortage of impact craters and a surface that betrayed no evidence of plate tectonics, the force that drives earthly geology. Grinspoon speculates on these subjects and on the possibility that life might somehow have evolved on Venus. The author's presentation is remarkably lively—he writes in a breezy, slightly irreverent style, without ever slighting the large body of factual material he presents. A solid, thoroughly enjoyable presentation of almost everything a layman might find useful about one of the strangest planets in our solar system.
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-201-40655-1
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Addison-Wesley
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 1996
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