A guide to museums where the original fossils or high-quality reproductions are housed and more than 150 illustrations...
How the discoveries of 25 fossils provide links in the chain of evolution that confirm Charles Darwin’s primary thesis.
Paleontologist and geologist Prothero (Abominable Science: Origins of the Yeti, Nessi and Other Famous Cryptids, 2013, etc.) uses the discovery of a feathered dinosaur and 24 other fossils of missing links to make a strong case for the evolution of life from simple one-celled “mats of bacteria and (much later) algae, growing in the shallow waters of the shorelines and coating the rocks.” As the author notes, “when Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species in 1859, the fossil record was a weak spot in his argument.” Some of the 25 finds occurred by chance. In 1860, the discovery in a limestone quarry of the impression of a single feather (and the subsequent find nearby of a nearly complete reptilian skeleton) provided evidence of a missing link between dinosaurs and birds. Tracing the history of life on Earth over the past 3.5 billion years was more complex, requiring advances in science and technology and a new field of research, “biogeosynthesis.” Not only did the condition of ancient rocks make discovery of fossils problematic, but microscopic fossil traces were difficult to decipher. Politics entered the picture in the 1970s, when the Pakistani government allowed access to American paleontologists on fact-finding missions. They were able to collect fossils of primitive land mammals that resembled whales, thus confirming Darwin's prescient hypothesis that whales were land mammals that had returned to the sea. The author convincingly attributes the controversy over the African origins of humans—anticipated by Darwin in 1871 but rejected by later proponents of a Eurasian origin—to “a deeply held racism that regarded African peoples as sub-human.”
A guide to museums where the original fossils or high-quality reproductions are housed and more than 150 illustrations accompany Prothero’s lively account of the science and politics that shaped the rich history of these discoveries.Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-231-17190-8
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Columbia Univ.
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An intriguing meditation on the nature of the universe and our attempts to understand it that should appeal to both...
Italian theoretical physicist Rovelli (General Relativity: The Most Beautiful of Theories, 2015, etc.) shares his thoughts on the broader scientific and philosophical implications of the great revolution that has taken place over the past century.
These seven lessons, which first appeared as articles in the Sunday supplement of the Italian newspaper Sole 24 Ore, are addressed to readers with little knowledge of physics. In less than 100 pages, the author, who teaches physics in both France and the United States, cogently covers the great accomplishments of the past and the open questions still baffling physicists today. In the first lesson, he focuses on Einstein's theory of general relativity. He describes Einstein's recognition that gravity "is not diffused through space [but] is that space itself" as "a stroke of pure genius." In the second lesson, Rovelli deals with the puzzling features of quantum physics that challenge our picture of reality. In the remaining sections, the author introduces the constant fluctuations of atoms, the granular nature of space, and more. "It is hardly surprising that there are more things in heaven and earth, dear reader, than have been dreamed of in our philosophy—or in our physics,” he writes. Rovelli also discusses the issues raised in loop quantum gravity, a theory that he co-developed. These issues lead to his extraordinary claim that the passage of time is not fundamental but rather derived from the granular nature of space. The author suggests that there have been two separate pathways throughout human history: mythology and the accumulation of knowledge through observation. He believes that scientists today share the same curiosity about nature exhibited by early man.
An intriguing meditation on the nature of the universe and our attempts to understand it that should appeal to both scientists and general readers.Pub Date: March 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-399-18441-3
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Riverhead
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A magnificent account of a central reality of our times, incorporating deep scientific expertise, broad political and social knowledge, and ethical insight, and Idled with beautifully written biographical sketches of the men and women who created nuclear physics. Rhodes describes in detail the great scientific achievements that led up to the invention of the atomic bomb. Everything of importance is examined, from the discovery of the atomic nucleus and of nuclear fission to the emergence of quantum physics, the invention of the mass-spectroscope and of the cyclotron, the creation of such man-made elements as plutonium and tritium, and implementation of the nuclear chain reaction in uranium. Even more important, Rhodes shows how these achievements were thrust into the arms of the state, which culminated in the unfolding of the nuclear arms race. Often brilliantly, he records the rise of fascism and of anti-Semitism, and the intensification of nationalist ambitions. He traces the outbreak of WW II, which provoked a hysterical rivalry among nations to devise the bomb. This book contains a grim description of Japanese resistance, and of the horrible psychological numbing that caused an unparalleled tolerance for human suffering and destruction. Rhodes depicts the Faustian scale of the Manhattan Project. His account of the dropping of the bomb itself, and of the awful firebombing that prepared its way, is unforgettable. Although Rhodes' gallery of names and events is sometimes dizzying, his scientific discussions often daunting, he has written a book of great drama and sweep. A superb accomplishment.
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1986
ISBN: 0684813785
Page Count: 932
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1986
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