A dozen essays on familiar Wilson themes: social species, biodiversity, sociobiology, along with personal reflections and thoughts for the future. Readers familiar with Wilson's autobiographical writings (Naturalist, 1994) will find him once more revisiting his Florida youth and fascination with snakes. Indeed the first set of essays on snakes, sharks, and ants have the kind of creepy-crawly appeal Natalie Angier capitalized on in Loathsome Creatures. In contrast to Angier, Wilson truly respects and admires the critters. Of course, being the quintessential ant man, Wilson is particularly absorbing in describing the enormous variety, antiquity, and success of these social insects, largely based on intricate divisions of labor and cooperative sharing. Behavioral themes continue to dominate the essays, as Wilson describes courting behavior among birds of paradise, a view of nature as seen by termite society, and the respective roles of altruism and aggression in primates. The latter leads to a discussion of kin selection and the possible role of homosexuals in human society, as well as other sociobiological ideas. Wilson is anxious to correct what he sees as ``the dangerous trap'' of sociobiology, namely, the naturalistic fallacy which asserts that what is (in any given society), is what should be. Later, Wilson will amplify this theme in a discussion of gene-culture interaction, emphasizing the diversity possible within the boundaries set by the human genome. The concluding essays celebrate the diversity and uniqueness of species and the dangers evident in human domination and worldwide loss of habitat. Having sounded the warning, Wilson is also hopeful that the role of naturalists will grow in importance to complement the powerful contributions of cell and molecular biologists. For those new to Wilson, a good gloss on his work and thought. For the rest, really only a reprise.
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1996
ISBN: 1-55963-215-1
Page Count: 214
Publisher: Island Press
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1996
IN THE NEWS
The book is not entirely negative; final chapters indicate roads of reversal, before it is too late!
It should come as no surprise that the gifted author of The Sea Around Usand its successors can take another branch of science—that phase of biology indicated by the term ecology—and bring it so sharply into focus that any intelligent layman can understand what she is talking about.
Understand, yes, and shudder, for she has drawn a living portrait of what is happening to this balance nature has decreed in the science of life—and what man is doing (and has done) to destroy it and create a science of death. Death to our birds, to fish, to wild creatures of the woods—and, to a degree as yet undetermined, to man himself. World War II hastened the program by releasing lethal chemicals for destruction of insects that threatened man’s health and comfort, vegetation that needed quick disposal. The war against insects had been under way before, but the methods were relatively harmless to other than the insects under attack; the products non-chemical, sometimes even introduction of other insects, enemies of the ones under attack. But with chemicals—increasingly stronger, more potent, more varied, more dangerous—new chain reactions have set in. And ironically, the insects are winning the war, setting up immunities, and re-emerging, their natural enemies destroyed. The peril does not stop here. Waters, even to the underground water tables, are contaminated; soils are poisoned. The birds consume the poisons in their insect and earthworm diet; the cattle, in their fodder; the fish, in the waters and the food those waters provide. And humans? They drink the milk, eat the vegetables, the fish, the poultry. There is enough evidence to point to the far-reaching effects; but this is only the beginning,—in cancer, in liver disorders, in radiation perils…This is the horrifying story. It needed to be told—and by a scientist with a rare gift of communication and an overwhelming sense of responsibility. Already the articles taken from the book for publication in The New Yorkerare being widely discussed. Book-of-the-Month distribution in October will spread the message yet more widely.
The book is not entirely negative; final chapters indicate roads of reversal, before it is too late!Pub Date: Sept. 27, 1962
ISBN: 061825305X
Page Count: 378
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1962
APPRECIATIONS
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
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