by Liam Drew ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 16, 2018
A solid and demanding account, one best read after some grounding in current evolutionary and biological theories.
A tale of scrotality and other pressing mammalian concerns.
A neurobiologist by training, science writer Drew relates that some time ago, he got it in his head that readers might enjoy “a lengthy discussion of the natural history of scrotums,” and all that remained was to find an editor who agreed with him. After some rejections, he did, first for a magazine and then for this book, which indeed includes, among other things, a lengthy discussion of the natural history of scrotums—perhaps too lengthy. The author explores other mammalian matters, of course, among them the fact that there are not so many kinds of mammals in the world once one discounts bats and rodents: by his reckoning, 1,687 species. As Drew writes, “rats, mice, voles, squirrels, chipmunks, gerbils, guinea pigs and their kin accout for just over 40 percent of all mammals.” And, the subject being mammals, mammaries naturally enter into the narrative, and the author connects their evolution to the triad of apocrine gland, sebaceous gland, and hair follicle. Readers may be delighted to learn, finally, that the egg indeed preceded the chicken, although “biologists are at a bit of a loss as to why the egg evolved.” Drew’s account is doggedly Darwinian, allowing for modern interpretations of things like clades and radiative adaptations, and his argument often proceeds from technical fine points. “Might the evolution of a key trait,” he asks, “have given therapsids, say, an edge over pelycosaurs? Did a uniquely mammalian character allow mammals to succeed cynodonts?” The answer is an elusive yes and no, but the ability to entertain contending possibilities is another thing that makes us human—i.e., mammalian with a few more folds of the cortex, descended testicles, a constant body temperature, and such.
A solid and demanding account, one best read after some grounding in current evolutionary and biological theories.Pub Date: Jan. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4729-2289-2
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Bloomsbury Sigma
Review Posted Online: Oct. 29, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2017
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by Carlo Rovelli ; translated by Simon Carnell & Erica Segre ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2016
An intriguing meditation on the nature of the universe and our attempts to understand it that should appeal to both...
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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
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by Carlo Rovelli ; translated by Simon Carnell
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by Carlo Rovelli ; translated by Marion Lignana Rosenberg
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by Carlo Rovelli ; translated by Erica Segre & Simon Carnell
by Richard Rhodes ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 1986
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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