Book Description
Since its inception in 1915, the Best American series has become the premier annual showcase for the country's finest short fiction and nonfiction. For each volume, a series editor reads pieces from hundreds of periodicals, then selects between fifty and a hundred outstanding works. That selection is pared down to the twenty or so very best pieces by a guest editor who is widely recognized as a leading writer in his or her field. This unique system has helped make the Best American series the most respected -- and most popular -- of its kind. The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2004, edited by Steven Pinker, is another "provocative and thoroughly enjoyable [collection] from start to finish" (Publishers Weekly). Here is the best and newest on science and nature: the psychology of suicide terrorism, desperate measures in surgery, the weird world of octopuses, Sex Week at Yale, the linguistics of click languages, the worst news about cloning, and much more.
Customer Reviews:
Good for the wide angle lens reader.......2006-03-15
I was originally introduced to this book because I was told to read "caring for your introvert", which is a hiliariously bitter essay by a self-professed introvert. I then read the rest of the book, and was overall very impressed.
As is in all of science and nature study, there are some essays that are a bit controversial (the book starts out with "genesis of suicide terrorism", to give you an example). There are some essays that will appeal to a lot of people ("Sex Week at Yale", "Bugs in the Brain") while others will only appeal to a certain subset of the population ("Ask the Bird Folks" if you are really into birds, "through the eyes of a octopus" if you are into that sort of thing"). Perhaps the wide spectrum of essay selection is both its strength and weakness. Overall, a highly readable book and a contribution to scientific dialogue.
The Best Science and Nature Writing 2004.......2005-08-18
Save your money. These authors have better to offer, as does the science collective as a whole. Look elsewhere for insightful musings.
Eclectic, informative and . . . fun?? .......2005-07-24
It must have been a capricious sprite that convinced Series Editor Tim Folger to select Steven Pinker to choose the essays in this collection. In any collection of science and nature writings there will be some of wide, even intense interest, while others may appeal to a limited few with special interests. This anthology is no exception. While the majority of them are good [best!] articles over a range of topics, Pinker added a few "ringers". These latter certainly lighten the mood of the set even while imparting compelling information on their own. Perhaps surprisingly, some of these deal with the vague field of "demographics".
"Hard" science in this collection is covered by an article on diabetes, one on "the stuff of genes" and an introduction to octopus life. Another element of life is the role of parasites on behaviour. Carl Zimmer's "Parasite Rex", an excellent introduction to this topic, is furthered here by neurologist Robert Sapolsky. Cosmology isn't ignored, with Max Tegmark suggesting you glance over your shoulder to learn whether a duplicate of you isn't reading the same article in a parallel universe. Public health may not be a hard science, but it must firmly rest on top research to be effective. Atal Gawande's brief history of the career of Dr Francis Moore is enlightening and provocative - as was Moore.
How the public views research and its implications is a topic of increasing importance. Daniel C. Dennett's explanation of why the notion of "genetic determinism" must be shelved is essential reading. Gregg Easterbrook's "We're All Gonna Die!" deals with perceived threats to society and life. Unsuccessfully challenged by a recent book, Easterbrook's article lists scenarios that could lead to disastrous consequences if not approached wisely. Will an asteroid do for us as it did to the dinosaurs? What if a particle accelerator created a "strangelet" that might gobble the planet - or the entire universe? The Earth's magnetic field has reversed itself many times over the past many millions of years. What will be the result on human society when it flips again - beyond making all our compasses point the "wrong way"? And what can, or should, we do about it?
While you're worrying about these threats, take a moment to consider Peggy Orenstein's plight. Like any expectant mother, she's pondering a name for her new baby. Delving into the [USA's] Social Security Administration's database, she's spent hours tracking the history of names. "Melanies" have come and gone in popularity, as have "Aidans" and "Hannahs". "Michael" remains a standby for boys, but Peggy's expecting a girl and the subject lapses. If you would rather go outdoors than spend time searching names, take note of your avian neighbours. Mike O'Connor does. He has to, he runs a birdseed store and a Web site answering questions about human-bird relationships. Should you throw rice at weddings? Perhaps not, if the birds eat it and swell up. Is a hair-dryer the chosen method for freezing a heron caught in a pond's early-winter ice? How does the chickadee stand in popularity? O'Connor handles these questions with hilarious finesse.
It seems no North American science writing can reach the public without dealing with the Christian movement to invade the public schools. This book opens with that essential topic. Folger addresses the growing threat to both education and support for science in his Forward. Clearly this insidious movement impacts how science is viewed and Folger hopes volumes such as this one will help bastion education and interest in science among the young. Give this book to a child to read and treasure. After you've read it yourself. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
Excellent science writing.......2005-05-29
This is an enjoyable as well as very informative collection of essays on science and nature. The book contains a couple of dozen articles on different topics, too many to go into here, so I will limit my comments to discussing just a few of them. But if you're considering purchasing the book, you could look at the table of contents and some of the articles themselves to get a better idea of what topics the articles cover before buying.
I hadn't read a book of nature writing like this in several years (I pride myself on reading the more technical literature usually), but time constraints impelled me to take a look, and I was glad I did, as you will find some excellent articles and science writing here. But be aware that this is not the same as reading, say, the articles in Scientific American, let alone the more technical literature. They aren't at the same level of rigor or scientific depth and detail. If you have the sort of fortitude necessary to stick with S.A. for year after year, you probably don't need books like this. But for the average reader, this collection of essays, and the overall series, is an enjoyable and readable way to keeps tabs on some of the important developments going on in science.
The essays vary a bit in level of difficulty and in the topics covered, and the subjects range from scientific ethics to modern cosmology. One is even a brief (and somewhat racy) bio of Watson, the co-discoverer of DNA, who basically admits that getting laid is his top priority when he isn't thinking about science. :-) It also discusses his often strained relationships with his peers; for example, in his biography he once remarked that he had never seen Crick in a modest mood. His acerbic wit and tongue therefore didn't exactly endear him to his fellow scientists, and after he got passed over for promotion at Harvard, he left for Cold Spring Harbor, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Most of the essays, however, aren't such intimate portrayals of famous or controversial scientists, but they're still worth reading :-). For example, the amazing career of the driven and intrepid Dr. Francis Moore, who pioneered burn therapy and surgery and many other treatments, and often bucked the traditional medical establishment and medical wisdom to create his advances, should be an inspiration to any young physician. The essay on cosmology and parallel universe theory discusses some of the mind-boggling discoveries and speculations being made about our universe there. And the essay by Robert Sapolsky on Toxoplasma gondii, a protozoan organism that for some reason infects the brains of more Europeans than Americans, but usually doesn't cause any problems, was interesting too, in its amazingly specific effects on its other hosts (it can live in rats and cats also, but can only reproduce in cats). For those of you who don't know Sapolski, he is one of the most entertaining science writers I've encountered recently, besides being a noted neuroscientist.
Overall, a fine collection of essays drawn from diverse magazines and sources by some of the top science and nature writers today.
Excellent writing and varied subjects make this a stand-out .......2005-01-25
There are a lot of fine essays in this wide ranging collection, but my favorite is a piece from "Scientific American" by neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky, "Bugs in the Brain." In cogent, lively, humorous prose this short piece opens the reader's eyes to the marvelous and horrible ability of some microscopic parasites to infiltrate the host's brain and change its behavior.
The rabies virus, for instance. "There are lots of ways rabies could have evolved to move between hosts." Sneezing, for one. Instead it invades the brain, zeroes in on aggression, and stomps the pedal to the floor. Lots of scientists study aggression; there are whole conferences on various aspects of the phenomenon. But no one studies rabies to see how the trick works.
Even more beauteous is the diabolical specificity of the toxoplasma protozoan. The bug gets eaten by a rat where it creates cysts until the rat is eaten by a feline. The cat is the only animal taxoplasma can reproduce in; so it behooves the bug to make sure the right predator eats the rat. How does it do this? Simple. It deprives the rat of its congenital, hard-wired, instinctive fear of cats. Nothing else in the rat's behavior is affected.
As Sapolsky puts it: "This is akin to someone getting infected with a brain parasite that has no effect whatsoever on the person's thoughts, emotions, SAT scores, or television preferences but, to complete its life cycle, generates an irresistible urge to go to the zoo, scale a fence and try to French-kiss the pissiest-looking polar bear."
Expanding infinitely outward, Max Tegmark's "Parallel Universes" (also "Scientific American) argues quite reasonably for infinite versions of you on infinite earths. "If anything the Level I multiverse sounds trivially obvious. How could space not be infinite?" From Level I this elegant theory moves through physics, with some progressive changes in initial conditions, constants and particles (Level II), quantum mechanics (Level III) and different physical laws (Level IV). It's the kind of article that makes you aware of how limited our mental constructs and perceptions are.
Atul Gawande's profile of maverick doctor Francis Daniels Moore, ("Desperate Measures," "The New Yorker") inspired by the horror of Boston's Cocoanut Grove fire and an innovative treatment at his hospital, Mass General, to embark on a career of aggressive pioneering, is a dynamic, riveting view of a dedicated, driven, sometimes ruthless man.
Austin Bunn's "The Bittersweet Science," ("The New York Times Magazine") is an illuminating portrait of diabetes and early treatment, told through one patient's life story, and Ronald Bailey's "The Battle for Your Brain" ("The New York Times") discusses the pros and cons of neuropharmaceuticals. Other medical articles profile DNA's James Watson and discuss obesity in sympathetic terms of the biological imperative.
Genes crop up in Horace Freeland Judson's "The Stuff of Genes," ("Smithsonian), a celebration of its 50th anniversary and, more engagingly, in two "New York Times" articles from Nicholas Wade, "In Click Languages, an Echo of the Tongues of the Ancients," and "A Prolific Genghis Khan, It Seems, Helped People the World."
There are whimsical psychological musings, like Peggy Orenstein's "Where Have All the Lisas Gone," ("The New York Times Magazine") on changing fads in baby names, Virginia Postrell's "The Design of Your Life," on the personalization of design and Jonathan Rauch's "Caring for Your Introvert," ("Atlantic Monthly"), which is basically a justification for peace and quiet.
"We're All Gonna Die!" ("Wired") by Gregg Easterbrook reviews the latest doomsday theories and
Mike O'Connor's "Bird Watcher's General Store" (The Cape Codder") is a hilarious and informative selection of bird watcher columns, and other animal pieces include "Through the Eye of an Octopus" ("Discover"), a poignant portrait of a creature who doesn't live long enough to be as smart as it is, and anthropologist Meredith F. Small's contemplative "Captivated" ("Natural History") on visiting monkeys at the zoo.
Editor Steven Pinker's bias for clear, informative and entertaining writing serves us well. There's a bit of something for everyone in this balanced and eclectic collection and every piece is well written, many are witty, and a few are as funny as they are informative.
Book Description
Jennifer Kahn's "Stripped for Parts" was selected as the lead story of this year's
Best American Science Writing because, as Dava Sobel, best-selling author of
Longitude and
Galileo's Daughter, reveals, "it begins with one of the most arresting openings I have ever read." In "Columbia's Last Flight," William Langewiesche recounts the February 1, 2003, space shuttle tragedy, along with the investigation into the nationwide complacency that brought the ship down. K. C. Cole's "Fun with Physics" is a profile of astrophysicist Janet Conrad that blends her personal life with professional activity. In "Desperate Measures," the doctor and writer Atul Gawande profiles the surgeon Francis Daniels Moore, whose experiments in the 1940s and '50s pushed medicine harder and farther than almost anyone had contemplated. Also included is a poem by the legendary John Updike, "Mars as Bright as Venus." The collection ends with Diane Ackerman's "ebullient" essay "We Are All a Part of Nature."
Together these twenty-three articles on a wide range of today's most current topics in science -- from biology, physics, biotechnology, and astronomy, to anthropology, genetics, evolutionary theory, and cognition, represent the full spectrum of scientific writing from America's most prominent science authors, proving once again that "good science writing is evidently plentiful" (
Scientific American).
Customer Reviews:
Good, but . . ........2006-03-02
I've read quite a few of these compilations. While there are some really great pieces included--my favorite is the one on TB--it doesn't have the same spark as some of the other books of this type. Nevertheless, it's well worth reading.
Pretty good.......2005-03-28
This is an excellent collection of scientific writings. It exposes you to fields that you might not think about exploring on your own. The dark secrets of organ donor science and the nightmare of being "locked in" by total paralysis come to mind. Note that not every writing in this collection will interest you. There will surely be a story or two that you end up just skipping over due to complete lack of interest. This book is a great alternative to watching T.V. on the nights when you are completely burned out from your primary research/occupation but feel like you need to keep on chugging.
Note: I gave this book a 4 out of 5. This is because most of the writings where excellent and very engaging but there were a few that were a little lackluster.
Going down the rabbit hole.......2004-12-07
An enjoyable collection of essays, read them on vacation curled up next to the fireplace, a highly enjoyable time! Here are some thoughts on the individual elements:
Jennifer Kahn - "Stripped for Parts" A somewhat creepy look at the brief afterlives of organ donors. Certainly a compelling start to the collection!
Atul Gawande - "Desperate Measures" Developing new medical procedures comes at a very high cost... a cost paid out in human life and suffering. A starting look at the origins of many of the procedures that we now take for granted
John Updike - "Mars Bright as Venus" A poem... *shrug* didn't do too much for me
K. C. Cole - "Fun with Physics" One of my favorite pieces of the collection! Yes I love physics, but even more than that I love the unexpected people that so often turn up in the field.
Oliver Morton - "Strange Nuggets" Our eyes only pick up so much, so it is fitting to include an essay about all the unseen dark matter out there.
Keay Davidson - "Mapping of Cosmos Backs Big" Everyone loves baby pictures... even baby pictures of out universe. Get ready to say `ahhhhhh'
Neil DeGrasse Tyson - "Gravity in Reverse" Short little piece also about dark matter, didn't really do anything for me.
Dennis Overbye - "One Cosmic Question, Too Many Answers" String theory! This stuff always blows my mind but after reading Brian Green's books this piece doesn't really satisfy, just comes off as a pale imitation.
Sherwin B. Nuland - "How to Grow Old". The best piece of the whole book! Revaluates our ideas of aging shifting the focus from quantity of years to quality of years.
Aaron E. Hirsh - "Signs of Life" Extends the field of mathematics to areas we traditionally exclude them, is evolution as easy as 1 + 1?
Ian Parker - "Reading Minds" Gave me something new to worry about, being `fully locked in' where you are fully paralyzed but yet your mind is active. Can these people still be reached?
Tom Siegfried - "The Science of Strategy" Blah, another snoozer for me... but maybe this is just because I didn't like the movie A Beautiful Mind
Kaja Perina - "Cracking the Harward X-Files" Ever had the pleasure of getting probed by aliens during a night time abduction?
Tom Bissell - "A Comet's Tale: On the Science of Apocalypse" Kind of like those Left Behind books... but not all made up. Is the world going to go out with a bang or a whimper? Read to find out...
Elizabeth Royte - "Transsexual Frogs" No, not the name of a late night cable program- the traumatic effects of pesticides on the environment.
Susan Milius - "Leashing the Rattlesnake" An endearing article on the practicalities of performing experiments.
Michael Benson - "What Galileo Saw" No, not the old guy, the space probe...
Barbara J. Becker - "Celestial Spectroscopy: Making Reality Fit the Myth" Had to look this one up again, as it seems to have been instantly forgettable... well, that about sums it up
Kevin Patterson - "The Patient Predator". It is crazy to think that organisms as complex as us can be brought down by simple one celled organisms such as tuberculosis... watch out!
Michael Pollan - "Cruising on the Ark of Taste" People actually seeing something wrong with the world and doing something about it. Proves the point that the best way to make positive change in the world is to come up with a creative way to make it be in there self interest to do so.
William Langewiesche - "Columbia's Last Flight" I feel bad, I really wanted to like this one since I can still remember hearing the Columbia's explosion but was never really engaged by this writing.
Diane Ackerman - "We Are All a Part of Nature" People are always trying to turn there backs on there fellow animals from which and with which they evolved- but as the title says we are all part of nature!
An Excellent Almanac of American Science Writing.......2004-11-14
The 2004 volume of "The Best of American Science Writing" edited by Dava Sobel is a first-rate, in my opinion, collection of pieces by well-selected spectra of contributing authors.
These are not dry scientific articles, but well written science short stories, and accounts. This book is a pleasure to read and a great source of information.
Without further ado, I would like to continue by giving short descriptions to each of the works in the book. If you prefer to find out for yourself what those are about, you may wish to stop reading this review now.
1. Jennifer Kahn - "Stripped for Parts". A dead man's body is the best place to store organs. Read about the current state of organ transplantation, challenges and advancement. A baboon heart in a human body? Find out how well it works.
2. Atul Gawande - "Desperate Measures". Experimental techniques in medicine. How a test tube of radioactive deuterium from a nuclear reactor helped to measure human body water content. Moral aspects of versus medical progress.
3. John Updike - "Mars Bright as Venus". A little poem.
4. K. C. Cole - "Fun with Physics". Neutrinos, and MiniBooNE experiment at Fermilab.
5. Oliver Morton - "Strange Nuggets". Very heavy and strange dark matter. Read about an extraordinary probe into using seismic stations around the world to detect possible strange matter clusters passing through the Earth.
6. Keay Davidson - "Mapping of Cosmos Backs Big". How recent measurements of cosmic background radiation prove the Big Bang Theory.
7. Neil DeGrasse Tyson - "Gravity in Reverse". Find out what Einstein's "greatest blunder" was. Understand "Dark Energy" that causes the universe to expand at a different rate than previously thought.
8. Dennis Overbye - "One Cosmic Question, Too Many Answers". String theory and 10-dimetional universe.
9. Sherwin B. Nuland - "How to Grow Old". We need better quality of aging. What were some different and unsuccessful ways to prolong the youth in history, and why immortality is a bad idea.
10. Aaron E. Hirsh - "Signs of Life". Applying mathematics to protein evolution. Is Biology an exact science with strict rules?
11. Ian Parker - "Reading Minds". Harnessing brain waves to communicate with fully paralyzed persons.
12. Tom Siegfried - "The Science of Strategy". Discover the amazing Mathematical Game Theory and its applications.
13. Kaja Perina - "Cracking the Harward X-Files". Psychology of alien abductions and other traumatic memories.
14. John Noble Wilford - "A Tense Border's More Peaceful Past". Archeological study of Wadi Arabah by the Dead Sea. A bridge or a barrier?
15. Tom Bissell - "A Comet's Tale: On the Science of Apocalypse". Immerse yourself in the study of sociological and religious aspects of the "end of the world", and most likely scenarios of an asteroid or comet collision with our planet.
16. Elizabeth Royte - "Transsexual Frogs". Atrazine contamination in the environment, and its effects on frogs.
17. Susan Milius - "Leashing the Rattlesnake". Ingenious ways to solve experimental challenges in biological science.
18. Michael Benson - "What Galileo Saw". Staggering spacecraft journey to Jupiter.
19. Barbara J. Becker - "Celestial Spectroscopy: Making Reality Fit the Myth". Short story about an English astronomer William Huggins.
20. Kevin Patterson - "The Patient Predator". Increasing danger of tuberculosis, and new Multi-Drug-Resistant strains.
21. Michael Pollan - "Cruising on the Ark of Taste". Read about an innovative organization that helps preserving the biological and cultural diversity through selecting what to eat.
22. William Langewiesche - "Columbia's Last Flight". Get the insight on political and some of the technical details of the investigation that followed the loss of the space shuttle Columbia.
23. Diane Ackerman - "We Are All a Part of Nature". A perspective on life and nature.
The articles in this book are not merely technical chronicles; they evolve around real people, scientists. They are captivating and fresh.
I enjoyed reading this book immensely, and would recommend it to anyone.
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The Best American Sex Writing 2004
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Just in time for summer beach reading, this annual compendium of the most entertaining and provocative writing on this intermittently interesting (every twenty seconds) subject freewheelingly incorporates essay, journalism, fiction, advice column, lecture, speech, book excerpt, transcript, letter, blog—all the ways we write about sex now. But is there really anything left to say about it? Some of America’s funniest, best informed, most adventurous writers answer with a Molly Bloom’s worth of Yesses. Is monogamy genetically determined? Are all strippers sexually abused man-haters? What really happens inside America’s legalized brothels or Manhattan’s priciest escort services? How many orgasms are too many? From the strippers of Portland to sex advice for Catholic girls, The Best American Sex Writing tackles the stuff being left out of today’s “sex education” classes—in other words, just about everything. Fortunately, no book on sex can make you an expert, but The Best American Sex Writing can whet your appetite for the real thing—and still leave you satisfied. Writings include selections from Dan Savage, Susie Bright, Chuck Palahniuk, Denis Cooper, Amy Sohn, Tracy Quan, Bert Archer, Tristan Taormino, Cara Bruce, Jonathan Ames, Carol Queen, Jennifer Finney Boylan, Matt Ridley, Lily Burana, Melinda Anderson, Kathleen Murray, and others.
Book Description
The Best American Political Writing 2004 preserves the most incisive, controversial, and entertaining writing about the notable events and people of 2003 and the first half of 2004. The past twelve months have provided no shortage of topics for heated political conversation. From Saddam’s capture to Arnold’s victory in the California recall election; from the controversy over Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction to the contest for the Democratic presidential nomination, 2004 provided an excess of political fodder for commentary from all sides. Selections from the country’s finest political writers, including Al Franken, Ron Suskind, Jonathan Chait, Jeffrey Toobin, George Will, Paul Krugman, George Packer, Charles Krauthammer, William Safire, Molly Ivins, Franklin Foer, Spencer Ackerman, Robert Kagan, Bill Kristol, and many others can be found in this volume. Gathering the best writings from the nation’s leading publications, including the New York Times, Washington Post, The New Yorker, The Nation, Atlantic Monthly, New Republic, Weekly Standard, Foreign Affairs, Vanity Fair and Salon.com, as well as from think tanks such as the American Enterprise Institute and the Brookings Institution, Flippin culls the best writing on the year’s most talked-about topics.
Customer Reviews:
Not what I had hoped........2005-02-09
Be aware that this book is not from the same publisher as the well regarded "The Best American Series" by Houghton Mifflin. I had hoped for equal, in-depth and fair analysis of political issues that would increase my political IQ. Instead I felt that each essay was based more on opinion than facts, although selective facts can be used to support just about any opinion. And I don't think they were chosen with balance in mind. There is only one article which is negative about the Bush tax cuts but not a corresponding positive article. There are 6 articles on Gay Marriage however.
If possible, look closely at the sources of the articles (listed in the table of contents) and read the brief descriptions by the editor at the beginning of each article before buying this book.
Nice to know some still care.......2003-10-12
This book is filled with topics that should be at the forefront of the national conversation but are falling on the deaf ears of an apathetic populace. Doesn't anyone care anymore? This is the important stuff, folks. Hard facts and important ideas on the issues that are vital to our future are being drowned out by the legions of bickering, partisan loudmouths with an axe to grind. This book is one of the dying breed that is not for only conservatives or only liberals but for AMERICANS, lest we forget we're all in this together. Highlights for me included the essays, such as Paul Kruger's "For Richer," that reveal how the interests of the wealthy have hijacked our government to a degree never seen before and why our politicians play along, despite overwhelming public opinion against it and the damage it does to our country. Also recommended is Robert Kuttner's reminder of all the promises George W. Bush made to us during his campaign opposed to what he's actually delivered. There could hardly be more distance between the two. Since it helps to know something about your reviewer, I'll tell you that I'm a Democrat, but you'll find a mix of serious conservative, liberal and independent voices here, though not from the extreme fringes. There's no shortage of other books you can look to if that's your thing. Left, right or center, you will find that the writers whose essays make up this book care deeply about which they write and that's what we could all use a lot more of; more caring and less squawking. If you care about your country but are tired of the shrill war of words and conspiracy theories that pass for political writing these days, this book is a beacon in the dark night.
Something for everyone.......2002-12-24
I know what they say about yesterday's newspaper, but these pieces from 2001, beginning with that mind-bending election and with a special section on September 11, are a slice of history such as we hope not to see again. And besides, many are think pieces from magazines like "The New Yorker" and "The Nation," "Vanity Fair," "salon.com" and "The Atlantic Monthly."
The book is divided into six parts, each followed by a "National Conversation," with column-length opinion pieces. Election 2000 includes five pieces from the likes of Vincent Bugliosi (liberal) and Charles Krauthammer (conservative); Politics in the Bush Era features Margaret Carlson and Nicholas Lemann, with columns from Molly Ivins and Paul Krugman. Lani Guinier and Frank Rich sound off on (Not) Politics As Usual, then Barbara Ehrenreich and David Brooks give their View from Main Street. The second half of the book concentrates on September 11 and the War on Terror and we hear from Richard Perle, Fouad Ajami, Richard Rodriguez, Jeane Kirkpatrick and Henry Kissinger. Among others. The writing is lively and forceful, of course, and if the predictions are sometimes wrong, it's nice to know such opinionated people aren't right about everything. For political junkies of all persuasions.
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Passion & obedience.(Book Review): An article from: Commonweal
Eugene McCarraher
Manufacturer: Commonweal Foundation
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This digital document is an article from Commonweal, published by Commonweal Foundation on November 5, 2004. The length of the article is 1256 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Passion & obedience.(Book Review)
Author: Eugene McCarraher
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Date: November 5, 2004
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Volume: 131
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Alpine Tundra: Life On The Tallest Mountain (Watts Library)
Salvatore Tocci
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Polar and Alpine Tundra (Ecosystems of the World)
F. E., Ed. Wielgolaski
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ASIN: 0444882650 |
Book Description
This book describes the structure and function of life and the environment in polar tundra and tundra-like terrestrial alpine ecosystems in various parts of the world. Polar and alpine tundra have many similarities, but also differences. Particularly when moving towards the equator, high mountains show strong differences from polar regions. However, the similarities justify the presentation of polar and alpine tundra in the same volume. This volume is unique in its comprehensive coverage on all aspects of polar and alpine tundra. The extensive Russian chapters contain information previously not available in the west.
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