Product Description
In our current era of holy terror, passionate faith has come to seem like a present danger. Writers such as Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens have been happy to throw the baby out with the bathwater and declare that the danger is in religion itself. God, Hitchens writes, is not great.

But man, according to George E. Vaillant, M.D., is great. In Spiritual Evolution, Dr. Vaillant lays out a brilliant defense not of organized religion but of man’s inherent spirituality. Our spirituality, he shows, resides in our uniquely human brain design and in our innate capacity for emotions like love, hope, joy, forgiveness, and compassion, which are selected for by evolution and located in a different part of the brain than dogmatic religious belief. Evolution has made us spiritual creatures over time, he argues, and we are destined to become even more so. Spiritual Evolution makes the scientific case for spirituality as a positive force in human evolution, and he predicts for our species an even more loving future.

Vaillant traces this positive force in three different kinds of “evolution”: the natural selection of genes over millennia, of course, but also the cultural evolution within recorded history of ideas about the value of human life, and the development of spirituality within the lifetime of each individual. For thirty-five years, Dr. Vaillant directed Harvard’s famous longitudinal study of adult development, which has followed hundreds of men over seven decades of life. The study has yielded important insights into human spirituality, and Dr. Vaillant has drawn on these and on a range of psychological research, behavioral studies, and neuroscience, and on history, anecdote, and quotation to produce a book that is at once a work of scientific argument and a lyrical meditation on what it means to be human.

Spiritual Evolution is a life’s work, and it will restore our belief in faith as an essential human striving. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

Hope?Chapter 6
The chapter 6 is called Hope. Hope is not wish. "Hope reflects our ability to imagine a realistic positive future" Now, what is realistic? Who decides if the hope is realistic or not? Hope is emotional, the author states. So how can that be realistic?

The author continues to state that the greater the suffering, the greater the power of hope (page 111). On page 112, he uses Freud definition of humor for hope as " means of obtaining pleasure in spite of the distressing effects", only to use the examples of cancer patients or starving explorers like Robert Scottin the Antartic, who had hope and died anyway. He even hints that despair breeds hope, and this hope has no real effects other than motivate our surviving children and grandchildren.

Realistically hope does not save us, it is simply a consequence of desperation, a mechanism to alleviate suffering in the author book, hope is not going to transform in reality.

I stop reading this book. This is depressing. Hope is useless in my lifetime? The entire chapter 6 has nothing to do with neurology and medicine. It is a psychiatrist who tries to be a writer, a musician and literature preacher. This book damages me. This book does not heal and shatters whatever hope with butchering via deconstruction the very meaning of Hope

templeton buys academia
IM going to keep this short-due to the fact i could throw a clot or herniate- a few point's1)all of the reviews are sycophants both of the john templeton multi-million dollar propaganda campaign to prove god exists by locating him in our brain-get some reviews out-side of dr.v's click. 2)the scientific method and critical thinking are so pathetically absent and obvious, that one wonders if any opposition is allowed at all 3)despite numerous editors,proof readers,etc dr.v completely misrepresents, Ghandi,Dr. Schweitzer and mother Theresa has paragons of his version of christian belief-he champions them as pillars and personal examples of exemplars of u.s. civil and conservative faith. Mother T. clearly in her journals is apostate,Dr. S became a M.D. after he renounced his faith(read all about it !) and to think Gandhi embraced christianity is so absurd it defies reason,in fact dr.v's book is the most shameful absurd illogical personal fantasy if he were not a name this book would never have been hatched.5)The inclusion in the last chapter of the myth of A.A. as being anything but,perhaps, the biggest lie in america( and william r miller who got on board the templeton fund express has written A.A. is one of the 10 worst Tx's for "alcoholism")includes his personal agenda as a trustee or whatever,in A.A. when it has absolutely nothing to do with a ridiculous and specious wish-fulfillment that should send an alarm that medicine is for sale and the abandonment of replication,adequate peer review ,absence of any data whatsoever is a crime against higher learning. This shameful piecmajorie of drivel could not make it out of a sophomore science class-either H.S. or college. He tries to distance his Sci-co babble by naming part's of the brain perhaps unfamiliar to the ty of readers thus creating the illusion that he must know the exact spot to find god in our brain i.e. receptor site!-- It is an ugly thing with a very ugly past when Psychiatry engages in malpractice and immoral behaviour,Racial superiority,slavery,genocide,lobotomies are examples in the not to distant past of what damage is done by evangelical and political agendas.Perhaps DR.Dawkins and the supercolliders must be making a lot of people very nervous and frightened, something is sure making many very lazy,sloppy and obvious. Jay St. J.

Thought provoking......
The book is a wonderful example thanks to the author, that when one studies people from around the world, even if they are of a different belief or religion there are things that they all have in common. This is NOT about religion, far from it. The author writes so well about how cultures have evolved and as wisdom is discovered and put into place that history itself changes.

And we are reminded that religion often if not always, requires some 'leader' or dogma, whereas a universal spirituality can be as simple as sitting on a mountain top and sensing something bigger than ourselves, with no name, has created or allowed all we see to be created.

Spiritual Evolution
The book is wonderful, however, the copy I received was printed upside down -- or the cover was placed on it upside down -- just confusing.

A blend of science, spirituality, AA, and prosocial behavior
If you want to read just one good book about spirituality, I highly recommend George Valliant's (2008) Spiritual Evolution: A Scientific Defense of Faith.Vaillant is a research psychiatrist (which means the book is crammed with neurobiology) and directed Harvard's Study of Adult Development for 35 years.His conception of spirituality revolves around the eight positive emotions that involve human connection. He argues throughout that prosocial behavior is part and parcel of natural selection, that positive emotions both promote and follow prosocial behavior, and that this process occurs in the limbic and parasympathetic systems and the amygdala (rather than in conscious, cognitive thought processes), and that humanity is moving (from an evolutionary perspective) in the direction of greater spiritual (prosocial) interaction.

Vaillant would argue that spirituality defies rational, cognitive description. Vaillant's final chapter, entitled "The Difference Between Religion and Spirituality", is primarily a fascinating discussion of Alcoholics Anonymous ("AA"), which he concludes is mostly a spiritual rather than a religious program. AA certainly has its detractors, but it has also helped an awful lot of people to maintain sobriety, and Vaillant's discussion of the spiritual aspect of the program was most interesting. Given my emphasis on the importance of humor, I was also pleased to note his comment that AA meetings tend to be filled with laughter and humor (although, beneath it all there is a "deadly seriousness").Excellent book.

... Read more

Product Description
Taking us behind the scenes with today’s foremost researchers and pioneers, bestselling author Joel Garreau shows that we are at a turning point in history.  At this moment we are engineering the next stage of human evolution.  Through advances in genetic, robotic, information, and nanotechnologies, we are altering our minds, our memories, our metabolisms, our personalities, our progeny–and perhaps our very souls.  Radical Evolution reveals that the powers of our comic-book superheroes already exist, or are in development in hospitals, labs, and research facilities around the country–from the revved-up reflexes and speed of Spider-Man and Superman, to the enhanced mental acuity and memory capabilities of an advanced species. Over the next fifteen years, Garreau makes clear in this New York Times Book Club premiere selection, these enhancements will become part of our everyday lives. Where will they lead us? To heaven–where technology’s promise to make us smarter, vanquish illness, and extend our lives is the answer to our prayers? Or, as some argue, to hell–where unrestrained technology brings about the ultimate destruction of our species? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (38)

More than minor wear
Said Very good condition. Pretty much every other page was dog eared and way too many underlines and highlights.

A journey into the future
"Radical Evolution" by Joel Garreau is an exciting, well-written, and insightful book on the possible future(s) we are creating for ourselves through advances in genetics, robotics, information and nanotechnologies or GRIN technologies he subsequently refers to them. The author assumes the role of a soothsayer, making his reader glimpse into his crystal ball predicting four possible futures. He takes us into the lives of today's leading researchers and innovators involved in cutting edge research, each of whom transform concepts that were once part of science fiction into reality.

A brief synopsis:
The book is divided into eight chapters, out of which four are devoted to describing four futuristic scenarios - Heaven, Hell, Prevail, and Transcend. The author weaves each chapter around the life of an inventor/futurist. The author introduces and defines concepts such as the "Curve", "Moores Law", and the Singularity", that are fundamental to each of the four scenarios that form the bulk of the book.

Style and structure:
Garreau is a gifted writer who does great justice to each of the scenarios, individuals, and scientific concepts he presents in his book. His prose is unbiased, focused, and vivid. The book is neatly organized making it enjoyable and easy on the reader. In the prologue, Garreau clearly sets the stage for the predictions he is going to state in the chapters following. He makes sure the reader understands the utmost importance and significance of what he is discussing. The author explains complicated scientific concepts in anecdotal form, easily understandable by the lay person. However, even though the book comes across as a light read for the casual reader, it contains more than mere anecdotes. It serves as a treasure chest of sources and references for the "futures" scholar.At the end of each chapter, Garreau does a fantastic job of summarizing major themes discussed in each chapter. In addition to this, the last 67 pages of the book, provides the reader with an in-depth list of books, chapters, journal articles, and other references to help further satiate the reader's curiosity.

A look in-depth:
Chapters 1 (Prologue) and 2 (Be all you can be):
The author strategically sets the framework for the reader in the first two chapters. Garreau tickles the reader with brief references to cutting edge scientific research such as the telekinetic monkey, Belle, the GRIN technologies, the all powerful yet mysterious DARPA, the "curve", and introduces the term "The Enhanced". He cleverly succeeds in lighting the reader's curiosity. The second chapter focuses mostly on DARPA and opens our eyes in understanding the very critical role the military plays in the development of cutting edge technologies.

Chapters 3 (The Curve):
This chapter is dedicated, as the title points, to the concept of the "curve". The author states that we are riding on an exponential curve of such rapid technological growth, that it is almost getting impossible to control where we are headed in the future. But the most important topic that is introduced in this chapter is that of the "singularity". The concept is described through the words of the novelist Vernor Vinge who states that "we are on the edge of change comparable to the rise of human life on earth". Garreau goes on to explain that Vinge is "anticipating the possibility of greater-than-human intelligence". He further goes on to list situations that lead us closer to the singularity. For example, "the curve drives supercomputers, intentionally or unintentionally; to cross the line to greater-than-human intelligence" or "biological technology, probably through genetic engineering produces humans with greater-than-human-intelligence".

Chapters 4 (Heaven), 5 (Hell), 6 (Prevail), & 7 (Transcend)
The meat of the book is crammed into these four chapters. The content of each of these chapters is largely the author's conversation with some of the most brilliant minds in the country. The first of the four main visionaries interviewed in this book is Ray Kurzweil, renown for his belief that we are traveling so rapidly up the exponential curve that the Singularity is not just a theory, but an imminent event in the very near future. He is the father of the movement whose underlying belief is that our technological advancements will lead us to a paradise on earth.
The second luminary whose life and thoughts Garreau sketches out in the fifth chapter entitled "Hell" is Bill Joy, co-founder of SUN Microsystems and nicknamed "Edison of the Internet". Reading this chapter is nothing short of experiencing a nightmare with your eyes wide open. Mr. Joy calmly states frightful possibilities such as the human race being turned into a pile of gray goo by all powerful and destructive nanobots.
However, somewhere in between the optimistic Kurzweil and pessimistic Joy is virtual reality inventor Jaron Lanier, a genius who believes that humans have always been creative and have the power of creativity and imagination that mere lines of computer code cannot in a million years (or rather EVER) overpower. His ideas inspired the author to pen the chapter "Prevail" where as the word suggests - humans prevail and NOT technology.
The final chapter of the series of scenarios described by the author revolves around the author's personal take on the future. He brilliantly highlights his point of view through conversations with Francis Fukuyama, American philosopher and neoconservative. He brings out an extremely important point about the definition of a human through his thoughts on "cultural evolution". He states that a major reason why people are against human alteration rests in the assumption humans have stayed constant over time. Garreau however states that humans change and HAVE been changing over the past millions of years and that we will continue to evolve, both culturally and biologically, and that these two factors are closely intertwined.

Quotes:
* "Even if technology is advancing along an exponential curve, that doesn't mean humans cannot creatively shape the impact on human nature and society in largely unpredictable ways. Technology does not have to determine history"
- Futurist and innovator of virtual reality, Jaron Lanier's take on whether technology controls human history or humans control where technology will lead us.
* "The power of information technology will double every 18 month . . . a doubling is an amazing thing"
- Moores Law as it is accepted by the global computer industry.
* "The essence of The Heaven Scenario is stealing fire from the gods, breathing life into inert matter and gaining immortality"
- The author Joel Garreau in the chapter Heaven
* "The physician who waits until dead certain of a diagnosis before acting is likely to wind up with a dead patient. Sometimes things develop so rapidly that only early action - back when you're still somewhat uncertain - stand a change of being effective, as in catching cancer before in metastizes"
- Bill Joy, also known as the Edison of the Internet and co-founder of SUN microsystems, speaking about the possibility of a Hell like scenario to occur if we do not take action NOW to prevent it.

Final thoughts:
I thoroughly enjoyed reading every single word of this book. It is brilliantly written and the author delivers his thoughts with the utmost clarity. Not only is the book fun to read, but the reader finishes the book being much wiser and educated. The book has wonderfully depicted different sides to the same story and it is this aspect of numerous perspectives that make it a wonderful read. I would recommend this book to any individual - science fan, philosopher, student, teacher, politician, or Luddite.

If you are into Sci-fi, check this out.
Pretty interesting book, very creative ideas and topics that he discusses. If you are into Sci-fi or engineering this is a good find, ties fantasy and super humans into the real world and tells you how it is being done today.

Bait and Switch!
Where are the pictures of the nude female form???The cover has a naked woman on the cover - yet inside just a bunch of boring stuff about growing arms or wings or something.What's that got anything to do with the naked chick on the cover?Wait... Is it because she's blue?Are we going to evolve into Smurfs?The book didn't say a single word about Smurf evolution - that might be cool.Three apples high, permanent employment, and plenty of singing and dancing.Downside: one Smurfette.Also, no naked picture of smurfette.

I was tricked I tell you.Tricked.

Where's my Mag-Lite....

The Ascension of the Gods
Garreau sheds a definitive light on the subject of technology, and our current human endeavors that may not be known by the masses. Too often after college or grade school people separate themselves from academic reality, and even more so, especially in America, from reading in general. Some may say all of this is "fantasy" or science-fiction posited as constructive journalism, with those I have to dissent. This book gives credible references and attempts, by my interpretation, to draw forth a biased perspective. Those that naysay on the subject matter of this book are overlooking the fact that everything we as humans have created started off as a thought, and subsequent to that thought we achieved the fiscal support and intellectual minds to experiment, persevere and manifest that thought through trial and error into reality. I think by far, one of the most vivid elements of this book is how well it shows how close the gap of science-fiction and reality really is. The thing that elicits the most fear is the fact that these are the items of technology that are declassified or been around for a while; what about those that are classified? How far are we ahead in the realm of technology when it comes our inconspicuous technology?

The book itself is a gem for the possibility of the future and current expeditions in technology, both theoretically and practically. All of this is presented in a very eloquent fashion that exemplifies Garreau's superb writing skills that can even appeal to the laymen. The level of detail that Garreau delves shows how well researched the book actually is. Within the first forty pages of the book there is a myriad of examples showing the foresight of the human population and its technology. This piece of literature is also a very good initial point to begin in reference to our technological endeavors, because it harnesses so much of it. With thirty-four pages of end notes and references, along with thirty-three pages of suggested reading, Garreau gives those that are interested in learning more about the subjects, and/or those interested in refuting his work, plenty of information to vet the information at hand.

The only negatives I can bring are: Garreau over extends the need for "painting" the picture. There is a lot of excessive and unnecessary supplemental writing in the book, but in his defense, keeps it from being so dry; also, it lacks pictures, I would think that would be essential for investigative reporting.

Some quotes that standout throughout the book that exhibit profundity on the subject at hand:

Pg.42 "It is a snapshot of one small portion of one organization is working on in the first decade of the 21st century." - This is in reference to DARPA and their technological plans.
Pg. 52 "...it's not clear that there are any practical limits represented by quantum physics, human ingenuity and the market...Whether our will can shape limits is the core issue..."
Pg. 106 "In every civilization, in every era, we have given the gods no peace." - On human ingenuity and intellect

In the end this book caused me to revisit much more than my conception of technology. Our human culture is being transcended, by my opinion, by it and we need it to expand into the cosmos. Garrea's book caused me to think about a number of things and from this reading I have written thirteen pages of notes, so it definitely causes one to think. - D.R.Thomas
... Read more

Product Description
Ideas about heredity and evolution are undergoing a revolutionary change. New findings in molecular biology challenge the gene-centered version of Darwinian theory according to which adaptation occurs only through natural selection of chance DNA variations. In Evolution in Four Dimensions, Eva Jablonka and Marion Lamb argue that there is more to heredity than genes. They trace four "dimensions" in evolution—four inheritance systems that play a role in evolution: genetic, epigenetic (or non-DNA cellular transmission of traits), behavioral, and symbolic (transmission through language and other forms of symbolic communication). These systems, they argue, can all provide variations on which natural selection can act. Evolution in Four Dimensions offers a richer, more complex view of evolution than the gene-based, one-dimensional view held by many today. The new synthesis advanced by Jablonka and Lamb makes clear that induced and acquired changes also play a role in evolution.

After discussing each of the four inheritance systems in detail, Jablonka and Lamb "put Humpty Dumpty together again" by showing how all of these systems interact. They consider how each may have originated and guided evolutionary history and they discuss the social and philosophical implications of the four-dimensional view of evolution. Each chapter ends with a dialogue in which the authors engage the contrarieties of the fictional (and skeptical) "I.M.," or Ifcha Mistabra—Aramaic for "the opposite conjecture"—refining their arguments against I.M.'s vigorous counterarguments. The lucid and accessible text is accompanied by artist-physician Anna Zeligowski's lively drawings, which humorously and effectively illustrate the authors' points. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

Kindle version review
Buy this wonderful, illuminating work for your e-reader and you will improve it and yourself! You will soon wish that you had all your other great books there as well, available for rereading, scanning and searching at any time. I will not duplicate material in the other, informative reviews, but just want to express surprise that there are not more such works on epigenetic evolution (in all its forms, using "epi" in a broad sense).
I was doubtful at first about the "discussions", expecting quick straw-man knockdowns a la Simplicissimus, but they really add to the exposition. I read it on a Kindle II and only the illustrations suffered, which I figured was OK, as I didn't much care for the style, but on reviewing them on an iPad I found them engaging. Improvements would include links to the notes at the end and return links from there. Some publishers are not fully committed to this e-book thing. Buy the Kindle version for your iPad - it is not (yet?) available as an i-Book.

The noumenal 'dimension'
At a time when Darwinian fundamentalism is almost a church dogma of scientism, this book deftly and cogently shows that the 'post natural selection' era is upon us, with a clear extended framework, its four dimensions of evolution. I think that this extension is, however, completely clear as to the place of epigenetics, but not so clear as to the behavioral and linguistic so-called dimensions. The question of human evolution, and of the evolution of consciousness and of language are not explained, it would seem, in the context of the added two dimensions given in the book, and remain as yet mysterious to science, and perhaps their evolutionary dynamics are beyond simple observation.
We should consider Wallace's insight that man's potential could not have evolved in any simple way, since it has no contact with the environment, as if it were in an extra dimension, perhaps even beyond space and time.
A Kantian framework suggests that the psychology of man/animal confects the space-time categories a priori, suggesting that the mind is in part a higher dimensional, or non-dimensional entity.
The evolution of language, and the consciousness behind, is an entire mystery andb science can't even describe the systems it claims has evolved. The noumenal aspect here becomes, perhaps, dominant.
Naturally scintists always claim to have the explanation of everything. That is hype, and a bluff, not to be taken seriously.

Nontheless, a fascinating, must-read, and a warning the 'natural selection does all' era is over.

Check out also _The Extended Synthesis_, a new book on evolution and the reigning synthesis, to which the authors contribute an essay, next to many others in a coming postdarinism mode, on the manifold dimensions of evolution.

Noone will quite say so, but monolithic Darwinism is kaput.

Thought provoking
A recent biotechnology trade publication wrote that "epigenetic research surges on many fronts", and a study of textbooks in molecular biology that have been published in the last few years reveals that epigenetic mechanisms are relevant in biological systems. This book could be considered a definitive summary of what is known about epigenetic mechanisms in evolution, but also goes beyond it by arguing behavioral and "symbolic" variation also plays a significant role. Readers will get in-depth discussion of these terms and also get exposed to some speculation from the authors on how all four mechanisms, genetic, epigenetic, behavioral, and symbolic drive the evolutionary process. However the authors are careful to note the difference between speculation and facts, and this intellectual honesty is refreshing and motivates the reader to consult some of the many references given in the book. At various places in the book, readers are expected to have a solid background in molecular biology in order to follow the discussion, but non-experts in this field, such as this reviewer, can with some concentrated effort appreciate what the authors are talking about.

Some of the highlights in the book include:
1. The reminder that genes are not "simple causal agents" with traits being the result of interactions among a collection of genes. Along these lines, gene regulatory networks have become a significant area of research in the last few years.
2. The point made that the Darwin theory of natural selection is a general theory of evolution, and does not make specific assumptions on the mechanisms behind heredity or variability. This assertion motivates the reader to search for different representations of Darwinian theory, this book being one of them, and further, ask the question as to how many such representations are possible, given the constraints of observation and experimentation. Are there for example, any "higher dimensional" versions of Darwinian theory (greater than 4)?
3. The discussion on information theory and its use in genetics.
4. The discussion on the ability of genomes to compensate for the lack of activity of a particular gene. This is very relevant to current methods in genetic engineering, which sometimes have their goal the "knockout" of certain genes.
5. The reminder that there is much that is unknown in molecular biology. One example given is the nature of the regulation of splicing.
6. The discussion on the advantages of sexual reproduction versus mere cloning.
7. The discussion on self-sustaining feedback loops in gene activity. This has connections with the field of mathematics called nonlinear dynamics, and a large amount of research in this field is devoted to understanding these feedback loops.
8. The view of the authors that RNA interference is a cellular immune system. This is an interesting idea, and motivates the reader to do further reading on whether it is an idea that is viable in immunology and molecular biology.
9. The discussion on "real-time" genome modification in the Sciara fly, wherein chromosomes are eliminated in both somatic and germ-line cells. The astute reader will naturally wonder how many other biological organisms are able to do this.
10. The role of methylation in transgenic strategies. This discussion is very important to those readers who want to understand the risks involved in genetic engineering. Transgene flow is considered to be a risk by some, but methylation apparently would assist in alleviating this risk.


Some of the disappointments in the book include:
1. The use of thought experiments to argue some of the main points. This is not a major detraction, but this use can degenerate into philosophical speculation if one is not careful, and it seems the authors are aware of this.
2. The authors should have included more discussion on why they think the "four categories" of epigenetic inheritance are not independent.
3. The assertion made without elaboration that when humans imitate they always intend to do so. Along these lines the authors need to elaborate in more detail what they mean by a "modular system of imitative learning." Their thinking on this would be very interesting to those readers involved in the field of artificial intelligence. Indeed, the authors' assertion that "imitation is a context- and content-sensitive process, not mere copying" is very important to those who are attempting to implement cognitive processes in non-human machines. This is further exemplified in the authors' discussion on "radical" evolutionary psychology and its view that the brain is a collection of modules, each having a particular cognitive task. The authors are clearly skeptical about the existence of these modules, and it would be interesting to know whether they would find the concept of "entangled" modules, i.e. those where task sharing is the defining characteristic, useful for their conception of symbolic inheritance systems.
4. Since plants do not exhibit complex or intentional behaviors, the authors need to show why behavioral inheritance systems are not relevant, or weakly so, in the evolutionary biology of plants. This point is naturally made at the place in the book where the authors discuss the difficulties of showing the relevance of behavioral inheritance systems in animals, i.e. showing the existence of animal traditions and so on. This question can also be asked in their discussion on symbolic inheritance systems: plants do not interpret symbols or have symbolic grammars. Here again, the authors point to the absence (or purported absence) of symbolic systems in animals. Humans therefore seem to have a multi-dimensional inheritance system, and are therefore unique in this regard.
5. In their discussion of symbolic inheritance systems, the authors place too much emphasis on generative theories of grammar, and do not take into account other theories, such as cognitive grammar. How would these other theories be integrated into their thinking on the role of symbolic inheritance systems?

More Dynamic, Information-Rich View of Evolution
Jablonka and Lamb pull together many ideas about evolution to suggest that the Modern Synthesis prevalent since the 1930s is due for a reconceptualization. They argue that evolution involves not one but four kinds of inheritance systems: genetic, epigenetic, behavioral, and (in humans) symbolic. Epigenetic systems involve cellular variations appearing in the course of development, so that cells with the same DNA can develop in quite different directions. Since this information is preserved when cells divide, it can also be inherited in the reproduction of unicellular or asexually reproducing multicellular organisms. (Inheritance by sexually reproducing organisms is tricker but also possible.) Behavioral inheritance among organisms occurs through the transfer of behavior-influencing substances and through imitative and non-imitative learning. Human symbolic communication is an especially rich inheritance system, with features such as the capacity to share imagined behaviors never before tried. The genetic and non-genetic inheritance systems work together in evolution, with non-genetic changes often becoming genetically assimilated. For example, if a human population domesticates cows and starts relying on dairy products, genetic variations in the ability to digest lactose become relevant to natural selection, and so gene frequencies can change as a result of the change in customs. Jablonka and Lamb suggest that non-genetic changes often lead the way in animal evolution, with genetic changes playing catch-up.

Not only is this book a far cry from the simplistic genetic determinism that characterizes many popular discussions of evolution, but it is also a departure from 20th-century Darwinian orthodoxy. While genetic changes are usually blind to outcomes, the variations that are transmitted epigenetically, behaviorally or symbolically are often more targeted, arising in responses to signals from the environment. The environment plays the dual role of inducing as well as selecting variations, and the variations are more like educated guesses about what will work than random shots in the dark. The fact that these acquired innovations can be inherited (one way or another, though not by direct modifications of genes) means that evolution is partly Lamarckian after all, at least in a broad sense of the term.

Orthodox Darwinism has always been a philosophically puzzling doctrine. For a theory of change, it has placed a surprising amount of emphasis on the continuity of being, with change appearing as an accident that only occasionally happens to contribute to that continuity. For a theory of information, it has been surprisingly preoccupied with blind, completely uninformed variation. Jablonka and Lamb's understanding of evolution is both more dynamic and informationally richer. Inherited information is no longer confined to the genome, but can include information acquired and used in the course of development. Organisms participate in evolution not just as vehicles for the transmission of fixed information units (genes or their imagined cultural counterparts, memes, a notion J & L critique vigorously), but as active acquirers and interpreters of information. This is consistent with Stuart Kauffman's contention that life is even more complex and creative than biologists have realized.

The book is extremely well written and documented, so that the arguments are easy to follow by readers with a limited background in biology.Highly recommended for biologists and non-biologists alike.

Ways ahead
Jablonka and Lamb have written an impressive, incisive book, with a light touch and an personal approach.They demonstrate ways (genetic, epigenetic, behavioral and symbolic) in which organisms "inherit" from their predecessors. One does not have to agree with all their positions to profit from way they consider general developmental issues.Our culture has taken a step forward through their symbolic creation---it's not the "memes" they provide, but their way of laying the basis for interacting evolutionary processes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (22)

Dumbed Down
I'll keep going for a bit, and I will admit to being somewhat "advanced" in reading and scientific knowledge, however this so far seems to "Dumbed Down" as to be almost unreadable by myself.The book almost seems to be at a 9th or 10th grade reading level, which I guess hits a larger portion of Americans, but its getting tedious here...

Ridiculous science
So... the reason we all max out our credit cards and shop too much can be blamed on evolution.This tidbit along with many other ridiculous musings can be found in this book.I found it silly, especially because it seems to be written for an audience of elementary students.Not very informative.

Excellent book
This book is a very interesting read and so informative.Really makes you think about many of the falisies we have been brought up with.Greatly recommend it.

Useful but not perfect -- give it a read
Dr Meller has attempted to connect several problems with modern living to our prehistoric past.This is not totally novel but Meller is more careful than most and often convincing, particularly in the area of over eating.The sections on low-fat and high-carb diets and why they are not necessarily all that effective or good for you seems to jibe with my personal experience as well as some other reading (the fact that the Atkins diet did NOT result in the dire problems that were predicted, for example).The sections on sunscreens and germs were also convincing.

But sometimes Meller seems to push his process a bit much.I'm not sure that we know if our Cro-Magnon forebears had myopia or not and the section on sex was OK but not all that impressive.

All in all this book is a good antidote for some of the health dogma repeated endlessly by Dr Oz and the "Health" section of your local newspaper and in men's and women's magazines.Worth a read -- just don't treat it as gospel.

This book makes so much sense!
Well written, easy to read and fascinating. This book suggests the evolutionary origins of behaviours we take for granted. In addition, it suggests how many conditions such as ADHD, depression and insomnia may have once been beneficial to our survival, thus de-stigmatising such conditions and providing helpful suggestions to deal with them. It also warns against the dangers of alternative therapies that promise to heal us when, except for life threatening conditions where medical science plays a vital role, our bodies can do the job without any help whatsoever! Yeah the placebo effect! You can hear the author talking about this book when he is interviewed on the podcast Skepticality which you can download from itunes. ... Read more

Product Description
Petroski tells fascinating stories about the arduous processes that resulted in paper clips, Post-its, Phillips-head screwdrivers, Scotch tape, and fast-food "clamshell" containers. "Petroski . . . an examines the simplest . . . tools in our lives with an appraising eye."--Washington Post Book World. 45 illus.Amazon.com Review
This surprising book may appear to be about the simple thingsof life--forks, paper clips, zippers--but in fact it is a far-flunghistorical adventure on the evolution of common culture. To trace thefork's history, Duke University professor of civil engineering HenryPetroski travels from prehistoric times to Texas barbecue to CardinalRichelieu to England's Industrial Revolution to the American CivilWar--and beyond. Each item described offers a cultural history lesson,plus there's plenty of engineering detail for those so inclined. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (30)

The Evolution of Useful Things
Interesting book- lots of history on various everyday items.Can be read through or just in bits as interest dictates.Fun source book.

the evolution of many everyday items should be more interesting than this
The concept is interesting: take a deep look at some of the most common items in our home and consider how they came into their current form.His main thesis is that form does not follow function, but rather that form follows failure.When presented with a tool that doesn't do quite what you want it to do, the inventor figures out a solution to the problem.

Great idea.Bad execution.The author keeps on circling back to the same points, over and over and over again. The worst is the discussion of forks.I'm still not sure how I slogged through that section, talking about the number of tines and the length of the tines and the width of the individual tines and the handle.There was some interesting information in there, but it could have been covered in a couple of pages, not the unending pages upon pages that this went on.

There was so much information in this book. and there were some great design stories found in the pages here.But it got buried in too many details and too many repetitions of the authors main thesis.

Did not meet expectations
I expected this book to be a collection of "stories" about the development of everyday items.Instead I read about how and why inventors invent new things.Although this is somewhat interesting, the book has not been work the purchase.

Fascinating insights, a little dry
Henry Petroski writes an indepth look at how everyday items evolve. He thesis, which he rarely tires of repeating, is that the form of an object follows its failure. He rejects the saying "form follows function" as being quaint and incomplete. He uses numerous examples of the evolution of the paperclip, fork, scotch tape and other common items to illustrate that objects change not due to far sighted design, but instead to users finding fault with how the object does its job and trying to improve it. The book can be a little dry and repetitive at times but offers fascinating insights into why a fork has four tines or why the paperclip looks the way it does.

So INTRIGUING
this book is so intriguing and offers such great insight into the world of design, patents, and the evolutionary history of some of the most "mundane" objects in our everyday lives! definitely worth a read! then pass it on to a friend! ... Read more

Product Description
Brilliant, reminiscent of Lewis Hyde's The Gift in its reach and of Timothy Egan's The Worst Hard Time in its haunting evocation of human lives, offers a sweeping view of a surprisingly revealing aspect of human history--from the stone lamps of the Pleistocene to the LEDs embedded in fabrics of the future.

Customer Reviews (12)

A fine, lively survey!
BRILLIANT: THE EVOLUTION OF ARTIFICIAL LIGHT provides a lively, fun history of artificial light form early limestone lamps by Ice Age humans to the latest LED technology. This probes scientific developments but also offers a concurrent social history of how light needs and developments have changed mankind. A fine, lively survey!

LET THERE BE. . . errors ?!
Those who pick-up "Brilliant: The Evolution of Artificial Light" expecting an accurate and informative history of electrical lighting will be disappointed, as it soon becomes painfully obvious that Ms. Brox knows next to nothing about electricity, even on the most basic and simple level.

For instance, on pages 148-149 she describes giant "Tesla polyphase motors" *transmitting* power from the hydroelectric station at Niagara Falls.(I thought that everyone knew that motors consume, not transmit, energy. I guess I was wrong.) On page 164, she writes, "If a family purchased a stove, which required insulated wires, or a refrigerator, which ran on higher than normal wattage [sic], they usually had to upgrade the wiring in their home."In my capacity as a slumlord, I have worked on the wiring of many old homes, built during W.W.I and in the 1920s, many of which had the original porcelain knob-and-tube wiring (before the advent of Romex®), and I have yet to see any wiring which was originally devoid of insulation.

And Ms. Brox seems baffled by other household appliances as well! On the topic of New York's 1965 power blackout (curiously, there is no mention of the much larger 2003 blackout which crippled the entire northeastern US and Ontario) she writes, "Gas crews went from house to house to check the pilot lights -- which were powered by electricity -- in the stoves and boilers of every customer." (pg.246)

Her nescience of all things electrical leads her to wander off topic for much of the book. The first third of "Brilliant" (an ironic title, considering the quality of the book) discourses on candles and lanterns -- which, until the 19th century, used animal sources as fuel -- and this leads to an entire chapter on whaling (most of her information comes from a thorough reading of Moby Dick) including a description of a whale's anatomy and diet. That's right; we learn all about baleen in a book about lighting.

Later chapters likewise cover topics only tangentially related to lighting. There are eight pages devoted to the story of the London Blitz during W.W.II, followed by three pages about air raid drills in New York. She spends several pages decrying the injustice of how African-Americans were treated at the World's Columbian Exposition held in Chicago in 1893 as well as bigotry in general. In a book about lighting.

One of my favorite events in American history is the War of the Currents waged in the 1880s between Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse, who favored Nikola Tesla's alternating-current system (which also employed transformers developed by Lucien Gaulard and John Dixon Gibbs -- their names never appear in this book). It takes a perverse talent to ruin this bizarre story, but Ms. Brox manages to do so.There is no mention of the execution of William Kemmler in the first electric chair, a device which was invented by a man under Edison's pay and at Edison's behest so as to demonstrate the perils of alternating current. (Edison said that Kemmler had been "Westinghoused.") This explains why we in North America are still burdened with inefficient 117-volt home lighting and appliances, while the rest of the world (mostly) enjoys 230-volt service, but that's apparently all too complex for Ms. Brox, and she instead makes such banal observations as, "Most American households at the turn of the twentieth century were much brighter than those of the past." (pg.156)

A thorough account of the War of the Currents can be found in Blood and Volts: Edison, Tesla, & the Electric Chair by Th. Metzger, a far more talented writer.

In The Industrial Revolutionaries: The Making of the Modern World 1776-1914, British author Gavin Weightman makes a cogent argument that Edison invented nothing, and incandescent lighting was instead developed in England: "The use of [Joseph] Swan's lamps in Godalming in 1881 was the first practical use of the modern light bulb."Weightman, I suspect, may be biased, but if you're interested in a thorough and well-researched account of the development of electric lighting, that'd be the book to get.

A great topic concept that would have been better served with a more skilled author
"Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World" and "Salt: A World History" by Mark Kurlansky definegenre of interweavinga common commodity, such as salt, with its impact on human social history, in the case of both cod and salt, was immense. Kurlansky blends science, history and shrewd social observation into a smoothly flowing, informative, engaging and enjoyable narrative.

Jane Brox attempts to do the same with "the evolution of artificial light" and fails.

Brox, at best, is a pedestrian writer who seems to have difficulty constructing artful sentences. She relies heavily on lengthy block quotes that often stray from the subject at hand. She often gets her facts wrong, such as referring to the 200 inch mirror of the Hale telescope at Mt. Palomar observatory as a lens - and that is a huge mistake. She also omits many details of lighting technology, because it is clear she doesn't comprehend the subject she is writing about. Finally and most fatally to this reader, Ms. Brox has loaded down the book with her political and social view.

I was thoroughly enjoying her description of the deployment of incandescent lighting running on Alternating Current at the 1893 Columbian Exposition when Brox suddenly took odd on a three page exposition of the travails of blacks. Essentially this has nothing to do with "the evolution of artificial light" and a lot to do with Brox's political views. Brox compounded the error of her ways by claiming that black rural families were among the last to benefit from the rural electrification programs launched in the 1930s. In fact, farms in the states of the Upper Midwest (Minnesota, Wisconsin, the Dakotas, etc.) with essentially no black population were among the last to be electrified in the mid to late 1940s, long after the largely rural black areas of Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and Louisiana received electricity. The reasons for this had far more to do with geography and topography than race, but to ideologues like Brox, facts mean nothing.

Frankly, Brox's inclusion of racial politics in a book of this kind is simply inappropriate. When the inclusion is aggravated by coupling it with emotional, but factually incorrect, material, my antennae are up and I no longer trust the author.

This attitude proved justified in Brox's description of the development of the Tennessee Valley Authority, a Depression era make work project that bore uncomfortable similarities to similar make work projects in Germany, Italy and the Soviet Union. Brox's description, while providing a glimpse of the destructiveness of the TVA, is essentially an ode to a centralize state economy. She dismisses the arguments of private utilities against state development in a single general statement that they lost in the Supreme Court. The basis for the Supreme Court decision still haunts us today as does the widespread use of eminent domain to force people off their land, in many cases after generations of ownership.
A talented author, if their objective were to recount the history and role of electricity in bringing artificial light to all of the United States, would have stated the history of the TVA without lionizing Franklin D. Roosevelt or taking a recognizable political position. This is supposed to be a history, not a campaign pamphlet.

Brox's book finally collapses into concerns about a "changing climate" and a desire "to bring the dark sky closer to more people". Of course, this will be done by government regulating how the people may use light in their lives.

Brox, I think, is primarily concerned with her political ideology and treats the history she attempted to write as a secondary consideration., with failure the result. This is neither a worthwhile history nor a coherent political tract. Omitting illustrations is finally the straw that breaks the camel's back. For example, Brox repeatedly describes aspects of Edison's laboratory based on photos and a painting. Yet there is not a single illustration of any kind in the book.

Overall, the subject - the evolution of artificial light - awaits treatment by a competent, objective writer. If you want merely a general outline of the subject and filter out the political posturing, this is passable. Bur the subject truly deserves treatment by more capable hands.

Jerry

Artificial Light - More of a Social History
One might expect that a popular book on "the evolution of artificial light" would include plenty of accessible yet concise technical information on the subject supported by lots of figures and diagrams. Well, not in this case. The focus here is mainly on the effects that artificial lighting has had on society as a whole as well as on individuals - working lives, leisure activities, social interactions, etc., and on the dependence that humans have acquired on the new technologies. Hence, some technical information is presented but kept to a minimum. The types of lighting that are discussed as the story unfolds include mosses, twigs, tallow candles, lamps that burned whale oil, kerosene and, eventually, gas, and finally incandescent light bulbs, fluorescent lights and even LEDs. Advantages and disadvantages are briefly presented in each case. Light pollution is also touched upon as well as its effects on wildlife and on astronomical observations (by the way, the Hale telescope on Mount Palomar has a 200-inch mirror and not a 200-inch lens as erroneously noted in the book). Some space is also devoted to energy/electricity supply and demand.

The writing style is generally friendly and accessible and even quite captivating at times; but, as has already been remarked by some reviewers, the prose can also be rather awkward, i.e., too many passages border on the quasi poetic. Since understanding such a style is not my forte, I had to read some of these passages several times in trying to make sense of them, often to no avail. Also, as noted earlier, the book contains no diagrams or figures whatsoever; a few would have been quite useful for illustrative purposes, given the book's subject matter.

Despite the (periodic) rather gauche writing style, overall, the book is interesting and contains much fascinating information. As such, it would likely be of interest to a broad readership.

Illuminating
Just a great book, well researched, well written. You learn so much about how mankind has tried to bring light to their environment. It is a great history of an interesting subject. ... Read more

Product Description
There are millions of different kinds of plants and animals living on the earth. Many millions more lived here in the past. Where did they all come from? Why have some become extinct and others lived on?

In this remarkable book for children, Steve Jenkins explores the fascinating history of life on earth and the awe-inspiring story of evolution, Charles Darwin"s great contribution to modern science. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

Perfect for a smart second grader
Minus one star only because of a couple of oversimplifications pointed out by other reviewers.Still, I took a chance, ordered it, and, wow, it was exactly what was needed:an eye-pleasing intro.It's too bad this thing is not carried (in store) in either of the big chains down here in Southern California.

Best I have found so far
I am homeschooling my child, partially because I don't want his education dumbed down so as not to offend the religious extremists (believe me, textbooks have been dumbed down and certain subjects are skipped simply to avoid offended parents).So,
I have been looking for books appropriate for a young child that provide an overview the evolution of life on earth. I want to provide for him a sense of where he belongs within the big picture.This book accomplishes that.

The book is listed for 9-12 year olds and elsewhere for 6-10 year olds. I just read it to my six year old and it took a little bit of work to keep him with it and a few explanations of what things meant, but to the book's credit (and his), he did stay with it. I would say its appropriate for 6-10 with an adult explaining it. 9-12 is more appropriate for independent reading.

The complaint about man not being descended from apes is silly since humans are considered to be apes and are minimally descended from themselves.I'm assuming the author of that complaint has some point, but I don't think its one that in any way affects the value of this book.

If I were to change one thing about the book, I would get rid of the comparison of the history of earth to now as being 24 hours.I think that just confuses the issue.Instead, provide the time line without the 24 hours and the concept will be visually communicated without the added problem to have to explain what 24 hour hours has to do with it.

Highly recommended book.

Awesome book!!!
I bought this for my 8 year old daughter and she loved it!I love the fact that there are science books for kids!

A great Start for Kids
My 4h grade son and I love this book!The collage illustrations in the oversized book are simple, attractive and uncluttered.We discussed them and guessed how they are made.

The text is also clear and uncluttered.My son found it easy to understand.We especially liked the part on Natural Selection which showed a bunch of frogs and how only the fitest survived.

The heads of several of Darwin's finches are shown to illustrate the difference in their beaks, and it points out how each beak is suited to the birds' diet.

Highly Recommended

Every kid should read it.
We really need to teach our children evolution. This is a good book to reach this goal. Recomended. ... Read more

Product Description
Few issues have revealed deeper divisions in our society than the debate between creationism and evolution, between religion and science. Yet from the fray, Reverend Michael Dowd has emerged as a reconciler, finding faith strengthened by the power of reason.

With evidence from contemporary astrophysics, geology, biology, anthropology, and evolutionary psychology, Thank God for Evolution lays out a compelling argument for how religion and science can be mutually enriching forces in our lives.

Praised by Nobel laureates in the scientific community and religious leaders alike, Thank God for Evolution will expand the horizon of what is possible for self, for relationships, and for our world. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (66)

Great concepts - poorly written
The concepts, ideas and logic presented are good and sound but the writing could be better.If you can get pass the word smithing the postulations are solid.This book fits my own personal beliefs developed over decades and could blend in with most religions/beliefs current and past.

For me, everyone has their own personal vision of god/creator and we should respect each others point of view even if we don't believe in it as long as it is not being forced on others. [If you don't support where you are at you should be able to seek your own truth without fear of retribution.]

If I attempt to give further review or comments then I'd be writing my own personal version of this book.

A Giant Leap in the Right Direction
I have not yet finished reading this book, but I can tell you it is an important book. I always felt that religion had certain evolutionary advantages and should not be dismissed. I've long felt the need for a world-view that has the social advantages of organized religion and pays respect to our cultural traditions without being dogmatic to the point of requiring blindness to reality. What Dowd offers here fits the bill. He suggest a variant of Christianity (and hints at variants of other faiths) that lacks dogma and welcomes change. Every atheist or agnostic should hope that such a shift in religious thinking takes hold.

Dowd's Christianity does require that Christians step back from literal interpretations of the Bible, and some Christians simply be unwilling to do so. However, when offered a viable alternative that respects their traditions, some thoughtful Christians will embrace evolution when they previously could not have. That puts us closer to a threshold at which Biblical Literalists lose their cultural and political influence. Dowd should be commended for helping to push us in that direction.

There's so much more I could say. Everybody should read this book. Whether in the end they agree or not, atheists and theists can learn understand and respect each other.

A trojan horse
I have no problem with atheists, nor with reading books written by atheists arguing their lack of belief in religion. Most religious people will be familiar with arguments like:

- Religion is obsolete. It was created to give answers to questions that we now know only science can answer.
- Belief in a personal God who had life in mind is the remnant of a flat earth culture.
- There is no evidence for religious beliefs.
- Religion is like language, your place of birth determines what you believe.
- History is filled with unbelievable miracle stories, why should your religion's miracles be real?
- There are many parallels to your cherished beliefs (such as the resurrection or virgin birth) in other religions.

One does, however, NOT expect to find them in a book that claims to reconcile science with religion. You will find the above arguments and many others in this book, which teaches a "gospel" that is nothing more than a sentimental form of atheism.There is no God who created the universe with a purpose. God is a metaphor for the universe with it's beautiful emergent complexity. Science is public revelation, all religious texts are private revelations (basically erroneous myths with some glimmers of truth that can be reinterpreted in an evolutionary light etc). Religious terms like sin, salvation and revelation are given completely new evolutionary meanings that no atheist would object to.

I have no problem with people viewing reality in this way. The book contains many interesting facts, and explains evolution quite well, which is why I give it two stars.

What I DO have a problem with is the deep dishonesty of selling a book that promises to marry faith and science, when the marriage consists in Science murdering his wife Faith, and then falling in love with a sentimental painting of himself.

There is no substantial difference between this book and The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins. It presents the same worldview with some added makeup to make it prettier. A more honest title would be: "The beauty of the godless universe".

If you want a book that actually tries to reconcile faith with science, get the excellent God's Universe by Owen Gingerich instead.

Evolving Language
Wonderful perspective that grounds us in a new beautiful language about our relationship with divinity.

Thank God for Evolution

This book is totally interesting, and takes a person back in time, to understand just where we come from.It explains the various

parts of the brain's evolution and how we react in situations, according to the part of the brain that is activated.It encourages one

to learn how to be aware, of what aspect is showing up, so one can intelligently respond, instead of responding by instinct.

It is very worth the time to read and contemplate the information from such an informed source.

Sincerely,
Marilyn ... Read more

Product Description
When Michael J. Behe's first book, Darwin's Black Box, was published in 1996, it launched the intelligent design movement. Critics howled, yet hundreds of thousands of readers -- and a growing number of scientists -- were intrigued by Behe's claim that Darwinism could not explain the complex machinery of the cell.

Now, in his long-awaited follow-up, Behe presents far more than a challenge to Darwinism: He presents the evidence of the genetics revolution -- the first direct evidence of nature's mutational pathways -- to radically redefine the debate about Darwinism.

How much of life does Darwin's theory explain? Most scientists believe it accounts for everything from the machinery of the cell to the history of life on earth. Darwin's ideas have been applied to law, culture, and politics.

But Darwin's theory has been proven only in one sense: There is little question that all species on earth descended from a common ancestor. Overwhelming anatomical, genetic, and fossil evidence exists for that claim. But the crucial question remains: How did it happen? Darwin's proposed mechanism -- random mutation and natural selection -- has been accepted largely as a matter of faith and deduction or, at best, circumstantial evidence. Only now, thanks to genetics, does science allow us to seek direct evidence. The genomes of many organisms have been sequenced, and the machinery of the cell has been analyzed in great detail. The evolutionary responses of microorganisms to antibiotics and humans to parasitic infections have been traced over tens of thousands of generations.

As a result, for the first time in history Darwin's theory can be rigorously evaluated. The results are shocking. Although it can explain marginal changes in evolutionary history, random mutation and natural selection explain very little of the basic machinery of life. The "edge" of evolution, a line that defines the border between random and nonrandom mutation, lies very far from where Darwin pointed. Behe argues convincingly that most of the mutations that have defined the history of life on earth have been nonrandom.

Although it will be controversial and stunning, this finding actually fits a general pattern discovered by other branches of science in recent decades: The universe as a whole was fine-tuned for life. From physics to cosmology to chemistry to biology, life on earth stands revealed as depending upon an endless series of unlikely events. The clear conclusion: The universe was designed for life. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (119)

Cutting Edge of Intelligent Writing

Dear Prof. Behe,



I am making my way slowly through your book. I studied biology and biochemistry as an undergraduate in college many years ago, but I switched majors to Economics. I would say that your book is written on a level that challenges someone with my background, but still is comprehensible. (However your footnotes are much more daunting!)



I like very much your approach to Darwinian selective adaptations as a kind of ad hoc tinkering with the cellular mechanisms that is akin to "burning a bridge to save a city." I think this is a very compelling and even brilliant analogy. You seem to promote an argument similar to this web site: www.ScienceAgainstEvolution.org, which asserts that most Darwinian type change is degenerative and negative rather than producing a net increase in sophisticated complexity. Indeed, it seems tragic that so much intensive biochemical research seems to be a futile effort to find a way to adulate "nature" and to exclude the Creator. Are such lavish expenditures in the basic sciences just a disguised way to spend God into oblivion? How much good could be done with such funding? It staggers the mind.



I think perhaps this paragraph from your book, The Edge of Evolution, epitomizes your thesis that Darwinist mechanisms cannot be responsible for constructing the incredibly complex forms of biological machinery that we are aware of today thanks to cell biology, biochemistry, and molecular biology:


"Let's pause here for a moment to consider several simple points about the sickle and HbC mutations. The first point is that both sickle and HbC are quintessentially hurtful mutations because they diminish the functioning of the human body. Both induce anemia and other detrimental effects. In happier times they would never gain a foothold in human populations. But in desperate times, when an invasion threatens the city, it can be better in the short run to burn a bridge to keep the enemy out [Note from MPK: a metaphor for the anti-malarial resistance these two mutations confer].



"A second point is that the mutations are not in the process of joining to build a more complex, interactive biochemical system. The sickle and C mutations are mutually exclusive, vying for the same site on hemoglobin -- the sixth position of the beta chain. They do not fit together to do something. A related point is that neither hemoglobin mutation occurs in the immune system, the system that is generally responsible for defending the body from microscopic predators. So the mutations are neither making a new system nor even adding to an established one. In this book we are concerned with how machinery can be built. To build a complex machine many different pieces have to be brought together and fitted to one another.



"A final, important point is that even with just those two simple mutations the process is convoluted almost to the point of incoherence. Even with just the sickle and C genes -- with heterozygote versus homozygote advantage and with varying detrimental effects -- the interplay of the mutant and normal genes is chaotic and tangled. Sickle is better in the beginning but C is better in the end; sickle spreads quickly, establishing itself as king of the hill before C can get started; sickle trait carriers are better off marrying someone outside the clan, but C carriers are better off marrying relatives; and so on. It's not hard to imagine a few more mutations popping up in hemoglobin or other genes to make the process truly Byzantine in its intricacy and cross-purposedness. The chaotic interplay of genes is not constructive at all. In the everyday world of our experience, when many unrelated threads get tangled together, the result is not a pretty tapestry -- it's a Gordian knot. Is that where Darwinian evolution also leads?"



[The Edge of Evolution: The Search for the Limits of Darwinism, by Dr. Michael J. Behe, New York: Free Press, 2007, pages 33-34]





Thank you too for your great courage in maintaining your course and your commitment to rendering these complex ideas, with their ineluctible ramifications about Intelligent Design and Creationism, accessible to the educated lay public (the very people who provide the funding via their taxes for much of the scientific research that so often seems to be undertaken by those eager to debunk and defame the simple faith of their taxpaying patrons).



Sincerely,

Michael Korn

The Edge of Evolution: The Search for the Limits of Darwinism
Got the book in good time and it is as advertised.The book is a very good read.Behe is an excellent writer.

Very interesting and thought provoking
This book is the continuation of the critique begun in Dr. Behe's first book, Darwin's Black Box, where he explored which biological processes and structures are potentially beyond the limits of evolutionary processes.In that book, most examples were on the level of cell structures or processes such as blood clotting.

The primary topic in The Edge of Evolution is the interaction between humans and malaria as an example for what genetic mutation and natural selection can accomplish in terms of evolutionary progress.This exploration is based on the recent advances in our understanding of DNA and the genome.So, the edge of evolution explored is more focused on the DNA information content available to drive biological processes.

Four stars- only for a few minor editing improvements that could be made- other than that, absolutely fascinating!

From the author who claimed 'Astrology' is science
Everything that Behe says evolution can't do in fact does. This is another tautology in the series of un-intelligent design genre from the author who claimed under his definition of science that astrology would be included in Dover vs Kitzmiller.

I am glad to see these books not in the science section at my Borders/Barnes & Noble but rather in "philosophy" where they should be. Or maybe "speculation" if such a header existed. Irreducible Complexity has been proven false by many scientists. Every example that Behe gives has been disputed. He is now known in scientific circles as somewhat of a kook even by other members of his own faculty. His school is "quick" to say they do not agree with his position on intelligent design.

Here is what they have said:

"The department faculty, then, are unequivocal in their support of evolutionary theory, which has its roots in the seminal work of Charles Darwin and has been supported by findings accumulated over 140 years. The sole dissenter from this position, Prof. Michael Behe, is a well-known proponent of "intelligent design." While we respect Prof. Behe's right to express his views, they are his alone and are in no way endorsed by the department. It is our collective position that intelligent design has no basis in science, has not been tested experimentally, and should not be regarded as scientific. "

Scientific Inquiry of the Highest Order
Let me begin by saying that this is a difficult book for me to review.First, I am not a scientist, let alone a biologist.I am a pastor.Therefore, judging the scientific accuracy of all of Behe's writing is beyond my capabilities.The other reason that reviewing this book is difficult for me is because I am an unapologetic Creationist, one of those "morons" or "idiots" that Darwinists so frequently deride.Therefore, reading Behe's book without prejudice was difficult since he is clearly an evolutionist, although not a Neo-Darwinian evolutionist.Although my credentials are limited to say the least, I have read extensively in the area of evolution and intelligent design, including "The Blind Watchmaker" by Richard Dawkins, several titles by Paul Davies, Mark Perakh's "Unintelligent Design", and other titles by Hawkings, etc., in addition to ID works by Behe, Meyer, Dembski and others.

Nevertheless, I will review this book and will give it a very positive review.I frequently read reviews of ID literature that simply dismiss it as non-scientific.Were anyone to make such a statement about this book, it is obvious they have not read it!This is scientific inquiry of the highest order!

Behe uses research data taken from work with the malaria bacteria and the HIV virus (and to a lesser extent E. coli) to demonstrate what random mutation and natural selection (the heart and core of Darwinian evolution) can and cannot do.He reaches the conclusion that any mutations involving more than two protein-protein binding sites are beyond the "edge of evolution."He then extrapolates beyond these micro-organisms to multi-cellular organisms.Since the populations of these simpler organisms carefully studied in the laboratory far exceed the population of living beings such a mammals, it `s clear that the more complex organism are not going to be able to exceed the mutational abilities of the simpler ones. Thus, Behe would say that the edge of random evolution would have to lie somewhere between biological Classes and Species, in the realm of Orders, Families or Genera (or dare I add, Biblical "kinds"?).Anything above that level of variation would have to be purposely designed.

Interestingly, Behe seems to lean toward a "designed" universe that had all the laws of nature carefully fine-tuned and all the information painstakingly pre-specified to produce intelligent life without any outside interference after an initial act of creation.Thus, evolution (although not random but programmed) is still the explanation for the vast diversity of life forms we see today, according to Behe.

His appendix on "nanobots" is especially helpful in understanding how the molecular machinery of the cell functions on the basis of physical laws and actions, like the ordinary tools and machines we see in everyday life. The description of the assembly of the bacterial flagellum alone would convince me that this biological system had to be designed and executed by an agent of great intelligence with foresight and purpose.

If you are open to serious consideration of the limits neo-Darwinian evolution through random mutation(or even domain shuffling, which he considers in an appendix) and natural selection, I would highly recommend Behe's book.It is not light reading.It takes serious concentration to grasp some of the highly technical information that is discussed in the book, however, I believe Behe does a good job of making it accessible even to a layman like myself.It was well worth the read, in terms of increasing my understanding of the complexity of living things and the limits of variation by means of random evolution.

... Read more

Product Description
Scientists believe that every human on the planet is descended from a woman who lived in Africa 100,000 years ago. "Origins" tells the incredible story of homo sapiens - where we came from, why we made it (and why 20 human-like species didn't) and what it means to be 'human' anyway. Part one takes us back through evolution to meet our ancestors. From the ape-like Proconsul who lived in Africa 17 million years ago to Homo floresiensis, the dwarf human species which survived on the Indonesian island of Flores until 18,000 years ago. The most accurate facial reconstructions available bring us up close with these familiar yet alien relatives, and artworks give a compelling insight into their lives - where they lived, what they wore, whether they spoke, what they ate, what animals existed. Graphical timelines untangle the relationships between the different species and highlight our remarkable evolutionary journey. The second part shows how humans spread across the planet to form the diverse races and peoples we know today, from our first steps out of Africa 100,000 years ago to our arrival in New Zealand as recently as 1,000 years ago. ... Read more

Product Description
A leading evolutionary psychologist probes the hidden instincts behind our working, shopping, and spending

Evolutionary psychology-the compelling science of human nature-has clarified the prehistoric origins of human behavior and influenced many fields ranging from economics to personal relationships. In Spent Geoffrey Miller applies this revolutionary science's principles to a new domain: the sensual wonderland of marketing and status seeking that we call American consumer culture. Starting with the basic notion that the goods and services we buy unconsciously advertise our biological potential as mates and friends, Miller examines the hidden factors that dictate our choices in everything from lipstick to cars, from the magazines we read to the music we listen to. With humor and insight, Miller analyzes an array of product choices and deciphers what our decisions say about ourselves, giving us access to a new way of understanding-and improving-our behaviors. Like Freakonomics or The Tipping Point, Spent is a bold and revelatory book that illuminates the unseen logic behind the chaos of consumerism and suggests new ways we can become happier consumers and more responsible citizens. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (25)

Just as expected!
I recieved my book and it is in perfect condition! Would recommend this seller to anyone looking for a new or used book for school for cheap. I only paied $7.00 with shipping and it would have cost me MUCH more if I had bought it at my college's book store or at Borders/Barnes and Noble. Being a collge kid on a budget, this helped me out a lot!

An interesting interpretation of consumer behavior and critique of contemporary marketing
This is an interesting book that combines Evolutionary Psychology (EP) with marketing to offer a different explanation of why we buy what we buy. I think the author correctly points out that the issues he raises here are under-appreciated or not even recognized in traditional marketing theory.

It is far more slanted toward EP than marketing, though -- spending a lot of time to explain concepts in EP and then making the connection with marketing. It's a refreshing take on the genre.

In a number of places, I did find myself questioning his conclusions, though. I tried to be as honest as possible about my own motivations in buying things and didn't find a fit with what he was telling me. But that may be OK -- after all, he is talking about biological motivation and survival of the fittest and not anything rational or necessarily conscious.

If you are new to the topic and want a really entertaining trifecta, take these three books together:

- "Spent" (this book)
- "All Marketers Are Liars" by Seth Godin
- "Great Apes" by Will Self

You will never see the consumerist world in the same way again after those three :)

Interesting ideas, poorly presented
This book is an exploration of consumption from the standpoint of evolutionary psychology.Miller is an author and marketing consultant as well as an evolutionary psychology researcher.In this book, he argues that aspects of conspicuous consumption may bring about reproductive advantage, and are thus favored in human evolution. Marketers may use these traits to encourage increased sales. In the first part of the book, Miller argues that human evolutionary psychology can explain many facets of consumption and overconsumption.He then identifies six dimensions of human psychology that vary across individuals and predict character, capabilities, and behavior: general intelligence, openness to experience, conscientiousness, agreeableness, stability, and extraversion. In the second part of the book,Miller discusses some of these traits in detail, and the relationship between the individual traits and consumerism.In the final part of the book, he explores alternative ways that humans can display the traits while escaping the trap of consumerism. The book includes a list of references for further reading, grouped by topic.

While this book has some interesting ideas that are well worth contemplating, I found Miller's presentation of the topics quite off-putting, as well as carelessly stated or inconsistent in places and simply tossed together without much thought for reality in the last section on recommendations.Milleris highly opinionated and often tucks in rants about his personal preferences instead of relying on facts to make his point.For instance, he takes no pains to avoid insulting entire groups of people or professions to the point of libel, such as when he states "there are plenty of open-minded novelty seekers who love strange ideas and experiences, but who are not very bright.They constitute the market for fantasy novels, self-help books, nutraceuticals, facial piercings, music by Enya, degrees in nonevolutionary psychology, and every product labeled 'homeopathic'." His logic is at times implied, for good reason, namely, stating some claims explicitly would take him out of bounds: "...marketing's power is quite decentralized.There is no unified conspiracy, no secret Masonic Temple, to perpetuate capitalism, consumerism, patriarchy, heterosexism, racism, or general mass stupidity and apathy. The World Trade Organization is just 630 folks working in a five-story office building at 154 Rue de Lausanne in Geneva."

When introducing the 6 dimensions of human personality, Miller states that they are normally distributed across the population, yet "males and females have different average levels of agreeableness...the distribution of male agreeableness overlaps substantially with the distribution of female agreeableness...Nation, region, language, culture, socioeconomic status, class, and education level may predict consumer behavior mainly because they are correlated with some of the Central Six traits."A more thorough discussion of the normal distribution of the traits is greatly needed in this case, because it's not at all clear how traits that are normally distributed across the human population would be predicted to differ systematically enough to cause behavioral differences across gender, nations, culture, socioeconomic status, education level, etc.But Miller doesn't bother to explain such apparent statistical complications.

It's hard to tell where Miller is being serious in the final section on recommendations.At one point, he suggests that people could avoid the perils of consumption as a means of displaying their personality traits by having their trait scores tattooed on their foreheads--was this supposed to be a joke, or was Miller writing under the influence of behavior changing substances?He doesn't quite make it clear whether the tattoo proposal was to be taken seriously, or was just presented as an amusing tongue-in-cheek suggestion.Overall, while this book contains some interesting discussion about some theories of human evolutionary psychology and how they might explain some consumer behavior, there must be some more informative, better written material out there for those who truly want to learn about the subject.

Spent - diminishing returns
The author starts out swinging in this polemic of Western Civilization's increasing gap between the instincts and responses people developed during the hunter/gatherer stage and our gadget ridden, convenience oriented society now.The key premise is that we've always had these drives to display, to the fellow members of our society, the traits that make us look like good people to know or mate with. Mr. Miller breaks these down into what he calls "The Central Six".These he explains quite well from an evolutionary psychology perspective, and this part of the book is very interesting.After that, he starts giving us advice.This is where things fell apart for me, as most of the advice didn't need the preceeding explanation to be credible - it all sounds like common sense to me. Evolution is a very tricky thing to predict and/or speculate upon because it is easy for idealism to intrude and we come up with naive, Pollyanna interpretations of nature.It is possible to speculate that the tendency to murder is the product of evolution, as well as altruism and collaboration.Mr. Miller winds up offering advice reminsicent of "Baba Ram Das" or Alan Watts in the context of our complex environment.By using speculations drawn from a study of the evolution of behavior to validate his conclusions about how we "should" be, he introduces a standard that could also be used to validate hoarding, rape, or theft, as any of those trait might be the ones theat assure survival at a particular moment in time.

The Mating Mind: Part II
Geoffrey Miller again doesn't disappoint, and his recent book Spent represents the natural result of the outstanding previous book "The Mating Mind".

Maybe not as immediately fascinating as The MM (I've read it twice in a row, having much more pleasure in the second reading), Spent reveals once again how deep and unconventional is prof.Miller's intellectual work, even compared to other Evolutionary Psychology scholars.

Engaging and insightful read, it enriches the discussion made earlier by Prof. Miller, which focused mostly on the birth of human intelligence as a means of self-promotion to potential partners (mating signal), and widens it to include the display of personal traits to friends and relatives as well (social signal).
From this broader perspective Miller can make a critical analysis of the behavior of modern humankind, and in particular of the consumerist behavior, which happens to be the preferred way to display our own qualities in the modern world.
His analisys of modern consumerism is not negative and unfavorable in every aspects, as could be a marxist one, as he acknowledges the marketers ability to turn our world into a big playground. The problem is that through the purchase of consumer products, and this is one of the theses of the book, we have chosen a very poor and inadequate way of "advertise" our traits, conveying often no information about ourselves but our spending power (Pecunia non olet mode).

And what's more important is that, although the urge to display is unescapable (doomed to display), the way we do it is not carved in stone, but contingent and determined by historical conditions, and could have been different.
Miller then suggests some ways to counteract this state of things, trying, for example, to create local communities of like-minded people, where it is easier to be valued and appreciated without the necessity to pass through the consumeristic gate. I have to say that some advices could result a bit visionary and utopian, but they are anyway witty and thought-provoking.

Eagerly waiting for the next book, I strongly recommend this one, in particular to those high in Openness.
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Product Description
Hard Sell tells you things about the American pharmaceutical industry you'd rather not know and about practices you'd rather weren't happening. But once you pick it up, you won't want to put this book down.

Jamie Reidy is to the pharmaceutical business what Jerry Maguire was to professional sports and Frank Abagnale (Catch Me If You Can) was to bank fraud. He's the guy who's been there, done that, and walked away with the insider stories. You'll find yourself rooting for Reidy and at the same time, you'll be shocked by the realities of the world that paid his salary.

Hard Sell is a witty expose; of an industry that touches nearly everyone in contemporary America. It reveals the questionable practices of drug reps, nurses, and even physicians. Reidy traces his ups and downs as a rep for giant drug manufacturer Pfizer, maker of some of the most widely prescribed and used drugs in existence, including Viagra.

With equal parts self-confidence and self-mockery, Reidy tells it like it is in the drug-selling trenches that are our local doctors' offices. The result is a funny and fascinating book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (31)

Hard Sell
Everything went fine.The book came as promised and in excellent condition. Very pleased with the transaction.

Regarding the book itself, the author writes in a comical fashion about his entry into the world of business.However, in my opinion, the writer, if he is telling about his actual efforts, comes off as an arrogant, pompous boob.If he meant this to be a tongue-in-cheek history of his performance, I would say his effort was successful.

Hard sell
I have not read the book. The shipped book was nasty, dirty and looked like it had been in someone's garbage dumpster and then they shipped it out. Needless to say, I threw it in the trash and haven't read it.

An OK diversion from my real life
An interesting book about the life of a "drug rep".I knew a bit about this career before reading it, but now I feel like I have lived it.There was less Viagra humor than I anticipated, but more career discussion.

While I generally enjoyed this book, it seemed to end rather abruptly without drawing any conclusions.

Two books in one
This book is really two books:the first 25% and the last 25% are interesting observations of how Big Pharma works(like a well oiled machine); the role of sales reps(helping MDs sort through the welter of info they get); the tactics of persuasion employed on Mds(hard core selling but effective; and the hiring of sexy/attractive woman as reps(it works) . The middle is how he did as little work as possible for the most benefit to himself---depending on your outlook it will either make you laugh or make you angry. All in all, a worthwhile and easy read. One note: the quality of the paper and the proofing is very poor as is the overall look of the book. I tend to think that he ran it by several publishers before he alighted on this one.

Dare I say it...?
Breathtaking!I laughed so hard, it took my breath away. (All apologies to Berlin and Top Gun fans)Sometimes the small chuckle and facial smirk.Sometimes a belly laugh that comes from deep inside.It was a journey of frivolity mixed with hilarity all around a gooey heartfelt center.

I heard the author read at a book signing and while he has a face for radio, he also possesses a big future as a novelist. ... Read more

Product Description
All of us are part of an old, old family. The roots of our family tree reach back millions of years to the beginning of life on earth. Open this family album and embark on an amazing journey. You'll meet some of our oldest relatives--from both the land and the sea--and discover what we inherited from each of them along the many steps of our wondrous past.
Complete with an illustrated timeline and glossary, here is the story of human evolution as it's never been told before.
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Customer Reviews (17)

Very elementary
So elementary and simplified that it was of no use to me. I guess it's ok for very small children whose parents want to introduce them to the basic idea.

Just awesome.
I was looking for a book that would help my son (5 yrs) better understand what I believe about science and evolution as oposed to what his father believes (the classic Christian creation story). I needed something more than just telling him that I don't believe god created people and that's that. So I went searching. And this was my first hit, my first purchase, and I am SO happy with it.

We just received our package yesterday and my son and I sat and read the book. He loved it. Like another reviewer said, it is very hard for him to grasp millions of years, but I found that just explaining to him in terms of a "long time ago" a "long, long time ago" and a "long, long, long time ago" helped him get the basic idea. He asked questions, and made observations, and was fascinated by the pictures.

This book is just the start in educated him on science, but it is a good one. I've recommended it to all my similarly perplexed friends for their children.

Great naturalistic book for my Kindergartener and 2nd grader!
Perhaps the most fundamental question is: "where did we come from?".This wonderful book addresses that question head on from a secular, scientific point of view, starting with the first life forms on Earth.It walks us through the major evolutionary steps along the path, and ends up with us humans.Along the way, it discusses our ancestors of the period, and what is new about them (forelimbs, lungs, warm bloodedness, walking upright).It also captures critical events in the history of life on earth (e.g. the great dying at end of Permian, just before the dinosaurs).About 2 billion adults on this planet would learn a lot by reading this book, but it is just perfect for little kids.The prose is artfully and clearly written, and the illustrations are simple but appealing.I have never seen a book that teaches our evolutionary heritage more clearly to a young audience!My kids wanted me to read it to them multiple times.

Great evolution story - scientific but also a good tale
My 4yo daughter was asking about where the first people and dogs came from so I looked into different books to explain evolution.This one is perfect for her age because it is not technical at all though not inaccurate - it tells the story of evolution with beautiful words and pictures that read like a creation myth.People have always had creation myths and evolution is really no different. It doesn't have to be just boring technical stuff - it can also be a great story.I think this is a great book for children (and adults).

Very pleased
This book is a superb introduction to evolution for small children.Millions of years are distilled into a simple chain of events from the beginning of life to modern man.Critical events are touched on such as Pangaea and when life was almost wiped out.The illustrations are rich and colorful, the text large and simple.Tree of Life by Ellen Jackson attempts to do something similar, but I sent it back because it did it so poorly.This book is a keeper and will be used for both history and science in homeschooling an elementary age child.
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Product Description
What is the biological reason for gossip?
For laughter? For the creation of art?
Why do dogs have curly tails?
What can microbes tell us about morality?

These and many other questions are tackled by renowned evolutionist David Sloan Wilson in this witty and groundbreaking new book. With stories that entertain as much as they inform, Wilson outlines the basic principles of evolution and shows how, properly understood, they can illuminate the length and breadth of creation, from the origin of life to the nature of religion. Now everyone can move beyond the sterile debates about creationism and intelligent design to share Darwin’s panoramic view of animal and human life, seamlessly connected to each other.

Evolution, as Wilson explains, is not just about dinosaurs and human origins, but about why all species behave as they do—from beetles that devour their own young, to bees that function as a collective brain, to dogs that are smarter in some respects than our closest ape relatives. And basic evolutionary principles are also the foundation for humanity’s capacity for symbolic thought, culture, and morality.

In example after example, Wilson sheds new light on Darwin’s grand theory and how it can be applied to daily life. By turns thoughtful, provocative, and daringly funny, Evolution for Everyone addresses some of the deepest philosophical and social issues of this or any age. In helping us come to a deeper understanding of human beings and our place in the world, it might also help us to improve that world.


From the Hardcover edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (38)

Improving the ivory tower with evolutionary thought
Picking up David Sloan Wilson's Evolution for Everyone: How Darwin's Theory Can Change the Way We Think About Our Lives on the advice of a friend, I expected a strident, uninspiring defense of a scientific theory most already subscribe to. What the reader gets is far more than a defense of evolution, it is a stirring expansion of the theory to include disciplines as diverse as international relations, psychology, economics, literature, and religion. With easy-to-follow prose and colorful examples ranging from African dung beetles to tribal altruism in micro-societies, this book was incredibly difficult to put down.

The author views evolution not as a mere tool for understanding how living organisms were favored to retain some trait or behavior over another. Rather, it is a theoretical framework for understanding the wider world around us. Evolution can help us understand the practice of excommunication, political corruption and the emergence of symbolic thought in humans. Another treat of Evolution for Everyone: How Darwin's Theory Can Change the Way We Think About Our Lives is the numerous recommendations for further reading. Regardless of your college major or outside interest, there is one chapter in this book everyone will connect with. The recommended works and sites allow a deeper investigation and perhaps practice applying an evolutionary framework to non-scientific disciplines.

There is an admitted bias for the amateur science which was very common in the 18th and 19th centuries. Sloan Wilson advocates use of evolution for policy-makers, economists, linguists, scientists and managers' problem solving. Wherever and whatever you study, Evolution for Everyone: How Darwin's Theory Can Change the Way We Think About Our Lives is a must-read.

Probably one of the best books I've ever read
I was never taught evolution in school because my teachers considered it to be dangerous.However, the more I read this book, the better I understand why it is absolutely essential for us to make the most out of our lives and to gain knowledge about ourselves.This book is a masterpiece which ties together science with common sense, humor with practical thinking, and it is one of the most entertaining and enlightening books I've read in a long time.5 stars, hands down.

There Is no God but Evolution, and Darwin Is Its Prophet!
Let me open with my own biases up front.I am a Christian, with a Masters in Military History (I'm a soldier), and an interest in evolution and atheist theology.I read this book to keep up with both.

David Sloan Wilson is clearly a creative, entertaining writer.His book is at its best in the early chapters, with many examples of the amazing ways organisms adapt to their changing environments.In fact, he could have called the book "Adaptation for Everyone," since (like every book on evolution I've read) there is no example cited of a species actually turning into another species.

The book starts going astray when Wilson applies evolution to things like culture, international relations, and social improvement.The theme of the book is that evolution is the answer to all things, and that a person who can think in evolutionary terms can solve any and everyproblem in any field.What comes out, though, is not real solutions, but bland well-worn truisms that require no "evolutionary thinking" to deduce.For example, all of chapter 33 is devoted to proving that people whose basic needs met, and whose circumstances are good, tend to be morepositive and altruistic than those in poor or harsh circumstances.No kidding, really?So the solution is to change environments so that everyone's circumstances are good.In other words, if we solve all the world's problems, we'll solve all the world's problems.Wow.

Similarly, chapters 29 - 31 are aimed at proving that we don't really need religion, just good moral principles without any "irrational" supernatural beliefs, and everything will be fine.Chapter 31 is a listing of "evolutionary wisdom" for the behaviors of nations in the "global village."It includes 'brilliant' insights such as "powerful nations should learn the virtue of humility" and "morality is required for morale."Ah, how would we know these things without Evolution to guide us?One could summarize these three chapters as "we should all just get along" - and lose no real content thereby.

What is particularly exasperating is Wilson's assumption that religious beliefs are somehow "irrational" (as he states specifically in Chapter 29).He never bothers to demonstrate why this is so - he says so, and that makes it so.It never occurs to him that he is only right if atheism is right, a position both unproven and unprovable.On the other hand, if there is a God, then it is the atheists who are irrational.Wilson spends no effort considering this - and since this belief underpins the entire argument of his book, the whole thing falls like a house of cards if that one unproven element turns out to be wrong.To use Wilson's own metaphor, a flimsy scaffold to stand on!

This book is another in a long line of evolutionist books that promise that "evolution and religion, those old enemies...can be brought harmoniously together." But what Wilson preaches is not evolution, which is a theory about the rise of bioligical diversity.No, he preaches evolutionism, the idea that evolution is everything.And he does indeed offer peace - just as soon as the religious people surrender and accept Evolution as God.

If you have an interest in the latest evolution thinking, find this book in a library like I did.Don't waste money buying it, there are better books out there, such as: Chance or Purpose? Creation, Evolution and a Rational Faith; Life's Solution: Inevitable Humans in a Lonely Universe; The Cosmos in the Light of the Cross

entry level evolution
Natural selection and materialism does change the way you think about life; are we made for the entertainment and pleasure of a diety or are we the products of impersonal natural forces? I recommend this to those who are trying to understand evolution via natural selection, but only after reading Dawkins' and Coyne's books on it as a foundation (assuming you don't have a scientific background).

Accessable and Readable
This is a good book for the non-scientist or evolution expert. It's an enjoyable read and very informative. ... Read more

Product Description

This beautiful mix of art and science offers a breathtaking look at the way that contemporary scientific discoveries are changing our understanding of plants and plant evolution. Nearly one hundred and fifty paintings, by eighty-four artists, are reproduced in full color to present a sweeping overview of the evolution of plants worldwide. The paintings cover a wide range of plants, including ferns, fungi, conifers, algae, mosses, and a rich bounty of flowering plants; accompanying each painting is up-to-date evolutionary information—drawn from recent DNA analysis—plus observations by each of the artists and details about modern plant classification. Written for the nonspecialist, The Art of Plant Evolution is sure to enchant inquisitive green thumbs and gardeners.

Customer Reviews (2)

Fabulous art and exciting taxonomy
This is a wonderful book, with up to date information on plant classification and taxonomy based on DNA rather than visual relationships. The art illustrating the new relationships is fabulous. This is a must have for any serious botanist or botanical artist.

Art and science packaged to perfection
This is the type of book from which everyone can learn because of its "liberal arts" nature. The book lays out the current science of plant evolution but in a most interesting way. By putting stunning botanical art in a sequence parallel to evolutionary relationships, you begin to see the value of botanical art, not just as something lovely to look at, but as a learning tool for those interested in how plant anatomy relates to plant evolution. It is not a book intended for plant evolutionary biologists to get current with their field nor is it a primer for aspiring botanical artists. It would be shallow in that respect. That being said, it is not a "coffee table" book in the sense that you can thumb through it and put it down. It contains significant botanical content and enough text to learn not only about how plant relationships are established but how the artist themselves came into prominence. When all is said and done the price is one of the more amazing things. Over 300 thick giant pages of art and text - such a deal. For those of you thinking of cutting out the art for framing many of the plates are broken by the binder as they span two pages but the paper is thick enough that if you were ever so short-sighted as to get your scissors out at least the images that are on a single page do not show print from the back of the page. But please keep this book intact and enjoy it for a long time. What a great idea it was to join art and science in a way that everyone benefits. ... Read more

Product Description
Clear and concise explanations of the development of theories explaining physical phenomena. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

Extremely good simple explanation of physics.
This book is deceptively accessible to non-scientists and young people. It is deceptively accessible because it is profound physical principles simply explained as Einstein and Infield saw it at the time, it is physics and not mathematics. The math used is basic and the book explains all of itvery carefully. It is not a comprehensive book on physics.
After reading this short book (perhaps many times over)the reader will gain a wonderful understanding of both classical and modern physics as Einstein saw it
It is deceptive because the physical principles are simple and also a profound part of Einstein's thinking about classical physics, modern physics, relativity and quantum physics, and Einstein's though processes in developing relativity and quantum physics from some seminal basic concepts in classical physics. It also explains what physics is all about, its philosophy, the scientific method, and the history of physics.
It is fascinating to read of the evolution of Einstein's thinking in physics to his discovery of special and general relativity and quantum physics, told in his own words with the help of Infeld. This book is one of the all time classics of science.
Excellent for both children and adults with an interest in science, physics, and Einstein. may be used as a suvey text, although it was not written to be a textbook. a scientific classic. extremely easy to understand explanation of Einstein's thinking on classical and modern physics. the math is explained, where it is used.
It also includes Einstein's views of quantum physics and statistics, and it does not suggest that there was any conflict between Bohr and Einstein on this issue, although there were famous debates between them. This book suggests that Einstein had by the time the book was written accepted the statistical nature of quantum physics.
I would also recommend Einstein's "Relativity and the General Theory" and also the classic paperback of reprints of the original works of Einstein and others on relativity (more advanced but of great value to see the original papers).
In the Evolution of Physics are extremely clear explanations of what is science, physics the history of thought in physics, the evolution of classical thought in physics and how it led to relativity, and quantum physics. What we mean by modern and classical physics, relativity, the statistical nature of quantum physics as distinct to the use of statistics in everyday usage and in classical physics, the difference between between math and physics, theory and evidence, the contradiction between theory and evidence as the ultimate source of new theories which better explains the evidence, the philosophy of science.
All of these topics are discussed clearly, simply and profoundly for both scientists and non scientists. The book is deceptively simple and actually requires probably at least more than one full reading to really understand it. After you have read it completely, a rereading will provide greater insights into the meaning of the earlier chapters. Many of us will find ourselves reading it many times for its beauty and clarity.
This book is in summary a brilliant scientific classic, a survey of physics, wonderfully accessible to the general public, stemming from the collaboration of Einstein and his assistant Infield. Highly recommended. Enjoy!

The Evolution of Physics
This is a wonderful book ultimately leading to a discussion of relativity.Even so, the style of exposition is unusually good. I suspect Professor Infield wrote the book, albeit in collaboration with Professor Einstein. I feel his ability to make complex concepts relatively easy to understand rivals the teaching style of the beloved physicist and educator, Richard Feynman. Anyone interested in physics needs to read this book, not only for the invaluable content, but also as an example of a communication style which is only rarely encountered.

Very good for many different readers
As the authors state, ".. thought and ideas, not formulas, are the beginning of every physical theory".True to this statement, this book focuses on thoughts and ideas and does not use any formulas at all.This makes it good as an adjunct for standard texts that contain the formulas, but not as a substitute for such books.This book is divided into four sections: the rise of the mechanical view, the decline of the mechanical view, field and relativity, and quanta.It is thus about how the mechanical view of Newton evolved into the modern view of physics (relativity theory and quantum mechanics).

I would like to focus on how this book might be perceived for three different classes of readers.
(1) For those who have never taken a physics course (or did and tried to forget the experience as soon as possible) --The lack of any mathematics may be comforting to this class of reader, but it will nonetheless not be an easy read for them.The basic concepts, such as inertia, may be difficult to grasp for those with no previous physics background, but the author's do a good job of describing things.(A task made more difficult without recourse to the shorthand of mathematics.) I would, however, recommend this book only to those who are motivated to go well beyond their comfort zone.However, if they focus on the concepts that are being described and are patient in following the lines of reasoning, they should be richly rewarded.
(2) For those who have taken physics courses, but do not have advanced degrees in physics--I put myself in this group and I thoroughly enjoyed this book.I liked this book because it focuses on the why (the basic underlying theories of physics), rather than on the how (problem solving).In doing so, it provided a much better understanding of what is behind the equations than I found in physics texts.I got a very clear picture of the deficiencies of Newtonian mechanics and Maxwell's equations, and how this led to relativity theory.I found this very illuminating as it more clearly showed me Einstein's thought process.If found this even clearer than that presented in Einstein's book on relativity (prepared for a general readership).Of all the groups of readers, I think that people in this group will get the most from this book.
(3) For those with advanced degrees in physics - People in this group may have already been exposed to the concepts described here, but this book will still be very helpful in that it shows clearly Einstein's logic in developing relativity theory and the quantum theory of light.Much of this may be old hat to this group, but the book will still be of interest from a historical perspective.

I think that this book does an admirable job of appealing to and satisfying the needs of readers who approach the subject with diverse backgrounds.

An excelent book on physics
An excellent book about physics, its history and its philosophy. The concepts are well explained, discussed, compared in a conversational and rigorous style. And done with the contribution of Einstein.
With this book you will understand what physics really is; what is behind the science undertaking; what is science after all. A must book to serious interested readers

Excellent book
Outstanding book to understand the way of thinking which resulted in introducing the various concepts associated with Physics. Thoughwritten for general audience, this book needs to be read with care, and constant attention to see the remarkable connection between seemingly unrelated concepts like light, heat, electricity. Read this along with the book "Einstein's Heros by Arianrhod" to enjoy a different aspect of Physics. ... Read more

Product Description
"Sparkling . . . an extraordinary true-adventure story, complete with trials, tribulations and moments of exultation."—Kirkus Reviews, starred reviewAward-winning cultural historian Iain McCalman tells the stories of Charles Darwin and his staunchest supporters: Joseph Hooker, Thomas Huxley, and Alfred Wallace. Beginning with the somber morning of April 26, 1882—the day of Darwin's funeral—Darwin's Armada steps back and recounts the lives and scientific discoveries of each of these explorers, who campaigned passionately in the war of ideas over evolution and advanced the scope of Darwin's work. 16 pages black-and-white illustrations ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Ships Ahoy!The origin of Darwin's "Origin"
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"It is so often forgotten that what had brought these four very different and distinguished Victorian figures together so as to be 'strengthened in brotherly love' was their separate participation as young men in daring scientific voyages of exploration to the southern oceans.These four voyages created 'a Masonic bond' as a result of being 'well salted in early life.'The voyagers were tested, emotionally, physically, and intellectually, and they felt themselves transformed in the deepest sense--as scientists and as people...

Through their South Sea odysseys, these four young, romantically-minded amateur naturalists gained access to one of the richest, natural laboratories on the globe.They each discovered evidence from which to build new scientific theories, and each stored life-long memories of common experience of hardship and pleasure that bound them together like shipmates.Out of these southern adventures grew their friendship, their interlocking scientific interests, and finally their joint participation in Darwin's evolution war.The southern oceans were the training ground of the seamen who would lead Darwin's armada to ultimate victory."

The above comes from the prologue of the fascinating book by Iain McCalman, an award-winning professor at the University of Sydney.

The "four...Victorian figures" and their voyages referred to above are as follows:

(1) Charles Darwin (1809 to 1882).Voyage date: 1831 to 1836.Lands explored: South America, Africa, Australia, and many small islands such as the Galapagos Islands.

(2) Joseph Dalton Hooker (1817 to 1911).Voyage date: 1839 to 1843.Lands explored:Africa, Antarctica, Australia, New Zealand, and many small islands such as the Falkland Islands.(He later became known as Sir Hooker.)

(3) Thomas Huxley (1825 to 1895).Voyage date: 1846 to 1850.Lands explored: Australia, New Guinea, and small islands such as the Louisiade Archipelago.(He later became known as "Darwin's Bulldog.")

(4) Alfred Russel Wallace (1823 to 1913).Voyages collective date: 1848 to 1866.Lands explored: Amazon, South-East Asia.(He is known as evolution's "co-discoverer.")

It is the first four parts of this book that tells the true story of each of these scientists' voyages.These parts are well-written.Each part has a map of the actual voyage taken.

The exceptionally well-written last part explains how these four got together in the interest of science.Hooker, Huxley, and Wallace crucially influenced the publication and reception of Darwin's masterpiece, "On the Origin of Species" (1859).

Finally, included are the actual writings of these four great men.Peppered throughout the book are black and white photographs.In the book's center are located almost thirty colour photographs.

In conclusion, this book is a must-read for anyone interested in how the theory of evolution developed!!

(first American edition published 2009;prologue;5 parts or 15 chapters;epilogue;main narrative 375 pages;notes;bibliography;acknowledgements;index)

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Voyages of the First Evolutionary Biologists
Charles Darwin set off on the voyage of the H.M. S. Beagle in part because he had been inspired by earlier voyages by Humboldt and others. The world was still largely unexplored and of course the British Navy had several motives in exploring it further, including commerce and military intelligence about depths and coastlines, should it be required.In the process Darwin was able to collect a large number of specimens and make numerous observations which laid the groundwork for the Theory of Natural Selection.But, as Iain McCalman points out in his book "Darwin's Armada: Four Voyages and the Battle for the Theory of Evolution", Darwin was not the only biologist who would be both involved in evolutionary theory and in nautical adventures.Darwin's later associates Joseph Hooker and Thomas Henry Huxley would also be traveling on extended expeditions aboard naval ships.Hooker with the Ross Expedition to Antarctica (1839-43) aboard the H.M.S. Erebus (accompanied by the H.M.S. Terror) and Huxley to Australia and New Guinea (1846-50) aboard the H.M.S. Rattlesnake.In addition from 1848 to 1866, Alfred Russel Wallace, the co-discoverer of the Theory of Natural Selection, sailed on various ships to the Amazon and Southeast Asia.He was an amateur who was not an official naturalist, or even an assistant as Hooker was, or a surgeon's mate as Huxley was, and he had to fund his expeditions by collecting for others. However, despite their disparate backgrounds the four men became strong allies after the Theory of Natural Selection was announced at a meeting of the Linnaean Society in 1858.

Ian McCalman has captured the drama of the expeditions and also the very human attributes of the men involved. Darwin had some issues with his captain, Robert Fitzroy, and after returning to England was troubled by health problems and the death of a beloved daughter. Hooker was often unsure of himself during the voyage and was censured by his father for not doing more, while Huxley was reluctant to leave his ship and was often depressed and worried about his relationship with his future wife. Wallace lost most of his collections and notes from the Amazon in a ship fire and came to his conclusions about Natural Selection in a bout of malaria. Yet these men persevered to become the founders and supporters of evolutionary theory.

McCalman has examined a much written-about period in scientific discovery and has produced a fresh perspective based on the main participants shipboard expeditions.This is a very readable account of the development of evolutionary theory during its early days and how each man became converted to the idea that became the basis for modern biological science.I recommend this book highly.

Evolution sets sail
Darwin's Armada: Four Voyages and the Battle for the Theory of Evolution
Readers have many new books on Charles Darwin and evolution to choose from in this bicentennial year of Darwin's birth.Darwin's Armada surely must rank among the better ones suitable for a broad audience.It consists of five parts.The first four recount the exploration expedition experiences of Darwin, Joseph Hooker, Thomas Huxley, and Alfred Wallace.The fifth describes the events surrounding the publication of Darwin's and Wallace's papers on evolution and the subsequent battles to win support for their theory.

The first four sections serve as good short biographies for significant parts of these men's careers, particularly useful to readers not already versed in the lives of one or more of them.McCalman, a distinguished Australian professor, places emphasis on their southern Pacific experiences, though not exclusively.None of the four was an accomplished naturalist when they first set out on their respective voyages, and one of the values of McCalman's accounts is to show how they learned on the job.He highlights how Darwin and Wallace, in particular, developed evolutionary insights from their observations of animals and plants in isolated island habitats.

McCalman underscores the social class differences among these men, and illustrates how class affected their careers and interactions with the scientific community.Darwin was from a distinguished family, but Wallace fit with the working-class and was self-educated. Hooker and Huxley fit in between, and both struggled financially at times.

I found Part Five "The Armada at War, 1859-82" to be the most rewarding.It shows how the connections among these men coalesced and why they mattered.Hooker and Darwin became friends since the mid 1840s and Hooker served as the principal sounding board for the ideas Darwin was developing about evolution.Huxley, whom Darwin first met in 1853, had to be won over, but he ultimately became the most effective publicist for Darwin's views.

The action intensifies in 1858 when Darwin received Wallace's paper "On the Tendency of Varieties to Depart Indefinitely from the Original Type," which closely aligned with Darwin's own ideas about evolution, not yet published. Darwin's friends, particularly Hooker and the geologist Charles Lyell, were concerned that Darwin not be pre-empted, and they quickly arranged for the joint reading of Darwin and Wallace papers at the Linnean Society on July 1, 1858.McCalman provides a fine account of that proceeding.He concludes that Darwin's friends had sought to advance Darwin's position versus that of Wallace, but that without their efforts Wallace's paper would likely have received no hearing.

McCalman does a good job of summarizing certain similarities and differences between the ideas of Darwin and Wallace.He mildly suggests that social class played a role in the ascendency of Darwin as the recognized innovator.Darwin clearly had one advantage: he had the leisure in 1858-1859 to pull together his thoughts into On the Origin of Species, while Wallace was still busy trying to earn a living collecting in the Malay Archipelago.Darwin would later help to arrange a government pension for Wallace.

The book begins and ends with Darwin's 1882 funeral at Westminster Abbey, a venue promoted by Huxley, ever the publicist.Huxley, Hooker, and Wallace were among the pallbearers.

Evolution, The Backstory
This is a wonderful book. It is well written and easy to read.

The author retells the stories of men whose names are often well known to students of the Life Sciences, but whose lives are not. In retelling the stories of these men whose work gave rise to the Theory of Evolution, the book brings to life the process by way of which the concept of evolution was developed and refined. Along the way, it utterly destroys the tired old Creationist/ID claim that the whole idea of evolution is "only" just one man's "theory", and not backed by any evidence.

rollicking history
McCalman offers another perspective on Darwin's humanity and his travails in the synthesis of his great theories. Hooker, Huxley and Wallace cajoled and drove Darwin to complete The Origin and then helped him to defend it. McCalman captures the mood of the period and each scientist's journey is an insight into the cogitations of an innovative thinker. This history is very readable - one can smell the sea air, feel the debilitating aspects of long ocean voyages and empathise with Darwin as he gathers evidence from around the world. If McCalman's armada sparks a deeper interest in the life and times of Darwin, try the insightful biography by Adrian Desmond and James Moore. ... Read more

Product Description
To come ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

Excelent
The product arrived before the expected, in perfect conditions.
Personally I have to say that this book is one of the best books in this topic, if you have a chance to buy it, you won't regret.

A "must-Have" Book!
This is simply a GREAT book. I am not a scientist! The book is technically more than sound and yet accessible for the natural history buff, bug fans, those interested in flower/insect symbiosis. Anyone curious about the natural world "must-have" this book on their shelves--or rather intheir hand. The book is beautiful. It is also an appropriate "gift" for a PhD specializing in etymology, although he probably already has it? Or the bright, curious high-school girl. I couldn't put it down!

A Superbly Written and Illustrated Compendium
The illustrations are stunning.

The writing is judicious and comprehensive, but never tedious or stale.

The citations are comprehensive and up-to-date, and the discussion based on them synthesizes the views of naturalists, entomologists, paleontologists, biologists, and systematists, but without ever burying important contemporary controversies.

The authors are active researchers, who somehow found the time to put this gorgeous volume together for the rest of us while pursuing their own fresh interests.

You need not be a professional to read, enjoy, and benefit from this volume.Any intelligent layperson with an abiding interest in science and the deep evo-devo connections between ourselves and this most successful animal group will gain enrichment and goggle at the photos, paintings, charts, and other graphic content.Recent fossil discoveries are particularly well discussed and displayed, but the graphics are superb overall--the illustrations of grasshopper dentition are alone worth the price of admission!

Really, what more could you want?

Any tome of this size and production quality is bound to be pricey.But there are solutions to that--encourage your local public library system to obtain a copy, or indulge in a "guest researcher" membership at your nearest university library, or simply grit your teeth and get a copy now.

Because you know volumes like these don't stay in print forever, and are not the kind that diminish greatly in price over any reasonably near term.

A precious textbook
The book was in our hands before the predicted day and in excellent conditions. It is the recommended literature to the PhD course of Entomology, in this field.

Decent book, but not all it's hyped to be
This book was a textbook for a course on insect fossils I took a few years ago and we read it cover to cover.My fellow classmates and I (all professional entomologists) had mixed reviews of this book.While it undoutedly provides a lot of good information and is a tremendous contribution to the field of insect fossils, it also contains several mistakes and leaves out a lot of important information.For example, the professor for my fossil insect course is one of the world's experts on giant water bug fossils and was appalled to see what was clearly a giant water bug fossil, from a formation in Germany he has studied himself, labeled as a naucorid, a completely different insect.A description of a dryopid beetle fossil on another page said that all stages of dryopids are aquatic when the larvae are terrestrial.My classmates and I found several such errata throughout the book and felt they seriously undermined the reliability of the information it contains.We were also all annoyed by the lack of molecular support for the arguments presented by the authors.While morphological data is certainly important to consider in systematic studies, it is blatently obvious that the authors don't think much of molecular phylogenetic data.This is unfortunate because in several cases, molecular data has cleared up long standing controversies over taxnomic deliniations where morphological data alone could not.It is clear from the text that the authors are more comfortable with the morphological data than molecular (as expected - they're experts on insect fossils), which would be fine if the book was called Insect Paleontology.However, this book is called Evolution of the Insects.Molecular data is a huge part of modern insect systematics and phylogenetics and any book purporting to canvas the subject of insect evolution should take advantage of the entire wealth of knowledge available and report on it all.That said, this book does what few other books does: it contains information on both extant and extinct linages and it covers the groups we know only through fossils as thoroughly as it does the living taxa.For me, that information alone makes this book worth reading, and is the reason I give it 3 stars insted of 2. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (49)

Incredible Creatures That Defy Evolution, 3 Volume Gift Box Set
These are awesome DVD's.I have purchased two sets as I gave away my first set.

Incredible Creatures that Defy Evolution
The cinematography in this is fantastic and opens up minute details of animals and humans that are so specifically planned for the function of that species they could not possibly be the the result of random evolution.I've seen many movies and videos before but I've never seen the kind of information that is contained on this video series. I'd definitely recommend it to any child or seriously inquiring adult. I watched it with 3 children of various ages and they were all mesmerized. The DVDs can be purchased individually, but I would recommend purchasing them in the set:Incredible Creatures That Defy Evolution 3 Vol Gift Box Set

Just amazing information to solidify Creation!
We purchased all 3 videos of the series and it was well worth it! Great footage was taken and in depth study of these different animals, that couldn't just happen. There is definitely Divine design going on here! Praise God for the beautiful creations he has made us and given us to enjoy!

Best buy for Christian homeschooled children
I bought this on a wing, hoping it would be a good buy for my younger sisters. As far as audience level is concerned I think all ages would enjoy it. The DVDs go hand in hand with the "Character Sketches" books. You would do yourself an honor to buy one of the Character Sketch volumes (buy from [...] for $50 including shipping)(I know its expensive, but worth it!) We first heard of using God animals around out home-school curriculum from the Duggars and have not regretted it.The DVD has many visual films and pictures to keep young minds attracted, but enough information and awing facts to keep the older children(10-13. I myself have enjoyed watching it and have learned a great many of things (age 18).The man who is the featured speaker on the DVD'swas a evolutionist scientist, so his own conversion is appealing. I would say a small background of evolution would be beneficial but not lethal. (For example examining the(false belief in) peppered moth, heckles embyos, etc)A side note to help with explaining those evolutionary fallacies is to go to [...] and purchase their creation posters----this would help visualize the different important scenarios in unscientific evolution.My last words of advice would be that although the item I have listed are high priced, they are worth your time. Start with the DVD's and work from there. Also, although I am coming from a presbyterian background, the websites I have listed do not enforce similar beliefs. Hope this helps bring more awe striking knowledge to Gods kingdom----dont forget to enjoy Gods word, the real and first source of love and wealth of information! have fun!

For children
This is a series for children. It doesn't go into much depth at all. They will say things like, "Oh, its just amazing, say a tadepole is being eaten by a dragonfly larvae, that tadpole will send out a message somehow that will make the other tadepoles change their color and swim away, boom just like that. I don't know how you can explain that in evolutionary terms, I don't know, but I just can't!" If you really want to be amazed, why not study the process instead of just saying they can do it. If I tried explaining things this way to an evolutionist, he'd laugh at me! You need more depth than that. It's great for kids though. I'd say ages 10 and younger. ... Read more

Product Description
The book has no illustrations or index. Purchasers are entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Subjects: Human evolution; Embryology, Human; Anatomy, Comparative; Human beings; ... Read more