Book Description
Mutant moths and feuding scientists—the real story behind the most famous experiment in twentieth-century evolutionary biology. H. B. D. Kettlewell was a British doctor who caught butterflies and moths as an all-consuming hobby. He went into the English woods with a mission—to catch "evolution in action" among the now-famous peppered moths. His work became "Darwin's missing evidence," a fixture in biology textbooks for half a century. Only recently has new research brought a different story to light. Compellingly told, Of Moths and Men reveals Kettlewell as a deluded scientist who distorted facts and suppressed evidence he didn't like. Tyrannized by his mentor, the powerful E. B. Ford—an imperious misogynist and eccentric Oxford don who was a Darwinian zealot determined to crush all enemies in his path—Kettlewell ended his life a suicide. A story of hubris and heartbreak, Of Moths and Men reveals as much about the internecine battles of science as it does about the mysteries of evolution. 16 pages of b/w photographs.
Customer Reviews:
Interesting subject in boring science area still boring..........2005-05-22
I really wanted to read this book. Even had my sister get it for me as a gift. It was a huge disappointment. It was not the subject matter. It was the way the book was written. Over the last 7 years I've read a lot of science books on different topics from a lot of authors. You can tell when someone has written science in such a way that people outside that science, not only can understand it, but get involved in it. Some people call that the 'watering down of science.' But science was never intended to be for the elite, though some promoted it that way...and for years it stayed that way through fostering 'old men's clubs' and excluding anyone different.
Evolutionary science is not easy, but other authors have made it very interesting. Entymology (study of bugs) tends to be the domain of rarified geeks...yet I've read books on forensic entymology that were absolutely spell-binding (if a bit on the gross side).
This book could have been either of the above, or both of the above types of books, but ended up being neither. It's decent but plodding writing. Okay reseach, but nothing brilliant and nothing that stands out. I realize this is a story that needed to be told, and probably needs to be retold in textbooks because so many mistakes were make; but you get the feeling it could have been done in an article in journals.
I've read about science gone awry for years. If the book is well-written the reader, especially the reader who is in science, comes away passionately bothered and wanting to change this continuing system that allows poor science to be passed as theory and more. This book elicited more of a sigh, and a trip to the local library...
Karen Sadler,
Science Education,
University of Pittsburgh
Well-written narrative on faulty science.......2004-09-06
Geoffrey Norman, whose book review in the Wall Street Journal entitled "A Flight from the Truth" enticed me to purchase this text, wrote that "for some, the fall of the peppered moth was better than Christmas morning. Creationists have had a field day with the news, especially on the Web, where a lot [of] bare-knuckles brawling occurs these days. Anyone who thought that the truth of Darwin's theory was settled in Dayton, Tenn., by Clarence Darrow--or in Beacon Wood by Bernard Kettlewell--is sure to be disabused by Ms. Hooper's fascinating book. But of course the theory of evolution will survive the collapse of Kettlewell--though some biologists cling to him with the avidity of the true believer[.] "Of Moths and Men" is a wonderful reminder that science is done by human beings, who are as flawed as the ideas they sometimes possess." Well said. Note that although this work is not a science book, per se, as other reviewers have correctly noted, the narrative includes extensive details on moths that some readers may find annoying. But if these same readers enjoy the good human character development that is interspersed throughout these details, they can definitely handle this annoyance. And because, in my opinion, Part III of this book (comprising two chapters of 12), is written so well, it is worth the time of the average reader to get through the first 10 chapters of the narrative in order to understand the implications of the faulty science of the peppered moth. Although for some reason Hooper has chosen within her discussion to ignore the modern intelligent design movement, she does note that she is "not a creationist, but to be uncritical about science is to make it into a dogma". Very well said.
An excellent if inadvertent history of evolutionary theory.......2004-06-22
I've been reading Nature for over 30 years, primarily for articles of medical or chemical interest. Each week the News and Views section attempts to explain papers appearing in the more technical sections of the journal to the general scientific public. Usually these artricles discuss the findings of a given paper, its implications for past work and suggestions for future work. From time to time, News and Views items about evolution (and natural selection) would appear. They were quite different. The whole area was extremely contentious, and the articles were written in a semi-theological fashion with various princes of the church holding forth on the correct interpretation of Darwinian doctrine.
No one with a biochemical background can doubt the unity of life, and its likely common descent, as we are all built of basically the same DNA, RNA, amino acids, sugars and metabolites. So I passed the articles by without getting too involved. On retirement, I did buy Gould's book on the structure of evolutionary theory -- it certainly needed a vigorous editor, but reading the book cold is like coming into the middle of a debate. I gave up after 80 or so florid pages.
The only reason I bought the present book, is that we had moved to the Amherst area, and the book was in the local authors section. Scientific training tends to be very ahistorical, and I knew very little about the controversies which have embroiled evolutionary theory since (except for great debate between Bishop Wilberforce and TH Huxley described in the book). When Steve Jones' book came out updating "The Origin of Species" chapter for chaper (Darwin's Ghost), I read both (chapter for chapter). Although Jones is very clever and much easier to read, Darwin wins each round hands down. He wrote for the educated layman (as almost nothing was known about chemistry or genetics at the time), and the power of his thought processes is stunning even today, and should be accessible to anyone with a high school education. It's definitely worth a read, although the prose style of 150 years ago takes some getting used to.
What Hooper's book does, is describe the subsequent history and the controversies which have embroiled the field (and continue to do so). I had no idea, that evolution was accepted but natural selection pretty much rejected in 1909, 50 years after the publication of the Origin of Species. At this point, there were naturalists who looked at the birds and bees (much like Darwin) and the geneticists (who bred fruitflies in milk bottles). Neither side talked to each other. This and the subsequent union of genetics and evolution in the 30's and 40's is very well described.
Darwin thought that no one would ever 'see' natural selection occurring in their lifetime as the process was far too slow. The appearance of darkly colored moths in the mid 1800s in industrial England appeared to be an example of it occurring (particularly after their numbers gradually increased over 100 years). The book describes the first flawed attempts to 'prove' that natural selection was occurring and that it was occuring by a particular mechanism (selective predation by birds).
The work was done in the 50's and was a product of its time. It was unfortunately all too typical of of the way medical research (not just evolutionary research) was done back then. At about that time 4 pillars of American & English Neurology wrote papers promoting the use of anticoagulants (blood thinners) in the treatment of warning attacks of strokes (transient ischemic attacks). None would be publishable today -- they lacked proper controls, how patients were selected, how long they were followed etc. etc. Lots of patients were treated, lots of complications ensued (of which I saw plenty as a practicing physician), until studies were done showing which patients (those with atrial fibrillation) would benefit, and which would not (just about everyone else).
Closer to the present, the first decent paper (prospective, randomized with controls) on the use of Estrogen in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease appeared in 2003 (no benefit was found). There had only been 3 proper papers prior to that all with too few patients to be significant. Noises had been made about estrogen 'protecting from' and even treating Alzheimer's disease for most of the 25+ years prior to that. Meanwhile patients, families and physicians were in the dark about what to do for a common and debilitating disease. All these studies could have been done in the 70s but weren't. So medicine's hands are no cleaner than the work described in this book (well Neurology's hands at least).
The book is extremely well written, and contains great turns of phrase, such as describing the hideous towers of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst as a 'cut rate Brasilia'. It inadvertently limns a rather depressing picture of academic life (both in the USA and at Oxford) -- anyone contemplating such a career should read it.
My only criticism of the book is that not much attention is given to subsequent experiments which demonstrate natural selection fairly well. Endler's work with guppies in Trinidad is discussed (but in a footnote in the back of the book) and the work of the Grants with Darwin's Finches in the Galapagos is not mentioned at all. Both (rigorously and convincingly
< if they aren't out and out lying > ) demonstrate natural selection in action. To be fair, Hooper is telling one story (the peppered Moth) not all stories, and telling that one story very well.
Anyone reading this book should also read "The Beak of the Finch" -- also extremely well written. As for me, I'm going to hold my nose at Gould's undisciplined and rather Rabelaisian prose and tackle his book again.
It's the paradigm...Who needs evidence?.......2003-12-15
This is a very well done account of the peppered moth story, with a useful history of the emergence of the Synthesis in the background. Darwin's theory was always beset with the question of evidence, and this fact has distorted the thinking of all scientists in the field who act as if this situation is normal. The case of the peppered moth is especially telling. The one case of something like evidence turns out to be completely flawed, even as the entire science community seems almost paralyzed and incapable of dealing with the issue. The final unraveling of this claim for some sort of evidence should have led a major examination of the status of Darwinism, but no such luck. The whole system simply proceeds without it.
The author makes a revealing remark toward the end, that she was accused of giving aid to the enemy, creationists. But is that the point? In any case, we see that this regime of silence is in effect, even if one author is motivated to expose what's going on, up to a point. This dialectic of monotheism is getting pretty tiresome for the rest of the world, who don't buy into this duel of extremes. We need to know, and from reliable sources, the status of Darwin's theory, from _real_ scientists. We need to know, and can expect the truth, and not beating around the bush, as herein portrayed. Clearly such science does not exist in the field of evolution. Isn't this ridiculous. This is a reasonably simple case. If biologists can't get this straight, what of their ambitious claims (without a shred of evidence) to rewrite all the social sciences.
Frauds, not scientists.
poor choice of references.......2003-06-04
While the bulk of the book was interesting but had little actual bearing on the veracity of evolution, the scholarship aspect took a dive when I realized that Hoopper had relied on the rantings of a creationist electrical engineer as a source of information on "Haldane's Dilemma."
That alone told me that I should be very wary of any conclusions the author offers, and it should similarly make other readers wary.
Book Description
Record-setting athletic performances happen by design, not by accident. Years of learning, training, teaching, competing, and coaching go into developing track and field champions. And it all must start somewhere.
Build a solid foundation for success with Fundamentals of Track and Field. This comprehensive text takes the guesswork out of learning and teaching the basics in all events, including often-excluded events like the 400-meter hurdles, steeplechase, triple jump, hammer throw, and race walking.
Written by former Olympic athlete and veteran coach Gerry Carr, the book presents
• step-by-step instructions progressing from basic skills to intermediate techniques;
• practice drills for mastering each essential skill;
• troubleshooting tables that list common technique errors and corrections;
• coaching tips to improve instruction and organization;
• safety suggestions, performance standards, and assessment tools; and
• nearly 300 high-quality illustrations showing correct technique of each event in sequential detail.
Fundamentals of Track and Field is the best book on the basics in each event. It is the starting point for all those who dream of one day winning a gold medal.
Customer Reviews:
Required Reading.......2006-10-03
Fundamentals of track and field covers all the basics. The exercises are creative and easy to apply. Athletes acquire basic skills without too much conscious effort.
Nice To See a Canadian Perspective.......2003-04-13
We've adopted this book as our Level 1 Coaches Manual. It gets all the major points of each event discipline in easy to understand terms.
Fundamentals of Track and Field by Gerry Carr.......2001-06-11
This book is a great resource for the physical education teacher or track and field coach. It has broken down each event into simple to understand stages. The coaching tips are of tremendous value to those who work with athletes. The illustrations that show how to perform each event are excellent for visual learners. Information within this book has been used in the preparation of my athletes.
Melvin Baker International Track&Field Coach
Fundamentals of Track and Field.......2000-04-07
I was happy with this book as soon as I opened the front cover. I am a new track coach who "only has a clue" about track from what I have observed from my star athlete daughter. I am pleased with this book because it has a lot of drawings which show good form in executing running, throwing, and jumping events. It is the perfect book for elementary school, middle school track athletes. It gives coaching tips after every explaination, common errors and corrections, and lots of drills to help reinforce the new skills the students learn. I highly recommend it for the beginning track coach, or the old track coach who is getting stale and needs new games and drills to keep track fun.
A great book for beginners.......1999-02-21
I am a middle school track coach and I've found this book very helpful in explaining the basics of all the track and field events. Carr also offers various activities to gradually develop the necessary skills for each event. Some of the technique motion pictures are slightly incorrect but I'd highly recommend this book for anybody just starting in track coaching
Average customer rating:
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Track and Field Fundamentals for Teacher and Coach
John T. Powell
Manufacturer: Stipes Publishing, LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Spiral-bound
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ASIN: 0875632947 |
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Futbol-Los Fundamentos/Soccer-The Fundamentals (Juega Como Un Professional)
Barbara Bonney , and
Bryant Lloyd
Manufacturer: Rourke Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding
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ASIN: 1589524446 |
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Fundamental of Track and Field
N.P. Dr. Sharma
Manufacturer: Khel Sahitya Kendra
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Track & Field
| Other Team Sports
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ASIN: 8175242906 |
Book Description
Track and Field training has just been brought into the 21st century. Let World Track Athlete Dave Johnson plus Olympic Caliber Coaches offer you in-depth Track and Field Training with the touch of a mouse. Through the use of your personal computer, this CD ROM product will offer you hours of interactive training information that you interact with.
We cover the following events in detail: Long Jump, Pole Vault , High Jump, Shot Put , Discuss , Javelin , The Sprints, and The Hurdles. The events listed above are covered in full motion video, plus contain over 100 drills to help one excel in their particular event. In depth review of warm-up drills, medicine ball drills, bounding and plyometrics, mental strategies, and print capabilities. All will gain valuable insight into the fundamentals of track and field training on CD ROM.
Interactive 3-D Screens that come alive with a simple touch !
There are over 20 Interactive Track and Field training screens that are available within this fantastic product. By selecting one of the icons available on your computer screen, the multimedia CD ROM will provide full motion video, audio, and print capabilities instantaneously. In use today by thousands of track and field enthusiasts around the world, this product offers you a one-stop-shop for track and field training information.
You and your athletes will run faster, jump higher, and compete more effectively with The Fundamentals of Track and Field Training on CD ROM.
Average customer rating:
- A bold topic, a bold adventure, and a bold approach
|
Africa Uncorked: Travels in Extreme Wine Territory
John Platter , and
Erica Platter
Manufacturer: Wine Appreciation Guild
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 1891267523 |
Book Description
John and Erica Platter, the couple who helped bring South African wine into the main-stream with the country's first wine travel guide, have now fixed their trail-blazing tendencies on the rest of the continent with their remarkably original book, Africa Uncorked, Travels in Extreme Wine Territory. It doesn't meander through the manicured rows of the common wine locales-it's wine tasting with a machete and a typhoid shot. But that sort of thing has never dissuaded the Platter's. For wine journalists living in a place like Shaka's Rock KwaZulu-Natal, the rough road is "Polo" to their "Marco".
Africa Uncorked hikes to the outer regions of wine: from, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia, to the Indian Ocean Islands of Madagascar, Mauritius and Reunion; back onto the East African mainland to Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania; through Zimbabwe; and west to Namibia. They make interesting and unusual wine and food discoveries, bump into some extraordinary characters and pass through places that have been red-taped to tourists for decades. Unlike many wine travel narratives, the wine at the end of the road does not over shadow the road itself-the wine in the glass mixes with the collected impressions of the people and places along the way.
The Platters also take a long look at the forces that have made the modern state of African wine what it is-from poverty to politics and religion-and represent them with the delicacy and insight of immediate experience. This book is a genuine first!
Customer Reviews:
A bold topic, a bold adventure, and a bold approach .......2005-05-11
John and Erica Platter helped bring south African wine to the knowledge of the rest of the world with the country's first wine travel guide, and their Africa Uncorked, Travels In Extreme Wine Territory follows the idea of unusual African wines through Africa in a travelogue which journeys from Algeria to Madagascar and beyond. Unusual wine and food discoveries, strange characters, and adventure permeates Africa Uncorked, which provides equal attention to cultural and culinary discoveries on the continent. A bold topic, a bold adventure, and a bold approach makes Africa Uncorked hard to put down.
Average customer rating:
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Africa Uncorked
Manufacturer: KYLE CATHIE
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000HCS0TO |
Average customer rating:
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Call of the Kotuku
Janet Slater Redhead
Manufacturer: Hodder Children's Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0340396148 |
Average customer rating:
- This was an interesting book
- Maoris, horses, and finding our place
- Wow
- An evocative, gentle story of loss and survival
|
Kotuku
Deborah Savage
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0618047565 |
Book Description
Charlotte Williamson ThorpeWimcomes from a long line of sea captains based out of Provincetown, Massachusetts. Since her best friend died the summer before, all Wim wants is to be left alone, to finish her senior year in peace and spend time with her dogs and the horses at Dune Stables. But soon people start entering Wim's life as if com- ing in on the tide. First she sees the man with the tattooed face. He seems to be trying to tell her something. Next Aunt Kia arrives. Then there's David Te Makara, a compelling visitor from New Zealand who has moved into the cottage behind her house to research her family history. He has his fifteen-year-old niece with him, and Wim can't help but react to Tangi's strong opinions. Soon Wim's quiet and safe routine is turned upside down, spilling out secrets too painful to face and too important to ignore. One of the mysteries is an antique journal, written in code by a boy who knew her most famous ancestor, Captain Charles Williamson Thorpe, who sailed away to New Zealand on a merchant vessel and returned to the Cape on a ship laden with secrets. It will take every ounce of Wim's courage to sift through the secrets and open her heart to love again.
Customer Reviews:
This was an interesting book.......2005-01-13
When i read books i only go up to the first three pages but when I was reading Kotuku it was different because i kept reading. This book was so interesting and it tought me new things about other cultures and that it was different view on other things. This book was just very interesting and fun to read because it was a mystery book.
Maoris, horses, and finding our place.......2004-08-03
This wonderful book may have a hard time finding its audience, but I hope it finds you. Readers who bring to it their curiosity and imagination, and a romantic fascination for the world will find their own worlds all the richer for it. And find enough to whet their appetites for further adventures, as it contains a splendid spread of tantalizing elements: horses, history, adventures of the heart and on land/seafaring, exotic cultures (Maori/New Zealand), and the powerful ways myths make a people connected, no matter how scattered across the globe, no matter what families we find ourselves in. These things are all enlivened by characters you grow to love, which after all is the thing that draws us into any book's world, isn't it? Some of the characters you'll wish you got to know better... But I found I knew their counterparts in my own circle of friends, over the years. I thought the author brought them to life with few strokes. I liked that the author put a glossary of Maori terms at the back; her love and respect for these people shows in the details, knowing touches. The main character's life is shown both gentle and harsh, and I think you'll like that. She reacts to its complexity with a confusion natural regardless of her age, finding mysteries hidden within mysteries, like Chines boxes. Life is like that, and there's a nice wisdom here for the reading.
Wow.......2003-10-22
I have read some of Ms. Savage's previous work, and it's been on my mind lately. I finished this book today, after checking it out yesterday reading the bulk of it in a few hours. I could not put it down.
The story is perhaps farfetched, but I found myself identifying in so many ways to Wim that it didn't matter. There are little words of wisdom in here everywhere, and it addresses a lot of real life issues. I found the ending somewhat less than satisfactory, but as a whole, I'm rather in awe of the book. Worth reading.
An evocative, gentle story of loss and survival.......2002-09-06
Charlotte has no desire to leave her Cape Cod roots or home since her best friend Wim died: she just wants to be left alone with her job grooming horses. When an elderly aunt with mental problems and a last wish for her life comes to live with them, and a visitor from New Zealand stays on their property and evokes romantic feelings, Charlotte finds her life changing despite all she can do to resist. An evocative, gentle story of loss and survival.
Books:
- One Nation Under A Groove: Motown and American Culture
- Owyhee: The Life of a Northern Desert
- Pacific Northwest Wildflowers: A Guide to Common Wildflowers of Washington, Oregon, Northern California, Western Idaho, Southeast Alaska, and British Columbia (Wildflower Series)
- Planet Earth: As You've Never Seen It Before
- Population Dynamics in Ecological Space and Time
- Predator: Life and Death in the African Bush
- Ravens in Winter
- Reinventing Fisheries Management Volume 23 (Fish & Fisheries Series)
- Religion And Ecology In India And South East Asia
- Rockhounds Guide to New Mexico (Falcon Guide)
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Not by Chance: Shattering the Modern Theory of Evolution
What Darwin Didn't Know: A Doctor Dissects the Theory of Evolution
Icons of Evolution: Science or Myth? Why Much of What We Teach About Evolution is Wrong
Darwin's Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution
The Edge of Evolution: The Search for the Limits of Darwinism
