Bestselling nature writer David Quammen introduces CharlesDarwin's incredible tale of excursion that led to his revolutionarytheory of evolution--Voyage of the Beagle.
First published by Houghton Mifflin in 1962, Silent Springalerted a large audience to the environmental and human dangers ofindiscriminate use of pesticides, spurring revolutionary changes inthe laws affecting our air, land, and water. "Silent Spring becamea runaway bestseller, with international reverberations . . . Itis] well crafted, fearless and succinct . . . Even if she had notinspired a generation of activists, Carson would prevail as one ofthe greatest nature writers in American letters" (PeterMatthiessen, for Time's 100 Most Influential People of theCentury). This fortieth anniversary edition celebrates RachelCarson's watershed book with a new introduction by the author andactivist Terry Tempest Williams and a new afterword by theacclaimed Rachel Carson biographer Linda Lear, who tells the storyof Carson's courageous defense of her truths in the face ofruthless assault from the chemical industry in the year followingthe publication of Silent Spring and before her untimely death in1964.
Starred Review。 What Aczel did for mathematician Fermat（Fermat’s Last Theorem）he now does for Descartes in this splendidstudy about the French philosopher and mathematician （1596–1650）most famous for his paradigm-smashing declaration， “I think;therefore， I am。” Part historical sketch， part biography and partdetective story， Aczel’s chronicle of Descartes’s hidden workhinges on his lost secret notebook。 Of 16 pages of codedmanu*， one and a half were copied in 1676 by fellowphilosopher and mathematician Leibniz。 For him， Descartes’sin*ion of the cryptic letters“GFRC” immediately revealed hisassociation with the occult fraternity of the Rosicrucians—Leibnizwas also a member。 The notebook also revealed to Leibniz adiscovery made by Descartes that would have transformedmathematics。 As Aczel so deftly demonstrates， Descartes'smathematical theories were paths to an understanding the order andmystery of the cosmos， and he kept the notebook hidden because itcont
How do plant and animal populations change genetically toevolve and adapt to their local environments? How do populationsgrow and interact with one another through competition andpredation? How does behaviour influence ecology and evolution?Introduction to Population Biology covers all these areas and more.Taking a quantitative and Darwinian perspective, the basic theoryof population processes is developed using mathematical models. Toallow students of biology, ecology and evolution to gain a realunderstanding of the subject, key features include: ? step-by-stepinstructions for spreadsheet simulations of many basic equations toexplore the outcomes or predictions of models ? worked examplesshowing how the equations are applied to biological questions ?problem sets together with detailed solutions to help the readertest their understanding ? real-life examples to help the readerrelate the theory to the natural world
At the heart of this classic, seminal book is Julian Jaynes'sstill-controversial thesis that human consciousness did not beginfar back in animal evolution but instead is a learned process thatcame about only three thousand years ago and is still developing.The implications of this revolutionary scientific paradigm extendinto virtually every aspect of our psychology, our history andculture, our religion -- and indeed our future.
