Science Nature Books

My students learned so much. But it would've been nice to have typed text.

The explainations of each body part and system are simple and easy to understand, and my three preschool children love the coloring, cutting, and gluing they get to do when we do this activity... and I think they are actually learning about the body.

A great resource for parents who teach their young children at home, this book would likely also work well in a classroom setting.

My Body is a great book for anyone interested in teaching young people about the basic functions of their bodies. The book provides clear directions to help students construct a "replica" of themselves with scale sized parts. There are coloring guidelines for each part so that children also grasp a clear idea of what the body part looks like. The book then explains the function of each part in simple terms (appropriate for a 6-9 year old). I recommend this as a teaching aid for any health education teacher.

This book was easy to read and told alot about apples. It had great pictures too. I really liked the part at the end where it showed the life cycle of the apple. Anyone interested in apples should read this book. Crunch!

I found the book an interesting read, and I learned a few things from it. However, I do not think that Wilson has made compelling cases for his main theses.

The concept of group evolution is interesting. But how far does displayed average group behavior go beyond acquisition of cultural heritage, customs, and develops without steady enforcement of societal standards such as ethics etc.? To what extent does group behavior represent an expression of the corresponding genome? Wilson doesn't give any hard data that as a biologist with this conviction he may be expected to have. So, for myself I conclude: Maybe it does, and maybe it does not.

Wilson discusses the role of group ideology for the attractiveness of a group, its internal cohesion and its fitness in a larger society. That concept is of course not new to sociology. You can see these concepts illustrated in the role of religious or political movements such as cults or fascism. In fact, the German Nazi type has sometimes been likened to a religious/mystic hybrid movement. So, I accept that much of Wilson's thesis, even though he does not acknowledge the complex role of such groups in society, both trying to adjust to the general framework and to influence that societal framework. It is not obvious how to define the concept of group "fitness" in an interactive human society in analogy to the use of individual fitness in biological evolution. Wilson obviously struggles with the problem.

Finally, one readily acknowledges the specific role that religion has played as a form of group ideology. But have religion or mystic beliefs per se played a positive, or any, role in the biological evolution of our species that would go beyond that of a generic group ideology? Since this was my main reason to buy the book ("Darwin"s Cathedral"), I looked hard in Wilson's book for compelling demonstrations of such a role, but in vain.
The book does not provide arguments against thinking of religion as remnant of a much stronger force driving, or retarding, human cultural evolution, with often troubling consequences. I suspect that our overall fitness as a species on Earth could benefit from a more humane, tolerant secular ethos.

Wilson makes some great arguments and spends a lot of time supporting them in depth. Not for the casual reader.

This is an interesting combination of the biological evolutionary theory of group selection with a revisited form of sociological functionalism. It is well argued and well written and it provides an alternative/ complement to individual and gene theories of natural selection, on the biological side, and to cognitive approaches to religion, on the anthropological side.

This is an exciting book because of the explanatory power of the ideas expressed. Group selection as an evolutionary force was largely dismissed on the basis of William's work in the 1960s. Now Wilson not only revives it but suggests how our very human nature has been dependent upon it. The problem has been that evolution at the level of the individual rewards self concern and weeds out altruism. This makes cooperation difficult because individuals will always do better by avoiding the effort of cooperation while enjoying the fruits of the efforts of others (free-loading). However when humans evolved culture there was the possibility that the non-cooperators could be made to comply by punishment, banishment etc. This fundamentally changed the name of the game. Groups with norms fostering cooperation and punishing non-cooperators could out compete less functional ones and as a consequence grow and multiply in comparison. What Wilson suggests is that religion has been a potent method of establishing the norms, motivation and punishments required. Once groups could effectively cooperate then traits that facilitated this would be further selected by genetic evolution allowing further cultural progress and the development of our "human nature". He further suggests that the "irrational" beliefs fostered by religion are selected by group selection because they foster more functional groups in the evolutionary survival sense. He is also clear about the down side of religion in that while it fosters within group function it also fosters antagonism to outside groups and individuals.

Wilson's writing style is usually clear but sometimes round about and redundant. The material frequently requires thought to work through the logic and implications. I read a lot of books on evolutionary theory and this is one of the most thought provoking I have read in years.

Very well written book on group selection and religion. Entertaining as the Scott Atran and Boyer books on religion. Good for anyone to read this book if you are interested in evolution and/or religion. The theoretical part is slightly difficult to understand especially if you have no previous experience on group selection.

Wilson does not talk about how silly religion is - like Dawkins - but is positive/objective about his subject: openly respects the features of religion which support coherence of groups, is critical about the features of religions which make the members of the religious group to behave badly towards other people (e.g. out-group people). But admits that the different sides of the religion (the in-group and out-group morality, intolerance against those who do not obey the norms) go hand in hand.

This is an incredible resource for anyone interested in the architecture of the universe and the magic of mathematics. It is indispensable! It inspires the mind to view consciousness from the eyes of creation and evolution. If you like this subject, visit:
http:// www.alexplays.com

Although this may not be relevant to most people, this is a very pretty book. Two things attracted me to it initially: The title and the cover, in that order. The title interested me because of a class my girlfriend took about sacred geometry, including the meanings of the shapes and the colors. The cover interested me becaue of the ammonite shell on the cover. I first noticed the ammonite in Alberta, Canada when a shop vendor explained the critter to me. They are older than dirt and the shells have varying degrees of opalescence that are just mind-boggling to me. Anyway, back to pretty: unlike most books, the inside of this book is loaded with pretty colors, diagrams, and colored pictures. There are 152 pages of information plus 8 more of bibliography and index.

Now for substance: the book bigins with some introductory information on geometry, why it is considered "sacred," how geometry was often used to situate churches/temples in history, and in the architecture of such places, the history of geometry, including the embodiment of numbers in music and measurement, and Pythagoras and his investigation of the sacred and mystical properties of numbers.

The book continues with generally 2 pages on each of many mathmatical and geometry related subject matter, such as: fractals, crystal structure, replicating geometric patters in plant and animal life, the structure of snowflakes, genetics and the DNA double helix structure, Alfred Watkins and the ley lines, Stonehenge, crop circles, the structure of the Temple of Solomon, geometry in art, geometry in several cathedrals, etc.

By the way, if you have ever wondered how much a cubit measures, it was originally used to indicate the measurement of the fingertip to the elbow, but was later standardized at 17.674 inches.

I find this a very interesting book. It's got a lot of little bits of information about a lot of different but related topics, related in math of course. And it's even pretty.

This book is well-written, gorgeous, printed on fine paper with extraordinary illustrations. It introduces sacred geomentry in art, architecture, nature, and the history of science. A fine text for a layperson with acalculia! Obviously to learn more about a particular application of sacred geometry would require additional books that focus on the reader's area/s of interest.

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Sacred Geometry by Stephen Skinner

This is the best of all the books on the subject. The extant texts were becoming dated and a new book was long overdue.

It consists of 160 pages, and about 1/5 to 1/3 of each and every page is illustrated, and most are color illustrations. The author devotes about 2 to 5 pages to each subject. The author indicates that GEOMETRY is considered sacred because it shows the ARCHETYPAL patterning of things. This carries over into the realms of Architecture, Mathematics, Conceptual Abstractions and of course, NATURE.

The author begins with the Greeks of course, and continues on into the Middle Ages, where the basic curriculum for study was the TRIVIUM (three subjects): LOGIC, GRAMMAR, and RHETORIC.

These subjects expanded into the QUADRIVIUM, which added GEOMETRY to LOGIC, GRAMMAR, and RHETORIC. By page 22, the author gives consideration to MUSIC, VIBRATION and WHOLE NUMBERS. Those 2 pages are followed by FRACTIONS.

By page 26 (the number of LOVE and the NAME OF GOD in Gematria, the author introduces a favorite of many, ERATOSTHENES, the "man who measured the earth".

Egypt and early measurement follows, and then PRIME NUMBERS, and this chapter delightfully includes a very important graph for us all, the SIEVE OF ERATOSTHENES, by which Primes are discovered.

By page 34 the author introduces the GOLDEN MEAN, and this section includes the FIBONACCI SEQUENCE.

The author reserves in depth discussion of EUCLID until page 40, and by page 44, moves into THREE KEY TRIANGLES, the Equilateral (three equal sides), the Right (90 angle at base) and the Isosceles (whatever the heck that is! NO, just kidding. Two equal sides!)

Page 46 shows three ancient geometrical problems:
(1) Squaring the Circle, (2) Doubling a Cube, and (3) Trisecting an Angle.

Page 48 covers CURVES & LOGARITHMIC SPIRALS, and by page 52 consideration is given to GEOMETRY OF IRRATIONAL NUMBERS. Page 54 covers THE FIVE PLATONIC SOLIDS. Page 56 covers the THIRTEEN ARCHIMEDEAN SOLIDS. The lucid color illustrations on these pages are fantastic, each solid being shown in vibrant yellow, orange, green and red.

Page 58 covers the FRACTALS, and page 61 shifts into the GEOMETRY OF NATURE, including PLANT GROWTH, CRYSTAL STRUCTURE, LIVING SPIRALS, LIVING WATER, SNOWFLAKE WONDERLAND, GEOMETRY OF GENETICS etc.

Page 75 introduces GEOMETRY IN ASTRONOMY and COSMOLOGY and ends in Significant Sky Markers. Then comes MAPPING the WORLD and LATTITUDE & LONGITUDE. MEASURING TIME BY SUN & MOON is on page 84. Then the HIDDEN CONNECTION BETWEEN TIME & LENGTH.

By page 89 we are shown THE GEOMETRY OF THE MANMADE WORLD, SACRED GEOMETRY & THE LANDSCAPE which covers some material on Alchemist John Dee and sites such as Glastonbury, etc and other sites. Page 202 covers ASTRO-ARCHAEOLOGY, a favorite subject of many, and covers other English sites, and finally STONEHENGE.

I was surprised by the next informative subject, because I've been thinking a lot about the nature of life and how the LABYRINTH relates to human experience. Page 112 covers LABYRINTHS & MAZES.

CROP CIRCLES comes on page 114, and I am happy to say that none of that nonsense about the cause of crop circles being two pranksters with some boards is included in Stephen Skinner's book.

Page 116 introduces SACRED GEOMETRY IN ARCHITECTURE, and this covers PYRAMIDS.

By page 120, we are introduced to the SECRETS OF HERODOTUS, of which I knew nothing. Then the TEMPLE OF SOLOMON is covered and the Dome of the Rock.

By page 124, we find the PARTHENON, a favorite of mine because I saw it, and must tell you that when you see it, you can be mightily impressed with the powerful beauty of ancient architecture.

Another surprise comes on page 128, with Leonardo Da Vinci and the ARCHITECTURE OF MAN.

On page 130 comes CHRISTIANITY AND THE SACRED FEMININE, which covers the "vesica piscis" which is the common intersection area of two circles. Then the MILAN CATHEDRAL, CHARTRES CATHEDRAL, ST. PAUL's CATHEDRAL, and finally MODERN ORGANIC ARCHITECTURE.

Then we come to SACRED GEOMETRY IN ART on page 140 and on 141 ROGER BACON and GEOMETRY, LIGHT & OPTICS. Whew!

What would a book on geometry be like without GEOMETRY PERSPECTIVE IN THE SERVICE OF PAINTING? By page 144 we find LUCA PACIOLI and the DIVINE PROPORTION. Finally, Leonardo DaVinci's use of PERSPECTIVE in the painting THE LAST SUPPER. Winding down to page 148, we come to PAINTINGS ANALYZED GEOMETRICALLY. Man, this book is full of fantastic insight into several thousand years of human culture.

Then, at the very end, THE TREASURE OF RENNES-LE-CHATEAU, which I believe featured prominently in the books about "THE DA VINCI CODE" which was made into the popular movie.

This is one WHOOPEE book. Glad I bought mine at first sight. I'll never regret it.--Bruce R. Bain

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The book is built well with high quality materials. The illustrations are very clearly printed on heavy paper. The style of writing for the subject is refreshing as compared to other books with the title Sacred Geometry. My hope for this book is that it will be edited upon the second printing, it is a good book.

The section on the platonic solids erroniously states that the dodecahedron is the dual of itself, and also that the tetrahedron is the dual of the icosahedron, which is also not correct.

It is the tetrahedron which is the dual of itself. And, the icosahedron and dodecahedron are duals of each other.

I purchased this book for a class on weather and climate. It's a pretty interesting book with a lot of great photos. The explanations are easy to understand. It is not an advanced book, so if you already know the basics of weather it probably won't be what you are looking for. The version I got is missing a chapter on climate types, so if you are getting this for a class make sure you get the right one.

Cute book. I liked all the info except it talks about what temp. to keep your fish tank at.......and I used it for a preschool students. Way over their heads.

Overall, good info, realistic, and cute!

This is an excellent book to introducing the levels of classification for living things. This book explored the physiology of fish in language that young children can understand. The facts are presented in a way that is not overwhelming to children. The illustrations are great and they really show what its like to be a fish. I have used this book with my preschoolers and they love it.

Wendy Pfeffer has a talent for making difficult science concepts understandable to young children. This is a lively and very kid-friendly book with cheerful illustrations that kids will enjoy and learn from.

My boy brought this home the school library and the title of the book intrigued me. What is it like to swim by swishing your tail, round and round, in a small little bowl; or, eating fish flakes sprinkled from above when the person decides it's time to be fed; or to live in an environment that deteriorates day after day into murkiness until you are suddenly scooped up by a net and put into an even smaller container while your bowl is being cleaned? What IS it like to be a fish? Alas, there are no answers to that question found in this book -- pity.

But ontological musings aside, this book is a good little read for kids who, for the first time, are interested in having a fish as a pet. The book uses the common goldfish as its example. It shows the different environments in which a little child might encounter a fish: a bowl, an aquarium, a plastic bag being brought home from the pet store and swimming around in a backyard pond. It also tells what the different fins are called, how do fish sleep, are they warm or cold-blooded, how do they breath water when I can't, and similar questions a young child might ask when they have their first fish. It tells you how to set up a goldfish bowl and why you put the bag in the water for awhile without setting the fishies free. Basic stuff for the adult, good for the child who shows interest in having a fish pet. Now if only that title-question was answered...

This book is an exceptional resource for people who want to help prevent animal abuse. Mark Hawthorne offers clear, concise actions we can take in our every day lives that really do make a difference. And he reminds us that we don't have to sacrifice ourselves to the cause to be effective. In fact we are better advocates if we don't.

Informative, engaging, easy-to-read and inspiring. If you care about animals, read this book.

I am so grateful for Mark Hawthorne's debut release, 'Striking At The Roots.' This book is essential for anyone who has observed an injustice in our society but wasn't sure how to approach the systematic eradication of the problem; Hawthorne provides strategies, testimonials, and practical advice for any fledgling or veteran activists who want to make the greatest impact on the world.

The oppression of billions of animals each year for food, clothing, and entertainment is one of the most pressing matters in the world today, and it's my hope that anyone who picks up this book will be inspired to take action to stop the egregious cruelty and abuse that exists in these animal industries. Furthermore, the skills and knowledge learned in Hawthorne's book can be applied to any cause for which one may take up arms: racism, sexism, heterosexism, etc. All struggles are one struggle, and Mark Hawthorne has written a book that will, hopefully, make those struggles a little less grueling.

This is a wonderful book for folks who love animals but are not sure how to turn that love into action. Does everyone have to carry a picket sign in front of KFC? Not at all. As the author shows, there are as many ways to help animals as there are people who care. This is a great book!

Longtime animal advocate Mark Hawthorne knows a thing or two about which methods are most effective in helping animals. Mark also happens to be a great writer, and his new book, "Striking at the Roots: A Practical Guide to Animal Activism," will prove helpful for everyone from armchair advocates to seasoned citizen lobbyists.

When writing the book, Hawthorne drew from his range of animal welfare experience, from volunteering for rabbit rescue groups to working with farm animal sanctuaries. He also interviewed countless people who are involved in the animal protection movement.

By bringing in the collective experiences and insights of those advocates, Hawthorne developed a valuable encyclopedia of the most successful strategies that bring about change for animals.

He discusses a wide variety of tools anyone can use, including leafleting, holding events, tabling, writing opinion pieces and corporate campaigning. Hawthorne included an in-depth section on the importance of using continually-evolving multimedia and electronic communications, such as websites, video and podcasts, blogs and more.

"Striking at the Roots" is packed with helpful tips and useful case studies of campaigns that are tangibly improving the lives of animals. Hawthorne's attention to those success stories is inspiring enough to make better advocates out of his readers.

"Striking at the Roots" is an important addition to the animal protection literature--an accessible, engaging book that's a useful read for anyone who wants to make a difference for animals.

Striking at the Roots: A Practical Guide to Animal Activism, by Mark Hawthorne, is about walking the walk - and getting others to walk with you. The book, Hawthorne explains, is "intended for the person who agrees with the premise that animals are mistreated in our society, believes that the public has a moral obligation to speak out against this cruelty and who wants to be directly involved in opposing animal exploitation in its many forms." The book is "a guide to the most pragmatic opportunities available for speaking and acting on behalf of animals." Readers with busy lives are encouraged, "you can make a difference even if you limit your involvement to an hour a month."

Striking at the Roots shows how to become an effective leafleter, write publishable letters to the editor and opinion pieces, conduct successful protests and demonstrations, use vegan food to educate and win people over, engage in corporate campaigning, set up and run a sanctuary, shelter & rescue center, deal with the legal system, and engage in direct action - rescuing animals in order to experience directly and expose firsthand the atrocities they are forced to endure on commercial farms, in laboratories and other abominable places.

As for rescuing chickens from the filthy "broiler" sheds in which they are raised for meat, we're told that "nothing except firsthand experience could convey the utter despair a compassionate person feels at the sight of lame, feces-encrusted birds limping about and dead chickens, their ammonia-scalded breasts denuded of feathers, lying where they collapsed from inhumane breeding practices."

While most activists will not be directly involved in rescuing animals from factory farms and laboratories, Striking at the Roots shows the importance of keeping informed about these rescues and what they uncover, in order to provide credible and compelling content to one's letter writing and other advocacy on behalf of animals. Essential to being an effective activist are poise, self-confidence, knowledge, and persistence.

For example, I am quoted regarding rejected letters to editors and op-eds: "Over the years, I've published many guest columns about the plight - and delight - of chickens and turkeys. I've also written letters and op-eds that were turned down. Usually in such cases, I rework the piece and eventually submit it elsewhere with success. Also, it's good to establish a relationship with an editorial page editor. Not to ramble on and take up their valuable time, but a brief friendly phone call about your submission can increase your chance of being published, and you may be pleased to learn on occasion that the editorial page editor cares about animals and values your concerns."

Striking at the Roots stresses the importance of seizing opportunities to act and speak out locally - "don't overlook even the smallest neighborhood media outlets," activists urge. Local media want to know what is happening in their area. Often a protest demonstration is "a quite interesting and different story to what they normally may cover," stresses an Australian activist.

Striking at the Roots is not just for novices and the insecure. A good activist never reaches the point where ideas about activism are "preaching to the choir." Effective activism is about continuing education, not only of others, but of oneself. It's an essential part of the attitude that is needed to liberate animals and establish their rights.

Karen Davis, PhD, President
United Poultry Concerns
Dedicated to the compassionate & respectful treatment of chickens and other domestic fowl. www.upc-online.org

Outstanding brief introduction to the thoughts of Thomas Berry, one of the visionary thinkers of our time in terms of ecology, impact of the human on the earth, and providing a promising larger vision of the possibilities for the future. The collection of thoughts will appear a bit repetitive at first glance, but I found the repetition of the key thoughts from different perspectives useful. Highly recommended. Rated 4 star instead of 5 due only to the repetitiveness.

Every politician should read this book and then look into their hearts. I must say that Mary Tucker's Editorial Preface says everything about Thomas Berry and his desire to enhance human beings' relationship to Earth. His writing is accessible and undaunting. The gift of his genius, still going strong at 90 years of age is expressed again in this book and the message will bring you into the fold of his views with keen insight and compassion. I am so grateful for his gifts and just want you to read it and give it to everyone else you know.

The perspective I have come to is that for most of my life I lived in a human world which has not been able to offer in any comprehensive way, what really matters.

What is going on is that the sources of human survival, imagination, knowledge and emotional balance have been diminished, distanced, ignored and replaced by an enslaving, stale and insulting world views.

Enter Thomas Berry who after a lifetime of scholarship on human cultures has received the gifts of the scientific community and relit our human drama and our personal value. We are fortunate to be born into a community that knows how to survive through amazing trials. We are fortunate to be born into a school that has incomprehensible libraries and teachers to access. We are made with genes already experienced in phenomenal truth, art, music, flexibility and openness to diversity and enhancing possibility. There is nothing in the vast developing universe that is really foreign to us--it is our home and at this time in human history, we have a dinguished role to play. You'll have to read him to see what these remarks mean.

There is no one I have ever met, heard or read who comes close to explaining the grief and chaos of our times and to offering a healing of being and living as does Thomas Berry.

This is what children need to learn. This is the heroic task that young adults yearn to be presented. This is the good news that will bring a sign of contentment to more than our hopes. This is the story that provides a standard for every profession but especially education, economics, religion and government. At last we begin to hear what really matters.

Fr. Thomas Berry emphasizes that all things and beings have a place in Creation. It is a stimulating relief to have such a well respected scholar support what is my heart's understanding of the world I know. He is calm and accepting of the concept 'inclusiveness'. Science and spirituality are shown to be not only compatible but inseperable. The Universe Story tells us how our world was formed and comes alive. Thomas Berry emphasises appreciation of the beauty and strength found all around us. We are told we are moving into a new geologic time called the 'ecozoic' by the author. This book will help smooth our moves into the next chapter of the Creation.