Book Description
This complete introduction to law places emphasis on ethics and international issues, showing readers how to engage in ethical, analytical reasoning with every topic from legal fundamentals to areas of substantive law. The features of this book encourage readers to apply critical thinking, organizational and summation skills, and legal research tools to solve specific legal problems.
The American court system, criminal law and ethics, contracts and E-Commerce, family law, real and personal property, agency, employment, and equal opportunity law, intellectual property and internet law, and administrative law, consumer, investor, and environmental protection.
For paralegals, legal assistants, lawyers, and all legal professionals.
Book Description
Has physics gone off in the wrong direction? Peter Woit presents the other side of the growing debate on string theory--arguing that it's not even science
At what point does theory depart the realm of testable hypothesis and come to resemble something like aesthetic speculation, or even theology? The legendary physicist Wolfgang Pauli had a phrase for such ideas: He would describe them as "not even wrong," meaning that they were so incomplete that they could not even be used to make predictions to compare with observations to see whether they were wrong or not.
In Peter Woit's view, superstring theory is just such an idea. In Not Even Wrong, he shows that what many physicists call superstring "theory" is not a theory at all. It makes no predictions, even wrong ones, and this very lack of falsifiability is what has allowed the subject to survive and flourish.
Not Even Wrong explains why the mathematical conditions for progress in physics are entirely absent from superstring theory today and shows that judgments about scientific statements, which should be based on the logical consistency of argument and experimental evidence, are instead based on the eminence of those claiming to know the truth.
In the face of many books from enthusiasts for string theory, this book presents the other side of the story.
Customer Reviews:
The Fall of Strings.......2007-10-06
String theorists have so far been unable to use their results to predict new experimental findings. This book and Smolin's 'The Trouble with Physics' both attempt to document this failure of string theory. Smolin's book is better, but a tougher read. But this book is not bad, and you may want to read them both.
Woit dissects "the only game in town".......2007-10-02
"The fundamental problem with string theory is that, as far as its central goal of unifying physics goes, over the last nearly 25 years it has not only not made any progress toward explaining anything about particle physics, but, quite the opposite. Everything that has been learned about string theory makes it more and more clear that the original hopes for getting unification this way were just misguided and can't work. The derivative here is the wrong sign." Peter Woit, posted on his weblog September 13, 2007.
Some readers may think that this book gets off to a painfully slow start, given the author's long telling of the history of particle physics, particularly as regards work done with particle accelerators/ colliders. But stay with it [it's worth it!]. Woit holds degrees from Harvard and Princeton (PhD, theoretical physics) and has taught both mathematics and physics at Columbia. He happily describes himself as a mathematician, in large part because that is indeed the career he has chosen but also in large part because he is obviously disgusted with the current state of theoretical physics--in so far as the superstring/ M-theory disciples of Witten have abandoned anything resembling orthodox science. Woit shows no hesitation in acknowledging Witten's great genius, but unlike most theorists of recent decades he is not interested in worshiping at Witten's feet, no matter what the cost. And Woit isn't just some disgruntled nay-saying spoilsport (I can't strictly judge the psychological state of someone I don't personally know, but he doesn't strike me in this way at all). His concern is that there are other prospects for a unified theory that have been summarily brushed aside by the popular mantra that "string theory is the only game in town." [Federal] research funding, positions of influence notably including department chairs, academic and research hirings, increasingly all have played what we are told (by string/brane theorists themselves) is "the only game in town." But after three decades of glowing hype, this "game"--superstrings/'M-theory'/'brane-world'--has failed to move forward. It has essentially demonstrated that it cannot move forward in any scientific sense.
"Superstring theory is to a large degree thought of by mainstream physicists as mathematics and by mainstream mathematicians as physics, with each group convinced that it makes no sense within their frame of reference but presumably does within someone else's." pg 204
Like so many other armchair theorists, I've read and enjoyed books like Greene's `Elegant Universe' and Hawking's glossy `Universe in a Nutshell'. But any astute reader has to notice that no real connection is made between what we are told are compellingly "beautiful mathematics" and the physical world we can examine, and, given a sound theory, even interrogate, to any degree at all. It is particularly instructive to consider strings/ brane-world from the critical perspective of pure mathematics, i.e., Woit's perspective in this volume. It seems that the abstract equations ARE strangely "beautiful" UNTIL the math must be patched to conform to a universe with precisely three large spatial dimensions; as soon as we are forced to manipulate the additional dimensions, the beauty of the mathematics begins to fade. That `beauty' has been fading for 20 years at this writing. Woit finds the equations of strings/branes to be growing uglier at every turn. After decades of contortion, strings/branes are ever becoming less beautiful than advertised. And, as Woit briefly explains with stark, non-glossy frankness, strings/branes are NOT the only game in town, or at least they shouldn't be.
Many mathematicians would cautiously agree that strings/branes make for interesting mathematics--if they can be divorced from physics. There may be sufficient cause to suggest, as some have, that strings/branes make for interesting theology as well. But are strings/branes SCIENCE? At this late date it seems that the answer is probably `no'.
"If someone could come up with a legitimate, distinctive, testable prediction of string theory that gave even the correct order of magnitude for some experimental result, that would be a huge breakthrough."
As I have suggested to anyone willing to listen, read Peter Woit's thought-provoking book, especially if you've read Greene, Hawking, and/or Susskind.
Right on the button.......2007-08-30
What can I say? Like Peter Woit, I am a recovering mathematician, and this book has given me hope. "Not Even Wrong" carries my highest recommendation, especially for those empirically-inclined investigators who have become demotivated by the crisis in science. One proviso, though - don't read it in isolation. Essential companions are Lee Smolin's "The Trouble with Physics", and my own impassioned plea "The Virtue of Heresy - Confessions of a Dissident Astronomer". The Virtue of Heresy: Confessions of a Dissident Astronomer
Hilton Ratcliffe
Astrophysicist
contains interesting information on physics as well as criticism of String Theory.......2007-07-11
As most people know Not Even Wrong is critical of String Theory. What I did not realize going into the book was the detail it delves into in describing events leading up to String Theory, especially events having to do with the Standard Model. I think the book is worth reading just for this information which spans half of the book. I don't know whether String Theory is right or not as I am not a physicist but I do believe that criticism is a healthy thing and that the author is clear in his criticism of String Theory. I would have wished for more information on other Unified Theories but he devotes only one chapter to this. I guess, as the author points out, there is only one game in town and it is String Theory.
A Good Proposal for Using Government Funds More Effectively.......2007-06-23
Woit's book will be very helpful to technical people who do not work daily in the field of physics but want to remain up to date on the progress of this field. Woit's conclusions and recommendations will be widely accepted. Interestingly, in my book review of Leonard Susskind's book on The Cosmic Landscape in December 2005, I said, "I hold hopes for physicists but not much for strings." I made this statement because the length of a string is divisible and cannot be modeled by a zero-point. So, string theory was completely wrong on day one.
Woit gave me a clear view of the histories of particle physics, strings, and the standard model. In Ch. 6, my mind became glued to the Yang-Mills theory and the new behavior named `asymptotic freedom.' This new behavior is consistent with other theories: (1) the infinite gap that separates a creator God from the universe; (2) the Riemann hypothesis on prime numbers; (3) the true atoms (Leibniz's monads); (4) Cantor's transfinite number; (5) and the origin of inertia of Bernard Haisch (see `The God Theory). So, Woit is right. It is time for physicists to return to basics and The Standard Model. But, they might also consider the reality of an active God.
Book Description
A Code of Jewish Ethics, Volume 1: You Shall Be Holy is the initial volume of the first major code of Jewish ethics to be written in the English language. It is a monumental work on the vital topic of personal character and integrity by one of the premier Jewish scholars and thinkers of our time.
With the stated purpose of restoring ethics to its central role in Judaism, Rabbi Joseph Telushkin offers hundreds of examples from the Torah, the Talmud, rabbinic commentaries, and contemporary stories to illustrate how ethical teachings can affect our daily behavior. The subjects dealt with are ones we all encounter. They include judging other people fairly; knowing when forgiveness is obligatory, optional, or forbidden; balancing humility and self-esteem; avoiding speech that shames others; restraining our impulses of envy, hatred, and revenge; valuing truth but knowing when lying is permitted; understanding why God is the ultimate basis of morality; and appreciating the great benefits of Torah study. Telushkin has arranged the book in the traditional style of Jewish codes, with topical chapters and numbered paragraphs. Statements of law are almost invariably followed by anecdotes illustrating how these principles have been, or can be, practiced in daily life. The book can be read straight through to provide a solid grounding in Jewish values, consulted as a reference when facing ethical dilemmas, or studied in a group.
Vast in scope, this volume distills more than three thousand years of Jewish laws and suggestions on how to improve one’s character and become more honest, decent, and just. It is a landmark work of scholarship that is sure to influence the lives of Jews for generations to come, rich with questions to ponder and discuss, but primarily a book to live by.
Customer Reviews:
Wise advice throughout, for anyone.......2006-10-02
One of the things I find most wonderful about this book is that I can pick it up and read only a page, and have something worth thinking about. It is packed full of good, clear advice and ethical guidance. On first glance there are some ideas that seem obvious, and some that seem impossible. But with further reading and effort the impossible becomes easier to conceive of, and ideas that seemed obvious reveal hidden depths. I am on my second reading of the book, mixed with frequently jumping around in the text, and I'm certain I'll get something new from it with future readings as well.
A particularly lovely touch to this book is that with every piece of advice, there is an explanation, an example, or an anecdote - something to tie the subject in to our every-day lives. For example, the section on common sense and tact quotes the late Jewish humorist Sam Levenson in saying "It's not so hard to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and don't say it." This seems like such a small thing, but this little bit of humor stays in my mind better than any lecture, and is just enough to remind me that I mean to improve. Other such anecdotes show that some of the "impossible" expectations through the book are in fact anything but.
So many "self-help" and "self-improvement" books are easy to skim through, more fluff and cheery stories than content. While many books on living the good life have passed through my hands, no other has lingered quite as well as this one. Every time I open it I am reminded of some aspect of life that I should focus more on, and I expect it will be on my shelf for a very long time.
excellent for the High Holy Days.......2006-09-25
Like Telushkin's Book of Jewish Values (which overlaps somewhat with this book) this book is not only full of practical ethical suggestions. Here are a few examples:
1. To help yourself give other people the benefit of the doubt, think of rationalizations that might help, just as if you were making excuses for yourself
2. Praying for others when they are sick is a fine thing, but why not go further by praying for those with other problems such as financial or relationship issues?
3. When visiting friend you haven't seen in awhile, say the Shecheyanu prayer to thank God for the privilege;
4. If someone is getting on your nerves, think of ways in which they might be superior to you;
5. Chant "Do not be easily angered" (al tehi noach lekos) to calm yourself down if you feel yourself getting angry.
Although I am not sure yet which (if any) of these ideas I will have the self-discipline to put into practice, this book has already inspired me to do a little beyond what was directly suggested.
Since this time of year is (for Jews) a propitious time for reforming oneself, I think this book is especially useful this time of year.
Concededly, a few of the book's suggestions seemed a bit overly ambitious to me- but my feeling is that if this book inspires me to do just a few small things differently, than it is worth the time I invested in it.
ample encyclopedic mind.......2006-07-03
In a longer review for jbooks.com, I wrote: "Spending time with this first volume is akin to tapping into Rabbi Telushkin's encyclopedic mind. Fortunately, it's both an ample and organized mind, as evidenced by the logical breakdown of chapters, the bulk of which appear in the second part, in which basic virtues and vices are explicated. Everything from civility and forgiveness to anger and hatred are laid bare." You can read the full review at [...]
Product Description
What is the role of the veterinarian in a prosecution for cruelty to animals? This comprehensive introduction to the field is required reading for animal shelter, veterinary, investigative, and law enforcement professionals. In February 2007 Forensic Investigation of Animal Cruelty won the Dog Writers Association of America (DWAA) Best General Reference Book: 2006 category and was named Dogwise Best Book of 2006! In March 2007, coauthor Melinda Merck, D.V.M., was profiled in People magazine's "Animal CSI."
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Book!.......2007-06-19
This book is straightforward and helpful. It covers many topics, including those easily overlooked such as the importance of good record keeping when performing investigations. All of the information is presented in a clear, concise format that is easy to read and understand. Dr. Leslie Sinclair is an excellent writer with years of experience in the field. The knowledge she shares in this book is invaluable! Definitely a must read for veterinarians and veterinary staff! Every clinic and shelter should have a copy on hand for reference.
A must have book for every veterinarian and veterinary technician.......2007-01-25
This book is long overdue for Veterinarians to take true to their oath and go beyond the call of duty in diagnosing, collecting and reporting evidence of abused and tortured animals they see in their hospitals.
Author Dr. Randall Lockwood has spent many years investigating the connection between animal cruelty and violence against human beings. I have read his books and heard him speak on these issues which has opened my eyes to a reality that is so deeply shocking. Even I, a certified veterinary technician, was so unaware how much my profession could contribute to the conviction and prosecution of these perpetrators, not just for the revolting behavior in harming defensless animals, but for statistically proven odds that the same perpetrators will go on to, or continue to harm human beings also. Every Veterinary clinic or hospital should have a copy of this book in their practice and not be afraid to use it as a bible to get involved in helping to make society a better place. You could not find better advice handed to you on a silver platter than the tools provided in this extremely well written CSI format of animal forensics!
Book Description
In Crossing the Next Meridian, Charles F. Wilkinson, an expert on federal public lands, Native American issues, and the West's arcane water laws explains some of the core problems facing the American West now and in the years to come. He examines the outmoded ideas that pervade land use and resource allocation and argues that significant reform of Western law is needed to combat desertification and environmental decline, and to heal splintered communities.
Interweaving legal history with examples of preset-day consequences of the laws, both intended and unintended, Wilkinson traces the origins and development of the laws and regulations that govern mining, ranching, forestry, and water use. He relates stories of Westerners who face these issues on a day-to-day basis, and discusses what can and should be done to bring government policies in line with the reality of twentieth-century American life.
Customer Reviews:
Should be required reading in high school.......2003-08-12
Great and informative book. Puts a lot of the problems now faced in the west into their context. Covers a lot of land history in the west not generally covered in school, but definately not a dry read!
Excellent and thought provoking.......1999-12-01
An excellent rendition of how western law had transformend the American West into a land for humans, filled with dam after dam. Wild salmon have no where to go. Laws seem to be more powerful than Nature!
Excellent, thought-provoking.......1999-05-03
A very scholarly, but accessible, history of the development of the West and the social/political/economic structures that shaped land, water and resource rights there. In particular, Wilkinson is addressing the notorious Hardrock Mining Act of 1872 (still in effect), the distribution of land and grazing rights, the fisheries of the Pacific Northwest, and the timber industry. His analysis of the Lords of Yesterday - his term for the antiquated statutes that govern those industries - is very convincing. The book's only weakness is that this is a 1992 text (presumably researched in the decade previous) that doesn't reflect changes in the laws and political pressures over the past decade. It would benefit from a new edition.
Links the past, present, and future of the American West.......1999-03-05
Wilkinson offers a balanced account of the forces that created the law and policy of the American West, and also of the forces that keep those outdated policies active in a very different West. As a native of Colorado, it was apparent that Wilkenson has spent a great deal of time in the American West and truly understands the complex issues that the region faces today. Very well researched, very easy to read.
A great summury of Western Issues.......1997-12-17
A very though look at the major issues dividing westerners today. Looks at ranching, water, and logging in a very readable style. Do not loan this one out because it NEVER get returned. The only downfall is that this book is already dated because of the rise of the Wise Use movement.
Amazon.com
If you haven't seen the film version of Inherit the Wind, you might have read it in high school. And even people who have never heard of either the movie or the play probably know something about the events that inspired them: The 1925 Scopes "monkey trial," during which Darwin's theory of evolution was essentially put on trial before the nation. Inherit the Wind paints a romantic picture of John Scopes as a principled biology teacher driven to present scientific theory to his students, even in the teeth of a Tennessee state law prohibiting the teaching of anything other than creationism. The truth, it turns out, was something quite different. In his fascinating history of the Scopes trial, Summer for the Gods, Edward J. Larson makes it abundantly clear that Truth and the Purity of Science had very little to do with the Scopes case. Tennessee had passed a law prohibiting the teaching of evolution, and the American Civil Liberties Union responded by advertising statewide for a high-school teacher willing to defy the law. Communities all across Tennessee saw an opportunity to put themselves on the map by hosting such a controversial trial, but it was the town of Dayton that came up with a sacrificial victim: John Scopes, a man who knew little about evolution and wasn't even the class's regular teacher. Chosen by the city fathers, Scopes obligingly broke the law and was carted off to jail to await trial.
What happened next was a bizarre mix of theatrics and law, enacted by William Jennings Bryan for the prosecution and Clarence Darrow for the defense. Though Darrow lost the trial, he made his point--and his career--by calling Bryan, a noted Bible expert, as a witness for the defense. Summer for the Gods is a remarkable retelling of the trial and the events leading up to it, proof positive that truth is stranger than science.
Book Description
Reissued with a new preface: the Pulitzer Prize-winning book that is "quite simply the best book ever written on the Scopes Trial and its place in American history and myth."
In the summer of 1925, the sleepy hamlet of Dayton, Tennessee, became the setting for one of the 20th century's most contentious dramas: the Scopes trial that pit William Jennings Bryan and the anti-Darwinists against a teacher named John Scopes into a famous debate over science, religion, and their place in public education.
That trial marked the start of a battle that continues to this day--in Dover, Pennsylvania, Kansas, Cobb County, Georgia, and many other cities and states throughout the country. Edward Larson's classic, Summer for the Gods, received the Pulitzer Prize in History in 1998 and is the single most authoritative account of a pivotal event whose combatants remain at odds in school districts and courtrooms. For this edition, Larson has added a new preface that assesses the state of the battle between creationism and evolution, and points the way to how it might potentially be resolved.
Customer Reviews:
De-simplification.......2007-08-21
A Tennessee newspaper called the Scopes trial at the time a 'publicity stunt'. Meaning publicity for the city of Dayton.
America never ceases to surprise me. Until not so long ago I had never heard of the Scopes trial. I stumbled over it once in a while when reading about the disputes between Christian fundamentalists and 'science', specifically evolutionists. I imagined something like a fight of the titans, Evolution versus Creation.
Not so. Now I learn from Larson that everything was a little different. (This is by now also a cliche: things are not what they seem. Are they ever?)
Actually it had aspects of a farce.
The more interesting aspects are not the farcical ones though, but rather how this event was the focal point not so much of two strong opponents clashing, but of a much more diverse field of issues.
I had forgotten that evolution, by the mid 20s, was a different thing from what it seems now. First of all, the so-called Darwinian synthesis had not yet happened, which led to 'neo-Darwinism', basing Darwin's theory of natural selection on knowledge of genetics (of which Darwin himself had had no idea yet).
In the 20s, Darwinism was much more attached to the smelly and dead ideology of so-called Social Darwinism (for which Mr.Darwin should not be blamed), than it is nowadays. At that time, eugenics were still considered an honorable pursuit, it appears. That was the attempt to improve mankind's genetic substance by a kind of human breeding program. Going for Nietzsche's Uebermensch. Now we know how it ended with the Nazis' euthanasia programs. Even World War I, which had been over not so long past, had brought implications of 'Darwinism' in the ideology of Wilhelminian militarism. Overall a rather dubious surrounding and not as squeaky clean as pure science.
At the same time there was the aftermath of the social earthquakes that WWI had shaken loose: the Russian revolution, the spreading hysteria in America about the 'Red Scare', labor prosecution, leading to McCarthyism later on. And among the Christian denominations the fight between the modernists and the fundamentalists, whose primary opponent seems to have been their deviating fellow Christians more than the evolutionists, who became sort of a derived target.
The trial itself is a ridiculous affair about a substitute teacher who used a book which mentions evolution, which broke a newly introduced law against teaching evolution in Tennessee. What a joke. Particularly as the teacher volunteered to be the defendant in this mock trial.
The book also de-simplifies the aftermath by showing how the real events were mystified in later texts, and by showing how fundamentalism, rather than accepting defeat, just moved away from the general public into an own strong subculture.
The Facts, yes--but still more Drama than Debate.......2007-08-15
In order to be credible to all sides in a highly-partisan cultural war, professor of law and history Edward J. Larson in his book "Summer of the Gods: The Scopes Trial And America's Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion" had to present the facts and nothing but the facts ("so help him God" or not). This is the book's necessary strength and its unfortunate weakness. I would like to have heard more reflection.
Much light could come just from placing the historical scene in a larger context. For example, what connections can be made between the meaninglessness and despair of World War I, the recent Marxist-Leninist revolution, the red scare of the 20's, Darrow's agnosticism and membership in the Communist party, and the fears of an attack on traditional values and beliefs this all must have engendered?
The facts about this "great," or at least highly significant, all-American trial are so often the exactly opposite of the myths that survived so long! Perhaps we now need a anthropologist of culture and religion to analyze how we could go so long believing utter falsehoods, and all without force of propaganda or threat of gulag.
Surely on the deeper issues of the philosophical debate between science and religion as reflected in American culture, Mr. Larson, whose background is exactly in this type of historical study, could lend a hand. Certainly he has done us a great service by his meticulously objective work for this well-deserved Pulitzer Prize winning effort, but there is little philosophical thought to be found.
The Scopes courtroom led to more drama than debate, more chance than justice or toleration. Both sides claimed to win, but all sides actually lost. Both the real trial and the mythic one reflected in the movie "Inherit the Wind" (and other cultural renderings passed down as folklore)--both failed to even satisfactorily debate let alone struggle with the underlying conflicts or seek answers to America's larger quest for clarity of identity.
Neither built toward a consensus. Hence our ongoing crazy cultural wars with Ten Commandments tablets allowed here but not there, all supported by highly reasoned legal arguments on both sides that will all look more like myth and superstition to the next eon--hopefully. Our capitalistic Mark Twainish show trial was mercifully free of the menace of Stalin's show trials of the 30's. Nevertheless, by failing to address the challenges of this chapter in our over-politicized mythic struggle, we neither evolve nor practice true religion.
Nevertheless, as a starting touchstone "Summer of the God's" deserves a place on all our book shelves. It has inspired me to want to read a biography about William Jennings Bryan, and Darrow's autobiography as well.
Great coverage of the trial; of its aftermath, not so much..........2007-07-05
The author did a great job of demystifying the trial, a task long overdue. The question was whether a state or community could prohibit teaching any theory or doctrine in the public classroom, and jury had decided that it could. If young Scopes was teaching Marx's theory of class struggle in history class, I think the outcome would have been the same, though I doubt there would have been even a fictionalized account opening on Broadway, thirty years later.
Yet somehow, because the theory in question was Darwinism, and because the trial was held in the Bible Belt, it has been misrepresented from the get-go as another icon in the ever continuing "...debate over science and religion." Unfortunately, this is the subtitle of this work, and the reason at least one star was dropped from my rating.
The author continued to equate "anti-evolutionists" with "Fundamentalists" throughout his book, which extended into the last decades of the 20th Century, long after the equation was valid. By this time, several scientists, many without any strong religious beliefs, had poked serious holes in Evolutionary theory, developing a formalized concept called "Intelligent Design." Furthermore, several other scientists, though not willing to dispute macro-evolution overall, had serious reservations about supporting Darwin's Natural Selection mechanism for the development of new species. Thus, Punctuated Equilibrium appeared on the scene, championed by the late Harvard paleontologist, Dr. Stephen Jay Gould, which weakened the theory most often taught in school, and understood by the public, even more.
Unfortunately, the author decided not to include these scientific controversies, perhaps not wanting to "dirty up the water."
But in doing so, he chose to represent the ongoing reluctance of some state and local school boards, some far from the Bible Belt, to teach Darwinism as anything more than a theory, as purely a product of "Fundamentalism."
He probably should have stopped his narrative about a chapter earlier...
The Echoes of the Past .......2007-05-28
Summer for the Gods
The echoes of the past continue to reverberate. Although it's been eighty years since the Scopes Trial, the debate over the teaching of the origins of life goes on.
The monumental intellectual battle pitted Williams Jennings Bryan against Clarence Darrow following the indictment and arrest of a Dayton, Tennessee public school teacher for violating a state law forbidding the teaching of evolution.
The controversy focused attention...not much of it favorable... on the South, which was still smarting from the Civil War and Reconstruction.
In "Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America's continuing Debate over Science " Edward J. Larson takes the reader through the background of the Scopes matter; the involvement of the ACLU, which was seeking a test case at the time; and the role of the Prosecution and Defense. The media (or, the Press at the time) had an important role as well -- the Baltimore Sun's acerbic H.L. Mencken covered the story, and on one day of the trial journalists filed 200,000 words by telegraph. Larson's Pulitzer-prize winning account is an enjoyable and entertaining read. His "afterword," which compares the Scopes matter to the current debate between Science and "Intelligent Design", is especially useful. The recent attempts to restrict academic freedom in Kansas and other jurisdictions illustrate the currency of the debate.
A recent Google search revealed 29,600,000 hits for "intelligent design." There are societies, institutions, and now even a Museum designed to promote Creationism. (Interestingly, William Jennings Bryan founded his own college, Bryan College, to promote his views, much as the late Rev Jerry Fallwell.)
Larson makes ample use of the papers of Bryan, Darrow and other principals in the trial and contemporary news accounts. His book is an entertaining, enlightening, and gracefully-written addition to the literature on the subject.
As another reviewer has noted, the legal background of the story is of particular interest... particularly given than in 1925, many general principles which we take for granted today (for example, the application of the Establishment of Religion Clause to State as well as Federal law ) didn't exist at the time.
Pulitzer-prize winning book.......2007-04-30
It's easy to see why Edward Larson won a Pulitzer prize for this book. It's a fascinating, well-written account of the Scopes trial that avoids the hyper-partisanship that usually surrounds the issue.
Larson doesn't come across as an obnoxious evolutionist or an obnoxious creationist. Instead he comes across as a truly professional historian who gives a thorough and fair account of this famous trial.
Book Description
Hooked is a story about the poaching of the Patagonian toothfish (known to Americans as Chilean Sea Bass) and is built around the pursuit of the illegal fishing vessel Viarsa by an Australian patrol boat, Southern Supporter, in one of the longest pursuits in maritime history. Author G. Bruce Knecht chronicles how an obscure fish merchant in California discovered and renamed the fish, kicking off a worldwide craze for a fish no one had ever heard ofand everyone had to have. And with demand exploding, pirates were only too happy to satisfy our taste for Chilean Sea Bass. Knechtwhose previous book The Proving Ground was hailed by Walter Cronkite as a sailing masterpiece . . . a tale more thrilling than fictioncaptivates readers by deftly shifting among the storys nail-biting elements: the perilous chase at sea through frenzied winds, punishing waves, and an obstacle course of icebergs; the high-stakes environmental battle and courtroom drama; and the competitive battle among the worlds restaurants to serve the perfect, flaky, white-fleshed fish. From the worlds most treacherous waters to its most fabulous kitchens, Hooked is at once a thrilling tale and a revelatory popular history that will appeal to a diverse group of readers. Think The Hungry Ocean meets Kitchen Confidential.
Customer Reviews:
International Fisheries.......2007-07-07
A great book that chronicles the myriad issues that face international fisheries. Want to know what you're really eating and how it got to your plate? Knecht will tell you
thanks.......2007-07-07
It is always a delight to read a thoughtfully written expose of some evil activity that is destroying some part of our enviroment. The more people read books like this, the better chance there is of preventing such disasters in the future. Nicely done and easy to read.
Hooked: Pirates, Poaching, and the Perfect Fish.......2007-07-05
Book was quite a read. A few days reading and you are done. Keeps you enthralled every minute and at the same time provides facts that you may not know about the fishing industry.
Great sea story mixed with culinary history and legal proceedure.......2007-06-27
Really fun book, everyone I have passed it on to also gave it rave reviews. Excitement, suspense and a little culinary history. A good read
pursuing the fishers.......2007-05-25
A verty detailed account of pursuit and the frustrations that the law encompasses while trying to track international pirates. I assumed it would be, track, catch and arrest but their are so many politics involved with the apprehension of the illegal fisherman, whom once you hear their story and don't find yourself so mad at them either as they are trying to make a living. With the dolphin killing, my emotions were triggered but with the Chilean Sea bass , one really has to grasp the environmental concerns for the reasons these pirates must be controlled. Good book.
Average customer rating:
- A textbook, with pluses and minuses
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Wildlife Issues in a Changing World, Second Edition
Michael Moulton , and
James Sanderson
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ASIN: 1566703514 |
Book Description
Students of conservation encounter some of the most complex issues on our planet. The resolution of existing problems become more complex when humans create further stresses on the natural balance. Moulton and Sanderson brought the challenging issues in wildlife conservation into greater clarity in Wildlife Issues in a Changing World. The Second Edition of this definitive reference focuses more closely on the causes of wildlife issues. The examination of Jared Diamond's "Evil Quartet" (the four principal causes of extinction) provides a framework for categorizing and resolving these issues. The authors encourage the use of the scientific method basis for resolution - especially where environmental laws have failed. The three new chapters provide further counterpoints to preconceived notions. A two-part history of wildlife in the U.S. shows how wildlife had already been decimated by the year 1900. "Can Humans Manage Wildlife?" questions efforts to revive endangered species, acts which may inadvertently jeopardize the survival of other life. Viewing the natural order from prehistoric times to the present, Wildlife Issues in a Changing World, Second Edition gives students and instructors an all-encompassing introduction to past relations between humans and nature; explorations of current threats to species and their habitats; and recent "novel solutions," where humanity and industry have made adjustments to protect the natural order. Professionals will also find invaluable reminders of the importance of their work - the continuation and endurance of wildlife everywhere on Earth.
Customer Reviews:
A textbook, with pluses and minuses.......2006-09-30
Wildlife Issues in a Changing World is a textbook on... wildlife issues! There is an emphasis on the United States, but there are a good number of international examples as well. I really like the chapters on the Evil Quartet, what is wildlife, and what are wildlife issues. As I use this book in my courses, I depend on it as a source of wildlife issue examples, supplemented with DVDs and videos (to "bring" wildlife into the classroom).
It is, in general, a hard book for students. I don't mean hard in terms of the materials. It is well-written, and rather easy to read. It is hard to use to study for tests. I tell students that it compliments the lectures, and doesn't repeat them. Students tend to complain that it has too many examples, so the "themes" that they are tested on are difficult to find.
I still find it the best text for my purposes for a general course with primarily non-natural resource students. I like it for its price as well.
Book Description
This workbook for human and planetary survival is based upon a resonant field paradigm that transcends the Newtonian materialistic model. Argüelles, the author of The Mayan Factor, postulates a planetary design that envisions the evolving field of Earth in relation to the galactic whole.
Customer Reviews:
Transformative!.......2005-11-21
Likely to prove the most important book ever published. Imagine Plato's Timaeus updated for the information age with full-page illustrations & graphs & you have a good idea of Earth Ascending.
Unifying cultural artifacts from around the world in a whole-systems perspective, Earth Ascending offers the possiblility of transformation from a planet of war and misunderstanding, to a single unified Earth.
It is highly doubtful that the mayan-calendar / 2012 movement would have progressed beyond such mundane topics as GMT correlations and mushroom-induced fantasies if not for this incredibly illuminating textbook on the re-orientation of the human mind & the return of the psyche to its natural state of harmony.
highest possible recommendation for all earthlings.
Most seminal book published in the 20th century.......1999-01-01
EARTH ASCENDING illustrates the mathematical correlations of the binary computer code, the I Ching hexagrams, Ben Franklin's magic square, the DNA code, the Mayan Sacred Calendar, the fluxuations of the Van Allen radiation belt, historical epocs, pristine civilizations, the terrestial seasons, and the governing geomagnetic features of the planet, among others. The author's noetic vision has a density like Mahler's music and Finnegans Wake. This reviewer dares venture that it will prove to be the single most seminal book published in the 20th century. Do yourself a favor: buy it, read it, let yourself be enlightened by it. Not to know it is a sign of intellectual backwardness. Not to ponder it is to walk in spiritual darkness. Not to own it is a mark of cultural poverty.
THIS BOOK IS DOPE!.......1998-08-27
I read this book when it first came out, and it's the bomb!
If you liked that movie PI, you should peep this.
It looks into the cybernetic feedback loop between the microcosm and the macrocosm/art and nature.
It looks into the way humans transpose microcosmic "pure" math onto nature in order to better understand chaotic macrocosmic natural systems.
for example he corralates the I Ching Hexagrams, Binary computer code, DNA, and the polarization fluxuations of the Van Allen Radiation belt.
It has kind of a steep curve at first, but once you get it, the book is very profound.
Book Description
This anthology traces the development of thinking in the philosophy of science from logical positivism to the present. Subsequent articles often clarify or critique preceding ones. As a result, students get a sense of how philosophical theories develop in response to one another.
Customer Reviews:
not 'perfect'.......2006-12-28
so-so text...
it's funny that it represents reason as opposed to the faith (meaning Christian faith). The entire section is called "reason versus faith" - that's weird... Faith is not versus reason.
Book is kinda alright, but it subliminally biased a little (well, where are the unbiased textbooks anyway?)...
Text presents some good essays, but could have been better...
Argumentation at Its Best!.......2003-02-15
This book is organized under 9 sections each containing several papers and excerpts written by well-known philosophers of science. Each section deals with a major theme in the philosophy of science such as the nature of scientific theories, reason vs. faith, some contemporary issues like the philosophy of physics, psychology and biology, and more.
What makes this book unique is that each paper (or excerpt) is followed by a paper (or excerpt) supporting an opposing argument to one just presented. The juxtaposition of two texts provides the reader with adequate material with which to ponder. The author's purpose does not appear to give the reader two options from which to choose the "better" argument, for this would be the fallacy of false alternative... nor does the author do this to encourage the reader to find a "happy" compromise between opposing arguments, for this would be utilizing the defeated Socratic dialectic... the purpose is to promote critical thinking in the reader. Analogically speaking, this book is to the reader (philosopher) what weights are to a body builder. It is the food for thought! A well-organized intelligent read I highly recommend!
A walk in the clouds of thought.......2001-05-02
As a former student of Dr.Schick, I can credit him with teaching me the value of critical thinking, and how to do it. Here, is an excellent collection of great thinkers, with insight and commentary on the nature of life, man, and mind. Anyone who wants to know his or her place in the world, or simply enjoys lively debate and exploration into the great questions that shape our world, would appreciate this edition.
Books:
- Introduction to Space Physics (Cambridge Atmospheric & Space Science)
- Knots and Feynman Diagrams
- Lie Algebras and Applications (Lecture Notes in Physics)
- Lie Algebras in Particle Physics (Frontiers in Physics)
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Physical Principles and Sequence Design
- Man vs. Beast (Cherub)
- Many Particle Physics (Physics of Solids and Liquids)
- Materials Science and Engineering: An Introduction
- Mathematical Foundations of Quantum Mechanics (Dover Books on Mathematics)
- Metal Nanoparticles: Synthesis Characterization & Applications
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