Book Description
In this, his first major book, Mark Steyn--probably the most widely read, and wittiest, columnist in the English-speaking world--takes on the great poison of the twenty-first century: the anti-Americanism that fuels both Old Europe and radical Islam. America, Steyn argues, will have to stand alone. The world will be divided between America and the rest; and for our sake America had better win.
Customer Reviews:
A Must-Read!.......2007-10-10
This book was every bit as good as I had heard. I've always enjoyed Mark Steyn, but hadn't gotten a chance to read this yet because I had a stack of books in front of it. That's my loss, because this was one of the most profound and eye-opening books I've ever read. To be honest, I pay pretty close attention to this conflict we find ourselves in, so most of the individual facts in this book weren't exactly foreign to me. But Steyn pulls all this together and presents it in such a concise, clear and entertaining way that I was able to put the pieces together in a way I hadn't even imagined. His demographic data alone is shocking, and should make every person in Europe and Canada sit up and take serious note - I'll be paying very close attention to what happens over the next few years "across the pond", as they say, for how goes Europe, so will eventually go America. I plan to buy several more copies of this book and hand them out to friends and family. I highly suggest it.
Excelent book. Really crunches the numbers like no other book........2007-10-05
This book really lays out the problems with hard numbers and facts in a way I have never seen and is easy to understand. I recomend this book to anyone who is worried about the muslim issue. People in Europe better read it asap!
America Alone is Excellent.......2007-10-04
This book gives a lot of attention to fertility rates in Europe, Scandanavia and the United States. Many other good observations and opinions are included as well. It will give you some insights into what may occur in various countries in the future vis-a-vis the Muslims and non Muslims.
What a sad worldview.......2007-10-01
I can't even begin to describe the serious flaws in this book...
But I gave it one star instead of zero because, if you want to study logic and how to detect subtly and not so subtly flawed arguments, buy this book.
What's sad is he's done actual research (but distorts everything to fit his way of thinking), and some muslims, like some christians, some jews, some whatever, really are dangerous and want to hurt America, but he makes his side of the controversy look like a bunch of, what's a nice word... 'baffoons'.
I think he seriously believes the things he writes in his book, which means he's stressing himselfand others out for nothing, and ultimately, pushing away the moderates that might listen to a more logical argument against religious extremism
Excellent.......2007-09-21
With the many positive reviews already posted, there isn't much more for me to say, so I will just say, "Read a few of the reviews, then, most definitely, read this book."
Book Description
This wickedly funny, big-hearted novel about life in the office signals the arrival of a gloriously talented new writer. The characters in Then We Came to the End cope with a business downturn in the time-honored way: through gossip, secret romance, elaborate pranks, and increasingly frequent coffee breaks. By day they compete for the best office furniture left behind and try to make sense of the mysterious pro-bono ad campaign that is their only remaining "work."
Customer Reviews:
Great read -- offers some surprises........2007-10-01
As already mentioned in several reviews, this book is not as hilarious as some critics made it out to be. However, this is still a very entertaining and witty novel. I loved the end.
Must-read for anyone who has ever worked at an ad agency!.......2007-09-27
If you've ever worked at an agency, you'll recognize each character as one of your coworkers (or you!). And you'll feel sick alongside them as layoffs continue and pro bono jobs replace paying clients. It's hard to keep track of all the characters at first, but the author helps out by reminding you who's who throughout ... plus there are fewer and fewer as the story progresses. I highly recommend this book!
Don't Waste Your Time..........2007-09-11
This was probably the worst and most boring book I've read in 2007. Amazon has it rated as one of "the best so far..." There must be some mistake. The author, while allegedly a skilled writer, drones on and on about the most irrelevant subjects, 5 pages devoted to a chair. It has taken me almost a whole month to finish because I get sleepy after about 3 pages and have to put it down. I am now on the last chapter and can't wait to "come to the end". The characters are mere caricatures of real people with no depth or relatability. There is basically no plot to speak of. I have given it two stars because the author has an occasional good line or train of thought, but when he puts them all together it's nothing but a trainwreck. I'm no rocket scientist and usually pretty easily entertained but this book was no good. I'm serious.
office culture.......2007-09-11
if you work in an office with lots of personalities, this book should resonate. Mr. Ferris had to have intimate knowledge of a cubbied space
Hilarious.......2007-09-06
Hard not to get a kick out of this book. He makes connections in culture today that will blow your mind. Great read.
Book Description
Women are constantly being told that it's simply too difficult to balance work and family, so if they don't really "have to" work, it's better for their families if they stay home. Not only is this untrue, Leslie Bennetts says, but the arguments in favor of stay-at-home motherhood fail to consider the surprising benefits of work and the unexpected toll of giving it up. It's time, she says, to get the message across -- combining work and family really is the best choice for most women, and it's eminently doable.Bennetts and millions of other working women provide ample proof that there are many different ways to have kids, maintain a challenging career, and have a richly rewarding life as a result. Earning money and being successful not only make women feel great, but when women sacrifice their financial autonomy by quitting their jobs, they become vulnerable to divorce as well as the potential illness, death, or unemployment of their breadwinner husbands. Further, they forfeit the intellectual, emotional, psychological, and even medical benefits of self-sufficiency.The truth is that when women gamble on dependancy, most eventually end up on the wrong side of the odds. In riveting interviews with women from a wide range of backgrounds, Bennetts tells their dramatic stories -- some triumphant, others heartbreaking.The Feminine Mistake will inspire women to accept the challenge of figuring out who they are and what they want to do with their lives in addition to raising children. Not since Betty Friedan has anyone offered such an eye-opening and persuasive argument for why women can -- and should -- embrace the joyously complex lives they deserve.
Customer Reviews:
Please read this book.......2007-10-03
I am a female attorney who has been practising family law for 26 years.
When I first started out, I represented many women who were married in the 1940's, 50's and 60's, when society felt that every woman's place was in the home. As a result, many "displaced homemakers" suddenly found themselves facing poverty in their old age. My own generation (the baby-boomers) all seemed to gravitate towards careers, so the displaced, poverty-stricken homemakers would be a thing of the past, right?
Wrong.
I am stunned to discover how many women in their 20's and 30's (the so-called post-feminist generation) are opting to become stay-at-home moms.
What is the problem, you ask?
In one word - DIVORCE.
And don't say it'll never happen to you. After all, I'm sure you buy smoke detectors, don't leave matches within your children's reach, don't leave candles or a stovetop unattended - but I'll also bet you also have homeowner's insurance, in case the unthinkable happened and your house caught on fire.
I've known so many women who tried so hard to be terrific wives, great mothers - and still found themselves divorced. Making sure you always have marketable skills so that you are able to support yourself and your children is like buying homeowner's insurance.
Of all the divorced SAHM's I've known, very very few are able to return to the workforce and earn enough money to support their families in the same lifestyle they enjoyed during the marriage. Sure, you can always get a minimum-wage job as a sales clerk or a waitress, but it will not buy you a middle-class lifestyle. Well-paying jobs will go to either a) recent college graduates, with newly-learned marketable skills or b) people who have spent the last 5, 10 or 15 years working their way up the ladder.
This book is a must-read, especially for young SAHM's who are confident that their marriage will last forever and that they will have no trouble re-entering the workforce any time they choose. I do have two criticisms, though: one, it is repetitive (one needn't repeat the same thing over and over to make a point) and it focuses almost exclusively on upper-middle class women, who are only a minority of the population.
Actually, upper-middle class SAHM's often suffer the worst, financially and emotionally, from a divorce, since they tend to have the most unrealistic expectations about the workplace (especially those who never worked outside the home at all) and they experience the biggest drop in lifestyle.
The men, on the other hand, tend to do very well after the divorce, simply because they have always had a well-paying career, without interruption, and after the initial financial hit (splitting the assets and paying child support) they keep on earning a high income, year after year.
Use of Ancedotal Evidence Left Me Frustrated and Confused.......2007-09-27
I would not recommend this book. It's a shame really, b/c I think Ms. Bennetts has a good message. Unfortunately she seems to base many of her points on ancedotal evidence. The writing style was a bit choppy and I couldn't figure out if Ms. Bennetts simply chose the wrong ancedote each time or if she truly wants women to not only support themselves, but to drive fancy cars and live in fancy houses.
Her apparent emphasis on material wealth repeatedly seemed to undermine her intentions. And the use of ancedotal evidence just compromised her authority. Perhaps I should have been tipped off at the start of the book when she used her mother as an example of a woman that was able to balance family and work successfully without reprocussions. (Too bad she doesn't emphasize the fact that her grandmother provided the childcare.)
Another example is when she put down a stay-at-home mom for driving old cars in order to live in a wealthy neighborhood with a good school system. Ms. Bennetts seemed to imply that the mother should go back to work so her family could afford new cars and other such luxuries. Surely this wasn't her point, or was it?
I was looking for a book that would support my decision to remain a working mom; however, examples like these throughout the book left me questioning the true message of the book and left me frustrated.
SAHMs Beware.......2007-09-27
Women do bash each other too much, but that's probably because we are all trying to be good at so many contradictory things -- and are afraid we're failing at all of them.
This book has jumped right into the "mommy wars," and been bashed accordingly.
Even though young women want to do life differently than their mothers did (who - trust me - wanted to do life even more differently than THEIR mothers did), we all keep circling around the same problem: We want our families to flourish. We just don't want to become penniless and futureless doing it.
This highly readable book argues that combining work and motherhood is tough but possible and even rewarding. Bennetts contends that depending on husbands to earn all the family money is very risky, and she is quite believable when she describes the many ways that this way of life can go wrong.
Bennetts is also not buying many of the "reasons" that have become fashionable for mom's total surrender of jobs, money, and benefits. She is at her most entertaining when she dissects today's version of the weary cult of motherhood, in which only mom's incessant hands-on attention is presumed to create conditions in which an infant can even survive.
Entertaining and thought-provoking.
Wise Counter Argument to Stay at Home Mom Phenom.......2007-09-10
As far as this topic goes, I've always been a live and let live kind of woman, although I would personally not be comfortable totally relying on a man to support me financially. All the women in my family have worked. I grew up with a working mom, who was a stay at home mom, until she found herself widowed with an 11 month old daughter. When I would hear those "I didn't even know where the checkbook was" stories from women who had either been abandoned or did the abandoning, I always thought...where the heck was your brain? Even if you are a housewife/full time mother, you are and ADULT in your home and should share in the responsibility of guiding your family's financial future. I have a very dear friend who is a stay at home mother and home schools her children. She does part time sales, but guess what..she does the books! Her husband wouldn't dare make a financial move without her and it works for them. Conversely, I have friends who also have husbands who earn a good living, but they work, because they feel they are able to contribute more. As a single woman, it is sometimes daunting to think that I am fully responsible for my financial future..but after reading this book, it reminded me that even if I were married, I would still be fully responsible. I'm also a fairly conservative person, but I have to say, I've seen the church and conservative politicians try to hammer home that the BEST solution for families is to have the mother at home while the father worked. But even GOD allows for personal choice, and if I remember my Bible correctly, the Proverbs 31 woman worked both inside and outside of her household. To me the best solution is to do what works for you. If you feel that you should stay home, then stay home. If you feel that you should work, then work. Each choice, like most choices, comes with its pros and cons. However, whatever your choice, in life, you should always make it a priority to educate yourself and develop a skill.
A Relevant Warning to Women.......2007-09-07
This book serves as a warning to all women who have children or are thinking about having children, that you can't always depend on a man to support you. For women who are thinking about dropping out to raise children they need to think of the long term consequences of their future earning power.
Product Description
An Inconvenient Truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do About It
Customer Reviews:
Oh, see Al........2007-09-27
Oh, see Al. See Al run. Run, Al, run!
See Al smiling. See Al smiling in the Artic. See Al smiling in the boat in the water.
See Al run from the critics. See Al run from the facts. See Al run from the debates. Run, Al, run!!!
After hearing all of the furor over the book, I expected a book of science. What I found was a picture book with big print. If you're looking for a serious book on the science of climate change, there are many good ones out there. If you want a book of propaganda written at a 3rd grade level, with lots of pretty pictures and little reading required, then you're in the right place.
whoops.......2007-09-24
I was devastated when I receievd the book - I thoguht I was buying the DVD!!!
As a public awareness campaign AIT gets an A+, but the science is just a work in progress, so it gets a C-.......2007-09-14
First, I have to clarify that I strongly believe we have a moral obligation to take good care of our Pale Blue Dot, not only for us but to preserve our planet environment and natural resources for future generations.
In general terms, the scope of the book is around 80% the same of the film/documentary, and most of the new material is presented in the final section. The information is presented is a very friendly matter, full of pictures, info boxes and graphs, following Carl Sagan's style for explaining science to the general public, even with resemblance to Sagan's first successful book, Cosmos. After watching the film I bought the book expecting more detailed information. Because of the logical time constraints of a film, I thought much information was left out of the documentary. I wanted to look at all the graphs presented by Gore in detail, and above all, I wanted to follow up and read the scientific sources. But to my disappointment, Gore did not use the conventional reference system, so follow up is made difficult. Real references are presented only in the last section of the book, web addresses are presented to follow up after each tip on what we can do about it. This brings me precisely for the second reason I bought the book. The film presented too little about what can be done, so when I saw the title of the companion book, I was expecting a detail discussion, and particularly, specific recommendations. But again, disappointment, only around 15 pages are devoted to the can do's, and around a third of that section is actually spent on ten boxes debunking equal number of supposed misconceptions, myths or common mistakes or disinformation regarding Global Warming (GW).
The lack of rigorous scientific debunking presented in these boxes is really frightening for a book supposedly based on scientific studies. As an example, on box number 6, the thickening of Antarctica's ice cap is confusedly presented as not truth, when NASA's satellite measurements show that actually Antarctica is warming only on the perimeter of the Antarctica Peninsula, but the rest of the continent shows a cooling trend and the ice cap is indeed getting thicker. This trend has been going on for 20 years now. Antarctica has 13 billion km2, the glaciers falling to the sea shown by Gore represent just a fraction of 1% of Antarctica's ice. In one of NASA's sites there is a very nice composed picture showing this trend, go to the web and check the facts by yourself. Actually the only completely bogus assertion is presented in box number 9, regarding GW being caused by Tunguska event, the meteor or comet that hit Siberia in 1908. Interestingly, several explicit references are made to the fiction novel "State of Fear" by Michael Crichton (he has been one of the most skeptical and outspoken critics of GW theory). Also, throughout the book, Gore asserts so many times that what is presented is the truth and nothing but the truth, no doubts prevail, so no skepticism is allowed. And the subtle association is made than those still skeptical are like the tobacco lobbyists trying to defend smoking as a harmless habit. Since GW is a scientific issue, this attitude is regrettable and completely unscientific. Gore's style is good only as public awareness campaign about the importance of taking care about the environment, which he does very well, but unfortunately, a serious topic is being dealt with the tone and tactics of a political cause, and even worst, with the typical inflexibility of religious fundamentalist defending their dogmas.
Please, don't be so gullible, go to the site of the IPCC and look for the now famous UN 2007 Report on Climate Change. Chapter 8 for example lists all the limitations of the models used, including their inability to reproduce the climate process taking place in the Southern Ocean (this is Antarctica). Also check on the problems with cloud feedbacks, a key variable in any weather forecast. There are plenty of uncertainties. The book "The Future of Everything: The Science of Prediction" (Apollo's Arrow in the Canadian version) by David Orrell is an objective critical analysis of climate modeling for future predictions in the fields of climate, health and economics. If your are genuinely interested in the limitations of the science behind the consensus theory explaining the causes of Global Warming, this book is a must-read. The Northern Hemisphere is certainly getting warmer, the info for the tropics has larger margins of error than for the Norther Hemisphere, and we are trying to explain the process with an oversimplified version of science (bad or incomplete science), and putting on the blame only on CO2. There might be other processes at work. This is irresponsible, we have to complete the homework first, with good objective science, and then we will have the necessary information to manage this crisis. But since the environmental movement decided to go ahead as if this is a religious cause, even if it had to politicize the science, then you get a state of confusion, and insults, and no critical analysis is allowed. Check history, Copernicus and Darwin hold publication of their works because they were afraid of the consequences, since their theories were against the scientific and religious consensus of their times. Are we back to times of the Holy Inquisition?
In order to discover the real reasons for most of the world being warmer and Antarctica colder (yes that's a fact) we need to follow the good old procedures of the scientific method, and leave political agendas out, no matter how noble or politically correct the cause is. All theories regarding climate change must be considered (1000 yr cycles, solar activity, cosmic rays, CO2, etc.), they must be objectively scrutinized and the most promising hypothesis should be prioritized and funded for more serious research. What if all factors are playing a significant role? Meanwhile, no catastrophic end-of-the world scare theory is necessary for us to take care of the pale blue dot we all share. The Global Warming media frenzy was good for public awareness, but it is about time we let scientist do they work. Hard science is the only answer and lots of rational criticism.
And since Gore introduced in the book plenty of quotations, let me reinforce my point with several famous quotations from well known and influential scientists, philosophers of science, and why not, from Michael Crichton, since he is the only critic mentioned by name in the book.
Anecdotal evidence is not proof---"No matter how many instances of white swans we may have observed, this does not justify the conclusion that all swans are white". Karl Popper, The Logic of Scientific Discovery (1934).
"Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence", Carl Sagan, Cosmos (1980).
"If we are uncritical we shall always find what we want: we shall look for, and find, confirmations, and we shall look away from, and not see, whatever might be dangerous to our pet theories. In this way it is only too easy to obtain what appears to be overwhelming evidence in favor of a theory which, if approached critically, would have been refuted". Karl Popper, The Poverty of Historicism (1957) Ch. 29 The Unity of Method.
"Let's be clear: the work of science has nothing whatever to do with consensus. Consensus is the business of politics. Science, on the contrary, requires only one investigator who happens to be right, which means that he or she has results that are verifiable by reference to the real world. In science consensus is irrelevant. What is relevant is reproducible results. The greatest scientists in history are great precisely because they broke with the consensus. There is no such thing as consensus science. If it's consensus, it isn't science. If it's science, it isn't consensus. Period". Michael Crichton in "Aliens Cause Global Warming" - A lecture at the California Institute of Technology (17 January 2003).
"We need to get environmentalism out of the sphere of religion. We need to stop the mythic fantasies, and we need to stop the doomsday predictions. We need to start doing hard science instead".
..."Environmentalism needs to be absolutely based in objective and verifiable science, it needs to be rational, and it needs to be flexible. And it needs to be apolitical". Michael Crichton, in "Environmentalism as a Religion", Speech in San Francisco, California, Commonwealth Club (15 September 2003).
"There is an almost universal tendency, perhaps an inborn tendency, to suspect the good faith of a man who holds opinions that differ from our own opinions. ... It obviously endangers the freedom and the objectivity of our discussion if we attack a person instead of attacking an opinion or, more precisely, a theory". Karl Popper, "The Importance of Critical Discussion" in On the Barricades: Religion and Free Inquiry in Conflict (1989) by Robert Basil
"...There is no need to know the truth of the actual matters, but the rhetorician merely needs to have discovered some device of persuasion which will make him appear to the ignorant that he has more knowledge than those who know" Socrates (in Plato's Gorgias)
And now, some fine examples of rhetoric and attacks on the persons rather than on the opions, from some defending the consensus on manmade Global Warming as a dogma instead of as a scientific question:
"Going to `State of Fear' for any facts on Global Warming is like going to `The Da Vinci Code' for facts on the life of Jesus". Unknown author, picked in a discussion blog.
"I have learned that, beyond death and taxes, there is at least one absolutely indisputable fact. Not only does human-caused global warming exist, but it is also growing more and more dangerous, and at a pace that has now made it a planetary emergency". Al Gore, An Inconvenient Truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do About It, 2006.
"The planet has a fever. If your baby has a fever, you go to the doctor. If the doctor says you need to intervene here, you don't say, `Well, I read a science fiction novel that told me it's not a problem.' If the crib's on fire, you don't speculate that the baby is flame retardant. You take action". Al Gore, Testimony before Congress, 21 March 2007 (Senate Environment Committee hearing on global climate change)
And finally, I rest my case with a very honest confession from a climate scientist:
"On the one hand, as scientists we are ethically bound to the scientific method, in effect promising to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but -- which means that we must include all the doubts, the caveats, the ifs, ands, and buts. On the other hand, we are not just scientists but human beings as well. And like most people we'd like to see the world a better place, which in this context translates into our working to reduce the risk of potentially disastrous climatic change. To do that we need to get some broadbased support, to capture the public's imagination. That, of course, entails getting loads of media coverage. So we have to offer up scary scenarios, make simplified, dramatic statements, and make little mention of any doubts we might have. This 'double ethical bind' we frequently find ourselves in cannot be solved by any formula. Each of us has to decide what the right balance is between being effective and being honest. I hope that means being both". (Dr. Stephen H. Schneider as quoted in Discover, pp. 45-48, Oct. 1989, see also American Physical Society, APS News August/September 1996.
You are free to do your homework and make your own judgment. Rational criticism please, that's how science makes progress.
Gore's take on global warming.......2007-07-15
Global warming isn't anything new, but it's an issue that becomes more pressing each and every day. Al Gore's book, "An Inconvenient Truth," along with the documentary with the same time, attempt to bring the global warming issue to the forefront of discussion.
A large portion of this book is taken from the environmental slideshows that Gore has presented around the world for many years. "An Inconvenient Truth" isn't super text heavy: instead, Gore relies on numerous photographs and charts to illustrate the climate crisis for him. The end result is both effective and terrifying. The book explains the basic process of global warming; examines different causes of this phenomenon; shows how many different things are affected by global warming (including weather, wildlife, food production, the economy, etc.); shoots down skeptics' claims that global warming doesn't even exist; and offers suggestions of how individuals can help make a difference in the environment.
There wasn't a great deal of information in this book that I didn't already know, but I'm sure a lot of people aren't very familiar with the realities of global warming. Also, even though I'd heard a lot of this information before, seeing everything presented in this way was simply mind-boggling. My eyes nearly popped out of their sockets after seeing the photos of the melting ice masses and the photos depicting what would happen to major cities across the globe if sea levels worldwide increased by 20 feet (an all-too-real possibility that's almost too scary to think about, but is something that we MUST think about if we want our planet to survive).
Gore made a brief comment in the book comparing terrorism to global warming, and it really struck home with me. He basically asked how we can be so obsessed with preventing terrorism (and rightfully so), but yet the majority of people do little or nothing to try and combat global warming, which threatens the existence of our entire civilization. That's a very good question.
I think Gore did an excellent job of explaining global warming in a way that's easy for everyone to understand. Hopefully the people who read this book will be inspired to "go green" and will encourage their family and friends to do the same.
A Message to the Planet [again].......2007-07-12
Do photographs lie? If these had been doctored, we'd all know about it. And is a photograph worth 1,000 words? That is a truth pretty universally acknowledged. This book is a graphic depiction of the fate that is overtaking us, and not as slowly as we'd like to think.
To the reviewer who objected to the pages focusing on the Gore family, I respond that I think that those pages put a human face on all of this -- and show the changes that have occurred in just a part of a lifetime.
Amazon.com
Paper or plastic? Neither, say William McDonough and Michael Braungart. Why settle for the least harmful alternative when we could have something that is better--say, edible grocery bags! In Cradle to Cradle, the authors present a manifesto calling for a new industrial revolution, one that would render both traditional manufacturing and traditional environmentalism obsolete. Recycling, for instance, is actually "downcycling," creating hybrids of biological and technical "nutrients" which are then unrecoverable and unusable. The authors, an architect and a chemist, want to eliminate the concept of waste altogether, while preserving commerce and allowing for human nature. They offer several compelling examples of corporations that are not just doing less harm--they're actually doing some good for the environment and their neighborhoods, and making more money in the process. Cradle to Cradle is a refreshing change from the intractable environmental conflicts that dominate headlines. It's a handbook for 21st-century innovation and should be required reading for business hotshots and environmental activists. --Therese Littleton
Book Description
A manifesto for a radically different philosophy and practice of manufacture and environmentalism
"Reduce, reuse, recycle" urge environmentalists; in other words, do more with less in order to minimize damage. As William McDonough and Michael Braungart argue in their provocative, visionary book, however, this approach perpetuates a one-way, "cradle to grave" manufacturing model that dates to the Industrial Revolution and casts off as much as 90 percent of the materials it uses as waste, much of it toxic. Why not challenge the notion that human industry must inevitably damage the natural world, they ask.
In fact, why not take nature itself as our model? A tree produces thousands of blossoms in order to create another tree, yet we do not consider its abundance wasteful but safe, beautiful, and highly effective; hence, "waste equals food" is the first principle the book sets forth. Products might be designed so that, after their useful life, they provide nourishment for something new-either as "biological nutrients" that safely re-enter the environment or as "technical nutrients" that circulate within closed-loop industrial cycles, without being "downcycled" into low-grade uses (as most "recyclables" now are).
Elaborating their principles from experience (re)designing everything from carpeting to corporate campuses, the authors make an exciting and viable case for change.
Customer Reviews:
Great bookI.......2007-10-09
I'm a student so it's really hard for me to find time to read books that aren't required for a class. No time! Anyway, great book, easy to read and compelling ideas. Definitely recommended.
A pleasant read.......2007-09-24
Definitely would recommend this to anyone who would like to learn about how societies will/should change to conform to the processes of nature. Significant change need to occur to shape a planet where humans can survive for a longer duration (than the current forecast). This means alleviating environmental threats that were initially caused by our own doing.
A must for anyone developing products.......2007-09-19
This book put a new light on the manufacturing process. I am currently studying to be an engineer, and upon reading this book, I feel I have gained important insight into how to ethically create products. The focus of the book is to show that being "less bad", as the current way of thinking promotes, is not the right mentality to have. Instead the book proposes that products need to be looked at in a renewable sense, that is, how can it be completely reused to make something new when its useful life has been spent (hence Cradle to Cradle and not Cradle to Grave). I found the book to be very inspirational and look forward to applying its ideas in my career.
2107: "You People Lived in Filth!" - A sort of book review of Bill McDonough and Michael Braungart's Cradle to Cradle.......2007-08-18
One hundred years isn't a long time. Yet, in the last one hundred years we can account for radical changes in the expectations that we - in the West at least - have concerning the standards of the food we eat and the conditions that we live in. We readily expect that our waste will neatly leave our homes, our malls, our schools, workplaces, and public spots en route to some place where it disappears from sight and smell forever. In fact, we rarely think about whether our waste ends up burnt, buried, or recycled, nor whether the food we dine on is thoroughly inspected and safe. We can think back to 1907 as a period in which there was nothing in the way of food safety standards (though a movement in that direction was initiated as a result of Upton Sinclair's novel The Jungle, which was published that same year). Nor was there any notion of labor rights, environmental protection, and many of the sanitation procedures that we often take for granted nowadays.
Looking back through history ever further, to the crowded city streets of Paris, London, or Rome in the 17th and 18th century, reveals a more distasteful reality of how people lived. The blood of slaughtered animals, along with human excrement and other waste flowed through the sewers of these magnificent cities. "How did people live like this?" we might wonder. We shutter to think about living in such conditions, which allowed for the rapid spread of pestilence and sickness, not to mention unthinkable stench. While this may still be the experience of too many in the developing world, a signal of the progress and greatness of the modernized West has been our ability to escape the condition of living in our own waste.
Yet I've wondered recently how those living in 2107 will look upon the collective condition of the world as it stands today? Will they think that we live in filth? Despite the fact that we can split atoms, fly space crafts around the solar system, cure many illnesses, make electricity from the sun's rays, and communicate with each other in a myriad of digital ways, I wonder if they will ask why we still chose to live in our waste? I think that they will find it extremely perplexing that a society as developed as ours, who has the self awareness and knowledge about the harm that we inflict on ourselves and for posterity - not to mention the multitude of living systems that we are embedded in - refused to develop a different course for humanity.
When I say that we live in filth I mean that we continue to choke on unsafe air from the cars we drive and the outdated and dangerous ways that we engage in mass industrialization. I mean that we continue to produce millions and millions of consumable products made from an array of unsafe chemicals that we know little about and which we simply burn or bury after we use them one or two times. I find it so perplexing that industry continues to spends so much time and energy developing products that will only be used for a small fraction of time by consumers, yet will spend hundreds of years in landfills (I'm thinking especially of the enormous amount of plastic packaging that most products come in, only to be discarded immediately).
We dump many of the items that we have no more use for into ever expanding landfills that are getting closer and closer to the places we live and the sources of water we eventually come to drink. We are, in effect, living in our own waste. We put zero amount of effort into thinking of ways to design the same products that we rely on daily so that they are not harmful for humans or the environments in which we live. Scratch that, we have the technology and the know how for making safer and better products, however we lack leaders (both political & business) with the will, courage, and vision to bring humanity into the next industrial revolution. The first industrial revolution centered on extracting resources from the Earth (with little thought of replacing them) and putting these resources through production processes that have amounted to harming both human and non-human life for many years to come. The next industrial revolution will be about reengineering the production of consumer goods so that the stuff we make is in accordance with our natural environment. It will be about plastics that are biodegradable and the eradication of materials that are not. It will be about more intelligent approaches to designing buildings, which will utilize natural light, wind patterns, and the surrounding ecosphere to produce happier places to work and live, and which no longer rely on burning fossil fuels for cooling, heating, and sanitation. It will be about re-conceptualizing how we design, plan, and imagine the cities that most of humanity has come to chose to live in.
I'm currently drinking a soda out of a plastic bottle made from polymers derived from petroleum. This bottle, which not only is derived from the most contested resource of our time (though clean water is quickly taking its place) will be intact for those living in 2107 to view and touch as an artifact of an era which may be known in the future as one of reckless disregard, ignorance, and waste. Even the popular notion of recycling many of the products that we use only serves to slow down the rate in which we are harming ourselves. Recycling for many products is really a process of downcycling - a term coined by Bill McDonough and Michael Braungart in their book Cradle to Cradle. The process of recycling a product essentially causes it to loose its quality each time it is put through the recycling process (assuming that individuals keep recycling each new plastic reincarnate). Even though I will recycle this bottle, and it will become another plastic product again, it will eventually have to be disregarded after going through a few recycles. Alas, we are really just slowing down the rate by which synthetics eventually reach our waste graveyards or incinerators. In addition, while it is thought to be a socially responsible activity, the process of recycling releases into the atmosphere dangerous toxins emitted by the burning of plastics during the recycling process.
What is radically different about the world from 1907, or 17th century European cities, is that we fully understand the consequences of continuing down the path we are on. Furthermore, we have the knowledge and creative ideas of how to alter that path. What we lack, sadly, is the will to cause massive social change in how we consume and live. McDonough and Braungart's text urges product designers, city planners, and architects to approach their designs with the future of humanity in mind. Interestingly, they are not saying that we need to save the planet, for the planet will still be here long after homo sapiens has expired. Their message is that we need to save ourselves from the harm we are inflicting on ourselves. Their cradle-to-cradle philosophy urges designers to make products that can easily be disassembled after their use and put back into the production cycle as something else. In this sense, products should have an immense shelf life, being able to become that same product again or easily transformed into some other consumer product. The idea is to rid ourselves of the current approach to production which is based on a cradle-to-grave approach: extract resources from the Earth to make consumer products which are then discarded (thrown away) into landfills or burnt up in incinerators, expelling unknown synthetic chemicals into the ecosphere which we rely on for life.
It's time for us to recognize that the approach to mass production and living brought on by the industrial revolution is antiquated. If anything, it's insulting that humanity has yet to update itself from what seems to be such an archaic paradigm of not only how we make things, but what are relationship ought to be with the multitude of living systems that we are embedded in. All other living species exist in an interdependent cyclical system in which their "wastes equals food" for some other set of beings. It's high time that we apply this age old and ubiquitous principle to how we manufacture and produce all the things that we need to live as well.
This book is amazing - 6 stars.......2007-08-12
If you care about ecology and if you ever wondered how humanity can live in a harmony with the nature - you must read this book.
Imagine plastic container that you are encouraged to throw away - it contains no toxins, biodegrades and serves as nutrition for soil... Imagine the car you give back to the manufacturer who gives you instead a newer model, then manufacturer takes apart the old car piece by piece and infinitely reuses the parts... And so on... This book is made out of plastic that can be printed on over and over again...
Book Description
Imagine waking up every morning believing that your actions can make a significant change in the world.
For everyone who has ever yearned for a better life and a better world, Craig and Marc Kielburger share a blueprint for personal and social change that has the power to transform lives one act at a time. Through inspirational contributions from people from all walks of life and moving stories drawn from more than a decade of their experience as international change-makers, the Kielburgers reveal that a more fulfilling path is ours for the taking when we find the courage to reach out.
Me to We is an approach to life that leads us to recognize what is truly valuable, make new decisions about the way we want to live, and redefine the goals we set for ourselves and the legacy we want to leave. Above all, it creates new ways of measuring meaning, happiness, and success in our lives, and makes these elusive goals attainable at last.
After you've absorbed the ideas presented in this book, your life may not end up as you had envisioned. You may not acquire a house on a beach in the Caymans, but you may find your toes grounded in the sand. You may not see an enormous change in your social life, but in your life you may very well see enormous social change. You may not find the person of your dreams, but you will help people young and old go beyond their's. This book will open your eyes and change the way you look at life. Treat it as an invitation: an invitation to discover the power of the Me to We philosophy and to join the growing community of people around the world who are embracing this way of life.
Customer Reviews:
Me to We review.......2007-05-21
Free the Children is a fantastic organization, and reading more about it inspired me to live more of the "Me to We" philosophy. I would recommend this book to anyone.
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you..........2007-05-07
I enjoyed this book immensely. Especially, the universal, multi-cultural worldview of the authors. Initially, I borrowed it from our library system in Maryland to see whether I wanted to add it to my collection. Then I purchased the book on amazon.com and gifted it to my friends in Eagle River, Alaska. I purchased the CD to listen to in my car. The concept of "me to we" is not new; however the book is based on the authors' experiences and successful ventures on behalf of the children of the world. As you encourage others to be less materialistic, be blessed and continue to be a blessing to others.
Mary Paschall
author "In The Silence"
If I could give it more stars I would..........2007-04-20
The Kielburgers have managed to do it yet again. This book certainly matches the quality of the others they have put out in the past. Though this book really is for everyone, it appeals to an adult population that may not have already been reached. I seldom purchase books for others and I have already purchased 2 copies for friends and plan to give even more. Though labeled as a self-help book, it is less of a self-help and more about how we can help others. It reminds us of our responsibility to others and provides inspiration to continue to good things with great love. This book is perfect for those who have traveled to third-world countries, are helping others in their own communities, are participating in service learning, and those who may need a glimpse of the world beyond their front door. This book is, hands down, my favorite book of all time and is a book that I continue to read over and over again. It is great to see the work and message of people like Joe Opatowski continued through this book! Buy it and you will not regret it!
Amazing!.......2007-04-05
Words cannot describe the impact this book has had on my life. I highly recommend this book to everyone. Today's society is so "me" focused, we forget about everything else. After reading this book I started my own 501C3 organization. It's not everyday you read a book that reminds you why we are all here.
ME TO WE tells exactly how and will serve as an inspirational guide especially recommended for public library collections........2007-02-09
The authors of ME TO WE are brothers who found that reaching out to others helped them be happier in their own lives: at age 12 Craig founded the international organization Free the Children, and human rights issues and work have led both to journeys around the world finding new connections. ME TO WE blends personal experiences with a philosophy geared to commitment and improving lives, offering the belief that individual action CAN make a difference in the world. ME TO WE tells exactly how and will serve as an inspirational guide especially recommended for public library collections.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
Book Description
Thirty years ago, Sara Davidson wrote the phenomenal bestseller Loose Change, the definitive book about the boomer generation’s coming-of-age. Now this witty social observer has again turned her discerning eye to her contemporaries, with Leap!, a no-holds-barred, illuminating, and hopeful look at the choices and challenges we face and the roads open to us.
For many years Davidson earned a living as a successful journalist and screenwriter, but in her fifties she saw her life come apart: She could no longer find work, she endured a break-up with her partner, and her children left for college. For the first time ever, she had nothing to do. She felt adrift, but she found that she was not alone.
In Leap!, Davidson sets out on a passionate quest to learn how to do the coming years well. Drawing on her own experience and that of others, she explores such questions as
• How does a high-powered person learn to walk down the ladder gracefully?
• How can women continue to be sensual and not touch-deprived?
• How do we arrange to grow old with our friends?
• What will be the fire at the center of our lives?
• Why are we still here?
Davidson interviews people from across the country and from all walks of life, including such icons as Carly Simon, Tom Hayden, Tracy Kidder, Jane Fonda, Ram Dass, and Iman, as well as teachers, writers, psychologists, businesspeople, and spiritual leaders. The candid portraits are both inspiring and cautionary.
True to character, boomers will approach these years differently from previous generations, and there will be no single path. Some will feel free for the first time to take risks; others will embark upon a spiritual search; some will want to give back, to make the world a better place; others will want to play or make creativity a priority. But they will not fade quietly into the sunset.
With Leap!, Sara Davidson holds up a mirror for readers, allowing them to see not only themselves and those around them but their potential future. With Davidson as a guide, the possibilities are boundless.
Customer Reviews:
And she wondered why everyone there seemed to hate her?.......2007-09-30
This is a very good example of how not to write an auto-biography. If you buy it for that use, you haven't wasted your money. If you consider buying it to help you make some hard decisions in your own destiny, don't do it! She goes on and on and cries many tears about her own sorry fate and betrayal by all who (she thinks) should love her ... and I still can't figure out what the publishers were thinking when they accepted the book; it wasn't to help others make decisions or create their own paths.
Buy this book if you want to write a new life script for the last third of your life.......2007-09-22
5 Stars--Buy this book if you're looking to write a new script for the last third of your life!
I found Leap! to be encouraging and inspirational. I highly recommend this book if you're looking to see how some people redefined themselves in their later years -- as a jumping off point for your own redefinition. For me it stimulated thought about my own situation and how I can leverage it in my own way. In fact, I spent the weekend after reading it coming up with new ideas. It came at the right time: I'm 56 and looking at a life change in the very near future. I loved this book and some of my friends and family will be unwrapping it at Christmas.
Perhaps those who were disappointed were looking for a step-by-step how-to. Life is not that simplistic, one size does not fit all and this is not that book. But if you want an optimistic view of the possibilities for the last third of your life--this is the right book.
For the most part, the people interviewed had analyzed their lives and made thoughtful decisions based on their own life circumstances. Clearly, these are people who had progressed further than survival on Maslow's old "hierarchy of need" scale--because they're the only people who have the luxury of really redefining themselves.
Still, you don't have to be affluent to do it -- I know a number of people of modest means who have redefined themselves in the 60s and are perfectly happy with their new lives.
The Cheryl Tiegs interview was amusing--not that I found her all that inspirational for me (I'll never have her breasts or her money) but it was interesting to hear her thoughts based on her own situation. Although I don't consider her views a model (so to speak) they are as valid as anyone else's--and since we know a little about her history it was mildly interesting to see where she's at today.
Great, thoughtful read for anyone over 40 and especially those of us in our 50s looking to do something else with our lives.
"Am I the only survivor of high school Class of '62?".......2007-09-11
Suddenly I'm celebrating my 63rd birthday. How did THAT happen? (It seems that I was 33 only a couple of years ago...) That, and other burning questions were answered for me as I read Sara Davidson's latest, titled LEAP!. I couldn't put it down. It is,all at once, funny, sad and encouraging. I'm pleased to report that the Class of '62 (and thereabouts) is well and optimistic. If you're like me your copy will wind up underlined, highlighted and notated. My wife (age 58) is reading it now. She keeps asking me what the notations mean. If you're a "boomer" or "preboomer", don't miss out on LEAP! It's a GREAT read. Dave Sotrines
Excellent summer read!.......2007-09-10
"Leap" is a most entertaining read that's chock full of amusing wisdom and desperate soul searching. She includes anecdotal stories galore with people of notoriety (Carly Simon, Jac Holzman, Ray Manzarek, etc) who show their humane and vulnerable side. And Sara shows her life like an open door with seemingly nothing held back which would make a primo Reality show.
"Leap" oddly reminded me of Baseball's intellectual psychedelic star Bill Lee's autobiography which concludes with him entering his mid-life crisis with no trodden path to follow nor safe harbor destination in sight. Ms Davidson humbles herself with all sorts of crazy, lazy, and hazy siituations and ultimately takes the cliche trip to study at an ashram in India which turns out to be a bit of a sham.
For those looking for answers--something those psychologists and psychiatrist charlatan bastards won't ever give you--thankfully Ms Davidson outlines many personal and related strategies for a successful post-50 life. For instance, her formula for a successful relationship in theory sounds right on--determination, living with the mystery of the other, and ability to laugh together. Plus her "blank slate" image for retirement is elevating and insighful. I also enjoyed reading a synopsis about her discovery of "Tango" which is a recent passion of mine that proves old dogs can learn new tricks. SVP Sara for the advice.
Having personally entered this twilight age-zone a few years ago and experiencing many of her situations firsthand, it almost seems like you are chatting with Sara on your backyard patio indulging in tea and scones while the hours wind down unnoticed and then realizing it's midnight and you need to put on a sweater. It's reassuring to know that you are not alone in the confusion of having a rewarding and successful youth and then the walls come crashing down while deciding what the %@$!#&#% am I going to do with the last half of your life.
Excellent summer read!
Erik Lindgren
What a long strange trip it's been.... .......2007-09-01
Who was it - David Crosby? Wavy Gravy? - who said "if you remember the 60s, you weren't there?" I remember pretty clearly, and so does Sara Davidson. She weaves history and memoir into a complex and intriguing piece that speaks not only about where we are now, but suggests that we still have places to go. I saw myself and my friends in many of her pages - sometimes proudly, sometimes not so much. Yet I find myself thinking about many of the issues she raises , including where I want to live and who with over the next 30 years. And what I want to do with the rest of my life. After teaching for nearly forty years at both high schools and universities, I have begun to think about other possibilities. I have never been one to eagerly embrace change, but Sara's book makes me think that there is still a long and winding road ahead as well as behind.
Book Description
Read it.
You're already living it.
Was diabetes evolution's response to the last Ice Age? Did a deadly genetic disease help our ancestors survive the bubonic plagues of Europe? Will a visit to the tanning salon help lower your cholesterol? Why do we age? Why are some people immune to HIV? Can your genes be turned on -- or off?
Joining the ranks of modern myth busters, Dr. Sharon Moalem turns our current understanding of illness on its head and challenges us to fundamentally change the way we think about our bodies, our health, and our relationship to just about every other living thing on earth, from plants and animals to insects and bacteria.
Through a fresh and engaging examination of our evolutionary history, Dr. Moalem reveals how many of the conditions that are diseases today actually gave our ancestors a leg up in the survival sweepstakes. When the option is a long life with a disease or a short one without it, evolution opts for disease almost every time.
Everything from the climate our ancestors lived in to the crops they planted and ate to their beverage of choice can be seen in our genetic inheritance. But Survival of the Sickest doesn't stop there. It goes on to demonstrate just how little modern medicine really understands about human health, and offers a new way of thinking that can help all of us live longer, healthier lives.
Survival of the Sickest is filled with fascinating insights and cutting-edge research, presented in a way that is both accessible and utterly absorbing. This is a book about the interconnectedness of all life on earth -- and, especially, what that means for us.
Customer Reviews:
Very,very, interesting.......2007-09-21
This is one of those books that is a delightful read, educating, interesting, and entertaining. The author puts forth his theories that many modern diseases are variations of evolutionary traits that were held by our ancestors that enabled them to survive the ice age and bubonic plague. He goes on to describe how viruses cause certain behavior in their carriers to help the viruses survival. The common cold leaves you well enough to stay moving and go to work so you can spread the virus to others, while the parasitic malaria wants you immobile and in bed because mosquitos can continue to carry it even better with you immobile.
The author also presents a case currently making head way in evolutionary science that is challenging the savannah theory. He proposes that we are evolved form aquatic apes as opposed to grassland dwellers, which would explain our hairlessness like other aquatic mammals and being bipedal. We also have fat stored at the skin like water dwellers and our infants have swimming instincts at birth that have been proven by water birthing that is very successful.
And finally I was really fascinated by the finding that what scientists have believed were "junk DNA" is slowly being shown to actually be a creative force that causes mutations in DNA for the benefit of survival of the species. I have always had trouble believing in the evolutionary theory because no mechanism could be created with causing it outside of God, and God would not need it. I also believed that the key was in DNA. Now I have a cause, the DNA itself creates and casues beneficial mutations.
I really can not do this book justice in a review with out making it far to long so buy the book if the above sounds interesting. The book presents an excellent case and has made me a believer.
Evolution in a way you never knew!.......2007-09-08
Everything out there is influencing the evolution of everything else. The bacteria and viruses and parasites that cause disease in us have affected our evolution as we have adapted in ways to cope with their effects. In response they have evolved in turn, and keep on doing so.
There are many dietary diseases that have had an evolutionary advantage in our ancestors but that today do more harm than good. In a person with hemochromatosis, for example, the body always thinks that it doesn't have enough iron and continues to absorb iron unabated. The excess iron can lead to liver failure, heart failure, diabetes, and even cancer.
Why would a disease so deadly be bred into our genetic code? Remember how natural selection works. If a given genetic trait makes you stronger--especially if it makes you stronger before you have children--then you're more likely to survive, reproduce, and pass that trait on. People with hemochromatosis have therefore an evolutionary advantage--protection against the bubonic plague!
On one set of experiments, macrophages from people who had hemochromatosis and macrophages from people who did not were matched against bacteria in separate dishes to test their killing ability. The hemochromatic macrophages crushed the bacteria. They are thought to be significantly better at combating bacteria by limiting the availability of iron than the nonhemochromatic macrophages. So though hemochromatosis will kill those inflicted with it decades later, they are much more likely than people without hemochromatosis to survive plagues, reproduce, and pass the mutation on to their children.
Diabetes also provided an evolutionary advantage to our ancestors by providing superior ability to withstand the cold by eliminating water and driving up sugar levels (like alcohol, sugar is a natural antifreeze). As a theory, it's hotly controversial, but diabetes may have helped our European ancestors survive the sudden cold, including the ice-age.
Malaria is an infectious disease that infects as many as 500 million people every year, killing more than 1 million of them. But not everyone who gets bit by malaria-carrying mosquitoes gets infected. And not everybody who gets infected dies. So what's helping the malaria survivors? People with a genetic tendency for sickle-cell anemia, another inherited blood disorder, had better natural resistance to malaria.
As you've seen with hemochromatosis, diabetes, and sickle-cell anemia, one generation's evolutionary solution is another generation's evolutionary problem.
At the end of the day, every living thing shares two hardwired imperatives: Survive. Reproduce. To achieve this, some organisms have inherited ingenious techniques to manipulate their hosts--the phenomenon that occurs when a parasite provokes its host to behave in a way that helps the parasite to survive and reproduce.
Orb weavers are a family of spiders that experience host manipulation. A wasp bites the spider, temporarily paralyzing it, then deposits its egg in its abdomen. The spider then goes on with his life oblivious to the egg in him. The egg then hatches, and the larva slowly feeds off the blood of the spider. When it is ready to cocoon, it injects chemicals into the spider's bloodstream to manipulate the spider into building a special web for it--instead of building circular webs, it goes back and forth building a rectangular web. Once the web is completed, the larva kills the spider by sucking off all its blood, and then throwing its carcass to the jungle floor below. It then uses the specially built web for it to cocoon by hanging on it.
A worm that infects ants is a classic example of another host manipulator. As the worms being carried by the ant develop, one of them makes its way to the ant's brain where it manipulates the ant's nervous system. Suddenly, the ant behaves in completely uncharacteristic fashion. At night, it leaves its colony and hangs on the tip of a grass, waiting to be eaten by a sheep. If it does not, it returns to its colony only to resume again its journey at night to the tip of a grass waiting to be eaten. Once eaten by a sheep, the worm would have succeeded in its manipulation, and would grow inside the sheep's stomach, its intended host.
The rabies Virus is another interesting host manipulator. It manipulates its host into becoming aggressive, which will make its host bite others and thus also infecting others.
Here is one amazing example of host manipulation: One researcher has discovered that women infected with T. gondii spend more money on clothes and are consistently rated as beings more attractive than women without the infection. Infected women were more easy-going, more warm-hearted, had more friends, and cared more about how they looked. However, they were also less trustworthy and had more relationships with men. Infected men, on the other hand, were less well groomed, more likely to be loners, and more willing to fight. They were also more likely to be suspicious and jealous and less willing to follow rules.
A normal sneeze occurs when the body's self-defense system senses a foreign invader trying to get in through your nasal passages and acts to repel the invasion by expelling it with a sneeze. But sneezing when you've got a cold? There's obviously no way to expel the cold virus which is already lodged in you. The cold virus has learned this reflex so it can infect your colleagues, family and your friends. Your body is actually being manipulated by the virus into sneezing!
The herpes virus may heighten sexual feeling, which will increase the probability of transmission. In other words, sometimes the herpes virus may want you to get some action in order for it to spread to other hosts.
So what if we made it easier for a given type of bacteria to survive in a healthy human than to survive in a sick human? Would this create evolutionary pressure against behavior that harms us? In fact there is an evolutionary advantage for the malaria parasite to push its hosts toward the brink of death. The more parasites swarming through our blood, the more parasites the mosquito is likely to ingest; the more parasites the mosquito ingests, the more likely it will cause an infection when it bites someone else. Cholera is similar--it doesn't need us moving around to find new hosts, so there's no reason for the bacteria to select against virulence. The bottom line is that if an infectious client has allies (such as mosquitoes) or good delivery systems (such as unprotected water supplies), peaceful coexistence with its host becomes a lot less important. In those cases evolution is likely to favor versions of the parasite that best exploit its host's resources, allowing the parasite to multiply as much as possible. Some researchers believe that we can use this understanding to influence the evolution of parasites away from virulence. The basic theory is this: shut down the modes of transmission that don't require human participation and suddenly all the evolutionary pressure is directed at allowing the human host to get up and get out. According to this theory, the virulence of a cholera outbreak in a given population should be directly related to the quality and safety of that population's water supply. If sewage flows easily into rivers that people wash in or drink from, then the cholera strain would evolve toward virulence--it can multiply freely, essentially using up its hosts, relying on its access to the water supply for transmission. But if the water supply is well protected, the organism should evolve away from virulence--the longer it remains in a more mobile host, the better its chance of transmission.
A series of cholera outbreaks that began in Peru in 1991 and spread across South and Central America over the next few years provide compelling evidence that this theory might actually work. The water supply systems from country to country ranged from relatively advanced to seriously rudimentary. Sure enough, when the bacteria invaded nations with poorly protected water supplies, such as Ecuador, the virus became more harmful as it spread. But in countries with safe water supplies, such as Chile, the bacteria evolved downward in virulence and killed fewer people. The implications of this are huge. Instead of challenging bacteria to become stronger and more dangerous through an antibiotic arms race (which we are currently losing), we could essentially challenge them to get along. If mosquitoes didn't have access to bedridden malaria patients, the microbe would be under evolutionary pressure to evolve in a way that allowed the infected person to remain mobile, increasing the opportunity for it to spread.
A series of groundbreaking research has shown that certain compounds can attach themselves to specific genes and suppress their expression. Let's take a look at a few examples. Depending upon the time of year the vole (a type of mouse) is due to give birth, baby voles are born with either a thick coat or a thin coat. The gene for a thick coat is always there--it's just turned on or off depending on the level of light the mother senses in her environment around the time of conception.
One species of lizard is born with a long tail and large body or a small tail and small body depending on one thing only--whether their mother smelled a lizard-eating snake while pregnant. When her babies are entering a snake-filled world, they are born with a long tail and big body, making them less likely to be snake food.
This is a fascinating book and I highly recommend it. I truly enjoyed reading it and I have learnt things I never imagined! Now that's what I call precious reading!
Understanding genetic disease from an evolutionary point of view.......2007-09-01
We really don't "need" disease. This is a bit misleading. It just so happens that some genetic disorders, such as sickle-cell anemia, favism, diabetes, hemochromatosis, the tendency to obesity, etc., confer on the afflicted compensatory advantages. Thus a predilection for getting fat is adaptive if a drought or a long winter beckons, or a person with a genetic tendency toward sickle-cell anemia is less likely to get malaria, and so on. Note that it is only diseases caused by genetic mutations that Dr. Moalem is talking about.
One of the techniques our bodies use when fighting infection is to reduce the amount of iron available to the invaders. Bacteria need iron to reproduce. If there is a lot of it available their numbers can grow quickly. Without iron they can't reproduce at all. Iron is a limiting factor for many kinds of life. Vast stretches of ocean support little in the way of life because the microorganisms that begin the food chain can't grow where there is so little iron. As Dr. Moalem reports in this wide-ranging and eyebrow-lifting book, sprinkle some iron onto those patches of ocean and they will quickly turn green with microorganisms.
So it is a bit of an irony that people who have hemochromatosis, a genetic disorder that causes them to retain large amounts of iron in their bodies, are able to survival infections like the plague. This is because they starve the invading microbes through "iron locking." They have a lot of iron in their bodies, but they keep it away from the bacteria. Other people who have low levels of iron in their bodies are able to withstand bacterial attacks because they also keep what little iron they have away from the germs. In fact, one of the body's initial responses to microbial invasion is to limit the amount of free iron in the system.
Genetic coding for levels of iron in the body is an example of evolutionary adaptation, part of the ongoing arms race between us and the microbes that live in and on our bodies. This is just one of several interesting and new ideas coming from the growing science of evolutionary medicine that I found in Survival of the Sickest. Incidentally, one way to manage hemochromatosis is through donating blood on a regular basis, which explains in part why physicians of old were sometimes successful when they bled their patients.
This got me to thinking about "only women bleed" which led me to think about hemorrhoids (which prove that it isn't only women who bleed). Perhaps bleeding instead of retaining blood, which seems like the more natural thing for our bodies to do, has adaptive value in some people in some environments.
Another interesting idea is this from page 58: "ACHOO syndrome--its full name is autosomal dominant compelling heliopthalmic outburst syndrome." It is a "disorder that causes uncontrolled sneezing when someone is exposed to bright light, usually sunlight, after being in the dark." Dr. Moalem suggests that "way back when our ancestors spent more time in caves, this reflex helped them to clear out any molds or microbes that might have lodged in their noses or upper respiratory tract." Now this may sound a bit far fetched, but I have suffered from low grade allergies all my life, and used to have asthmatic attacks. I came to believe that the buildup in my lungs and the sneezing were signals to me to move on! Of course now I clean and vacuum like a germaphobe, but the idea is the same. My symptoms were adaptive. They more or less forced me to reduce the level of potential irritants and microbes in my environment.
But there is more. I noticed long ago that sometimes the sun in the morning would cause me to sneeze. I never figured out why until I read the above from Dr. Moalem. I am just the kind of person who would need to sneeze those molds out.
Later on in the book Moalem returns to an evolutionary idea that has been kicking around for decades. Beginning with the work of Elaine Morgan from the 1970s the public became aware of the notion that we humans had an aquatic past. She got the idea from marine biologist Alister Hardy. Through such books as The Descent of Woman (1972) and The Aquatic Ape: A Theory of Human Evolution (1982) Morgan argued that some of our unusual adaptations came about because we had an aquatic past. Taking up the idea, Moalem writes, "Every hairless mammal is aquatic or at least plays in the mud--think of hippos, elephants and the African warthog. But there aren't any hairless primates." (p. 198) Furthermore we have fat directly under our skin to help keep us warm just as aquatic mammals do. Also, Moalem notes, "the ability to survive on land and sea" gives us adaptive flexibility. If "chased by a leopard, the semiaquatic ape could dive into the water; chased by a crocodile, it could run into the forest." (p. 199)
These ideas are familiar but what I didn't know was that an aquatic past could have figured in our evolution toward bipedalism. "[S]tanding upright in water allowed...[aquatic apes] to venture into deeper water and still breathe, and the water helped to support their upper bodies, making it easier to support them on two feet." (p. 199)
This is an easy to read book, aimed at a general readership. An earlier, slightly more technical book that covers some of the same territory is Why We Get Sick: The New Science of Darwinian Medicine (1994) by Randolph M. Nesse and George C. Williams, which I also recommend.
Razzle dazzle them.......2007-08-27
This book embodies much of what I dislike in popular cience books, while having few of the qualities I admire in such books. It relies more on sleigh of the hand and razzle dazzle, you-wouldn't-have-thought-of-it than on throughly thought out, well substantiated lines of thought.
Let's start with the subtitle: "A medical maverick discovers why we need disease". That is a clear case of fiction: nowhere in the book does the author "discover" anything; he merely retells the study of others. This, of course, is not a demerit, as many interesting scientists have difficulties in explaining their work in clear terms, acessible to the layman. However, the author must be hyped as the "discoverer", as the center figure in the tale.
Since James Burke's "Connections", it seems that popular science must explore all the crossroads, no matter how irrelevant. So Moalem goes on long tangents that have little to do with the theory he is trying to substantiate. In order to show how diabetes works to protect the body against cold, the reader is taken through the mechanism of an ice age, how ice core samples are removed and so on. If one were to remove all this "extra" material, this book would be thin indeed.
The book seems to revolve around this material and the author's use of jokes. Unfortunately, his sense of humour tends more towards ha-ha than funny, which helped to further fray my patience towards this book.
All of this is indeed a pity, as the subject is very interesting. If more pages had been dedicated to developing a central line of thought and substantiation and to showing the debate behind all these ideas (in a real light, instead of "the thickheaded traditionalists who won't accept new ideas"), it would be well worth the read.
Somewhat difficult subject matter for those lacking a background in science or medicine.........2007-07-08
From time to time I pick up a book on a subject I know virtually nothing about. Ordinarily I devour books about history or politics or current events. These are topics I am well versed in and comfortable with.
Dr. Sharon Moalem's "The Survival of the Sickest: sounded like a fascinating departure from my ordinary fare. So I thought I would give it a whirl. Unfortunately for me the results were somewhat mixed. Although Dr. Moalem and her co-author have written this book in fairly simple language that most should be able to follow pretty easily I found myself overwhelmed at times by the number of terms I was simply not familiar with at all. I'm afraid my lack of education in the sciences was showing. Blame me not the good doctor. Yet in spite of these difficulties I was still able to glean some important information from this book. I now have a somewhat better understanding of the whole business of why disease exists in the first place. I also discovered the important role viruses play in our ability to survive and reproduce. I also found out that the development of diabetes in human beings probably emerged as natures response to people having to cope with conditions in regions with extremely cold temperatures. This makes perfect sense and was interesting to me because a number of people in my family have battled this disease. Perhaps the most fascinating thing I learned in "Survival of the Sickest" is that exposure to the sunshine actually helps to convert the cholestorol in our bodies into the vitamin D we all need to ensure strong bones and help avoid osteoperosis. I had never heard this before and found this revelation to be quite interesting indeed!
For me, attempting to read "Survival of the Sickest" was a little like visiting a foreign country and not knowing the language. I was simply unprepared to get the most out of this book. As you can see, other reviewers continue to heap praise on Dr. Sharon Moalem for her book. I suspect their evaluation of this book is right on the money. In the end I found that reading "Survival of the Sickest" was time well spent anyway. After all, it is impossible to expand your horizons if you never make the attempt.
Book Description
This ambitious, interdisciplinary book seeks to explain the origins of religion using our knowledge of the evolution of cognition. A cognitive anthropologist and psychologist, Scott Atran argues that religion is a by-product of human evolution just as the cognitive intervention, cultural selection, and historical survival of religion is an accommodation of certain existential and moral elements that have evolved in the human condition.
Customer Reviews:
An excellent first step.......2007-07-26
This book is no beach read. It is dense, technical, and written in a rather stiff prose style. It is, however, absolutely the best book available on the evolutionary origin of religion.
Briefly, Atran defines religion as a community's costly and hard-to-fake commitments to nonexistent beings, commitments which help to assuage existential anxieties involving death, suffering, loneliness, and so on.
Atran uses an incredibly wide array of primary sources in biology, psychology, and religious studies to make his points, and the book brims with insights, both large and small, about how human minds manufacture religion. For example, psychologists and ethnologists have commonly argued that magic in many tribal cultures represents a primitive form of thought which children also have. Atran points out that children in such societies actually believe LESS in magical explanations than their elders. His discussion of divination is also quite insightful.
On the downside, this book is pitched at a rather general, ahistorical level. There is little discussion, for example, of the differences between tribal religions and religions which have had much longer written histories, such as Zen Buddhism and American Protestantism. This is perhaps unavoidable in a book on such a large topic, particularly when this book applies a relatively new sort of explanation to this topic.
Also nice would have been more on how prayer, meditation, and other techniques are used in religion, or about how and why different religions (e.g., Sufi mysticism, Church of Christ Protestantism, and shamanism) differ in the way that they do, but again, this may be expecting too much from a book that weighs less than I do.
On the whole, a superb first step on the road to explaining what human religiosity owes to our evolutionary ancestry, and a wonderful antidote to anti-religious screeds which ignore the universality and complexity of religion itself.
Defectors and norms?.......2007-04-11
Negative reviews are not popular in this venue, so I'll keep this short and sour.
I refer you to ch. 8, "Culture without mind."
I ask you to reconcile the sense of the following claims:
"There is no compelling psychological evidence for norms as packages of learned information, stored as discrete units, clustered into higher order knowledge structures, encoded as specific memory traces in neural tissue, or expressed in clearly recognized and denumerable bundels of behavior."p. 199.
"Perceived reciprocal altruism may result in a culturally stable strategy as long as defectors can be defected and excluded." p. 201
How does one define or recognize a "defector" without a clear notion of norms and their violation? But, it will be argued, the point is that the evidence used by those who identify "norms" as units of selection does not include the detail necessary to verify or falsity the the role of such norms. But the semantic nature of my objection simplify shifts focus to "defection": How can evidence insufficient to verify or falsify the role of norms do more to verify or falsify "defector detection"?
The argument of ch 8 also suggests that 'mind' is equivalent to 'computational architecture'. But current notions of computational architecture are totally inadequate to account for individual differences among any of the world's cultures. That the human mind has a "module" for organizing taxonomies of living things, suggests only that taxonomies always and everywhere are based on essences which do not change over a lifetime and which can be arranged as elements in a hierarchy of nested sets. This is true the world around. But so called modularity of mind does not enable us to distinguish the folk taxonomies of the Amazon basin from those of lowland Guatemala.
If we can't tell folk taxonomies apart, aren't we just being asked to put all the world's religions into one box labeled "minimally counter-intuitive" by-products of natural selection?
Why should that rate five stars?
Very sad.......2007-03-09
It is sad that so many in the world are saddled with the consequences of belief in gods; one hopes that this book will enlighten! It is fairly hard work but worth it.
Thoughtful analysis of the origin of religious beliefs.......2007-03-08
There have been a slew of recent books by scientists on religion which fall basically into two camps. The first, exemplified by Sam Harris' "The End of Faith," are essentially attacks on the logical plausibility of the major religious belief systems. For those who have already realized that these sorts of beliefs are absurd, such works are entertaining but are a bit like preaching to the choir, if you'll excuse the metaphor. The second camp, exemplified by Pascal Boyer's "Religion Explained," are attempts at explaining WHY people believe in such absurdities, from the perspectives of cognitive neuropsychology and anthropology. Atran's book is in the latter camp, and in fact overlaps to some extent with Boyer's book, published at about the same time, although each author has unique insights. I especially liked Atran's analysis of the origin of beliefs in the supernatural as stemming from a cognitive module predisposed to interpret environmental stimuli as coming from a potential predator, and I also found his analysis of "meme theory" to be enlightening (he strongly discounts it). Atran's book is the harder to read of the two and is largely missing the dry sense of humor in Boyer's book, which is why I docked it one star. I also disagree with the pessimism in Atran's last chapter about why religions are likely to endure indefinitely; I believe the secular trends present especially since Darwin must ultimately prevail. But his book is certainly a valuable contribution to the discussion of the origins of religious thought and behavior, which is of paramount importance in understanding today's world of religious fanaticism.
Simply the best book on a charged and intricate topic.......2007-02-01
The topic of Atran's book has recently received a lot of attention, primarily because of the publication of Daniel Dennett's "Breaking the Spell" and Richard Dawkins' bestselling "The God Delusion".
I have just finished teaching a graduate course on evolutionary perspectives on religion, and have fewer doubts than ever that Atran has written by far the best book on the topic. In terms of explanatory structure his theory is more detailed and precise than any of the competitors.
While Atran says openly that he is an atheist, he tries to keep his discussion neutral, and his book is devoid of the polemical tone of Dawkins and Dennett. Yet, paradoxically, his approach has interesting implications for dealing with religious fundamentalism on a political level.
Even though "In Gods we Trust" is an unabashedly scientific book, it is well written and accessible to informed lay-people. I also recommend viewing the interchanges of Atran and Sam Harris ("The End of Faith")during the recent "Beyond Belief" conference either on youtube or (written) on the "Edge" website.
Amazon.com
In an effort to determine why people buy, Paco Underhill and his detailed-oriented band of retail researchers have camped out in stores over the course of 20 years, dedicating their lives to the "science of shopping." Armed with an array of video equipment, store maps, and customer-profile sheets, Underhill and his consulting firm, Envirosell, have observed over 900 aspects of interaction between shopper and store. They've discovered that men who take jeans into fitting rooms are more likely to buy than females (65 percent vs. 25 percent). They've learned how the "butt-brush factor" (bumped from behind, shoppers become irritated and move elsewhere) makes women avoid narrow aisles. They've quantified the importance of shopping baskets; contact between employees and shoppers; the "transition zone" (the area just inside the store's entrance); and "circulation patterns" (how shoppers move throughout a store). And they've explored the relationship between a customer's amenability and profitability, learning how good stores capitalize on a shopper's unspoken inclinations and desires.
Underhill, whose clients include McDonald's, Starbucks, Estée Lauder, and Blockbuster, stocks Why We Buy with a wealth of retail insights, showing how men are beginning to shop like women, and how women have changed the way supermarkets are laid out. He also looks to the future, projecting massive retail opportunities with an aging baby-boom population and predicting how online retailing will affect shopping malls. This lighthearted look at shopping is highly recommended to anyone who buys or sells. --Rob McDonald
Book Description
Is there a method to our madness when it comes to shopping? Hailed by the San Francisco Chronicle as "a Sherlock Holmes for retailers," author and research company CEO Paco Underhill answers with a definitive "yes" in this witty, eye-opening report on our ever-evolving consumer culture. Why We Buy is based on hard data gleaned from thousands of hours of field research -- in shopping malls, department stores, and supermarkets across America. With his team of sleuths tracking our every move, from sweater displays at the mall to the beverage cooler at the drugstore, Paco Underhill lays bare the struggle among merchants, marketers, and increasingly knowledgeable consumers for control.
In his quest to discover what makes the contemporary consumer tick, Underhill explains the shopping phenomena that often go unnoticed by retailers and shoppers alike, including:
- How a well-placed shopping basket can turn a small purchase into a significant sale
- What the "butt-brush factor" is and how it can make sales plummet
- How working women have altered the way supermarkets are designed
- How the "boomerang effect" makes product placement ever more challenging
- What kinds of signage and packaging turn browsers into buyers
For those in retailing and marketing, Why We Buy is a remarkably fresh guide, offering creative and insightful tips on how to adapt to the changing customer. For the general public, Why We Buy is a funny and sometimes disconcerting look at our favorite pastime.
Customer Reviews:
Interesting.......2007-09-22
Interesting and insightful with some good tips for people setting up an interactive environment like a shop or a library. It seemed more like an ad for his services and/or his other books but it was a good introduction to the principles behind his business.
Good Retail Intro..........2007-09-16
A good read if you are a marketing or advertising professional who wants to get some insight into the retail psychology and its operations. However, there is no magic formula or scientific methodology given in this book.
Besides making a lot of publicity for his company, Paco Underhill gives a lot of very interesting & practical examples of the consumer's shopping psychology and how it all translates in the retail environment. Paco will tell you why shoppers intuitively steer to the right upon entering a store and how retail managers can use that information to increase their revenues. Overall, not an extraordinary book by any means, but full of interesting examples and stories that could come in handy for any business professional.
Excellent Example of Observational Market Research.......2007-07-21
Not only is this book interesting to the lay reader, it is a must read for retailers, marketers, and market researchers. There are gems within the pages!
Why We Buy is a must buy for retailers........2007-05-24
This book gives you concrete suggestions for increasing sales.
Interesting Findings.......2007-05-14
It was a really easy book to read and it gives you insides on strategies to set a retailing space, having a lot of things in mind, that might seem obvious when you read it, but they really aren't. It was a great; I highly recommend it for people on the retiling industry.
Books:
- An Infinity of Little Hours: Five Young Men and Their Trial of Faith in the Western World's Most Austere Monastic Order
- An Irish Country Doctor
- Babylon Rising: The Edge of Darkness (Babylon Rising)
- Behind the Wheel Italian 1 Revised/Complete 226 Page Illustrated Text & Audioscript/Answer Keys/6 One Hour Multi-Track Audio CDs
- Black's Law Dictionary (Pocket), 3rd Edition
- Brave New World and Brave New World Revisited
- Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions
- Business Communication: Process and Product (with InfoTrac®)
- Circus of the Damned (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: Book 3)
- Code Name God: The Spiritual Odyssey of a Man of Science
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Global Crises, Global Solutions
- America's Painted Ladies: The Ultimate Celebration of Our Victorians
- They Shoot Managers, Don't They
- United Nations: The First Fifty Years
- Transforming Stress: The Heartmath Solution For Relieving Worry, Fatigue, And Tension
- Cowboy and Cossack
- A Field Guide to the Mammals of Australia
- Field Guide for Property & Casualty Agents & Practitioners
- Understanding the Corporate Annual Report: Nuts, Bolts and a Few Loose Screws
- The Silver Pen: Starting a Profitable Writing Business from a Lifetime of Experience : A Guide for O
General
| Politics
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
The Truth About Muhammad: Founder of the World's Most Intolerant Religion
Unstoppable Global Warming: Every 1,500 Years
While Europe Slept: How Radical Islam is Destroying the West from Within
The Politically Incorrect Guide(tm) to Islam (and the Crusades) (Politically Incorrect Guides)
Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America
![Freakonomics [Revised and Expanded]: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/0061234001.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
