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Title: Strange Encounters: Adventures of a Renegade Naturalist by Daniel B. Botkin ISBN: 1-58542-263-0 Publisher: J. P. Tarcher Pub. Date: 11 September, 2003 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.5 (4 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: a bit of a disappointment
Comment: As a long standing fan of Botkin's excellent DISCORDANT HARMONIES I looked forward to diving into this autobiographical account of this remarkable naturalist's career & thoughts. Alas, by about a third of the way through I found my attention drifting away & kept asking myself "Yeees... so what?" as essay piled on essay. Botkin has obviously done some really interesting things & has been to some odd and interesting places, but this book has far too much of the feel of satisfying a publisher's request of "why don't you root around in the attic & see if you can throw something together on sabbatical" & not enough of "so here's how my life informed my work & my work informed my life". I passed the book along to one of my best undergrads, and she said almost the same thing without prompting. Several essays seem to be heading for some sort of exciting peak, but then they sort of fizzle out & we are on to the next adventure without really understanding how to place what went before. This is too bad as I am confident that Botkin is capable of much much more. As an alternative, for folks interested in how the lives of ecologists affect their professional work I would suggest Dennis Chitty's excellent DO LEMMINGS COMMIT SUICIDE?
Rating: 5
Summary: Ecological wit & wisdom
Comment: The book is an intriguing mixture of elements. On the one hand it describes the author's sometimes hilarious experiences as he seeks to answer such questions as "how long does a whale sleep," and "how much does an elephant eat." On the other hand he raises sobering questions about the capacity of the discipline of ecology to solve environmental problems. I enjoyed the book both for its human interest and for the author's reflections on the state of our understanding of nature.
Rating: 5
Summary: A must read for students, scientists, and everyone else
Comment: Daniel Botkin's new book continues his string of must read books that provide a valuable perspective on the environment. His wealth of experience in field work and academic science is nicely complemented in this book through his reflections on a number of scientific issues with which he has engaged over his career. From the engineering of New England mills to studying ocean life, Botkin's reflections on his work will keep you engaged throughout the book and leave you looking for more. Whether you are an aspiring or practicing naturalist, or just looking for a good read, this book is a great choice.
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Title: Monster of God: The Man-Eating Predator in the Jungles of History and the Mind by David Quammen ISBN: 0393051404 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: 08 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $26.95 |
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Title: Hard Rain by Barry Eisler ISBN: 0399150528 Publisher: Putnam Pub Group Pub. Date: 10 July, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: The Snowflake: Winter's Secret Beauty by Patricia Rasmussen, Kenneth George Libbrecht ISBN: 0896586308 Publisher: Voyageur Press Pub. Date: November, 2003 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
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Title: A Devil's Chaplain : Reflections on Hope, Lies, Science, and Love by Richard Dawkins ISBN: 0618335404 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Co Pub. Date: 29 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.00 |
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Title: The Sorrows of Empire : Militarism, Secrecy, and the End of the Republic [The American Empire Project ] by Chalmers Johnson ISBN: 0805070044 Publisher: Metropolitan Books Pub. Date: 13 January, 2004 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
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