![]() The most difficult is the nonintuitive material-time as part of space, say, or proteins inventing themselves spontaneously, without direction-and the quantum leaps unusual minds have made: as J.B.S. The aim is to deliver reports on these subjects in terms anyone can understand, and for the most part, it works. So he goes exploring, in the library and in company with scientists at work today, to get a grip on a range of topics from subatomic particles to cosmology. ![]() Piqued by his own ignorance on these matters, he’s egged on even more so by the people who’ve figured out-or think they’ve figured out-such things as what is in the center of the Earth. Unsentimental nature writing that sheds as much light on humans as on eels.īryson ( I'm a Stranger Here Myself, 1999, etc.), a man who knows how to track down an explanation and make it confess, asks the hard questions of science-e.g., how did things get to be the way they are?-and, when possible, provides answers.Īs he once went about making English intelligible, Bryson now attempts the same with the great moments of science, both the ideas themselves and their genesis, to resounding success. He warns that if we are to save this fascinating creatureįrom extinction, we must continue to study it. Of a dead eel leads Svensson to a consideration of faith and the inherent Of eel fishing to the Basque separatist movement. Notes that the Puritans would likely not have survived without eels, and heĮxplores Sweden’s “eel coast” (what it once was and how it has changed), howĮel fishing became embroiled in the Northern Irish conflict, and the importance The Sea Wind, and Günter Grass’ The Tin Drum-and history. After recounting the details of the eel life cycle, theĪuthor turns to the eel in literature-e.g., in the Bible, Rachel Carson’s Under Schmidt, who for two decades tracked thousands of eels, looking for theirīreeding grounds. Italy, peering through a microscope searching vainly for eel testes Johannes People: Aristotle, who thought eels emerged live from mud, “like a slithering,Įnigmatic miracle” Freud, who as a teenage biologist spent months in Trieste, Svensson, whose beat is not biology but art and culture, fills his account with Were in…a place whose nature was best enjoyed in silence.” Throughout, “I can’t remember us speaking at all….Because we Talking about anything other than eels and how to best catch them, down thereīy the stream,” he writes. The author alternates eel-focused chapters with those about his father,Ī man obsessed with fishing for this elusive creature. Svensson includes a highly personal account of his relationship with hisįather. In addition to an intriguing natural history, Swedish journalist He explains how global patterns of air circulation are responsible for cyclones and describes the problem faced by weather forecasters because of the famous butterfly effect: how “the smallest unobserved change could make the difference between a sunny day and a massive storm.” Logan celebrates the atmosphere as a medium of communication-transmitting pheromones as well as sound, bird calls, music-and notes that the breath of life separates the living from the dead.Ī tour-de-force journey through the natural world.Īn account of the mysterious life of eels that also serves as a meditation on consciousness, faith, time, light and darkness, and life and death. Logan provides a biting critique of the failure of government officials to be honest with the population of New York City about the dangerous level of pollution following 9/11, when he was able to accurately measure the air quality as he worked to save trees in the area. In our focus on air quality and global warming, we tend to forget that it is the medium in which spores, fungi, airborne bacteria and pollens circulate-along with soot and other pollutants. Too often we take it for granted, he writes, except when problems arise. It cannot be controlled…It changes the fate of creatures and the destiny of peoples.” The author explains that his purpose is to make us aware of how remarkable the role of the atmosphere is in the evolution of life on Earth and in every aspect of daily existence. As in his earlier works- Dirt (1995) and Oak (2005)-he celebrates the union of the inorganic and organic realms that nurture life: “The air cannot be owned. An examination of the all-encompassing role that the atmosphere plays in shaping our lives.Īrborist Logan weaves together history, philosophy and culture in the third volume of his trilogy.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |