Biology Books

I'm the type of person who rarely reads books for fun. Most of what I read is for my work or on rare occasions I'll grab a book at the airport if I have a long flight. Half the time I'll get bored with it and won't finish it. I'm not even sure how this book ended up on my shelf but I grabbed it about a week ago when I had to go to the hospital and wait for my mother who was having an operation. I literally had a hard time putting it down. Of course it's not fiction but in some ways it reads like fiction in that it tells a story. At times it presents itself as a murder mystery; "What killed the dinosaurs?". Even though the outcome is given away by the title, it's still a fascinating story.

The book is divided into two parts. The first part covers various theories about the cause of the death of the dinosaurs at the end of the cretaceous. The second part in some ways refutes the first part by coming to the conclusion that dinosaurs never really died at all because birds are part of the dinosaur family. I know this is still somewhat of a contentious debate among some, but the book contains some pretty convincing evidence. It's a bit technical at times but you can always get the general idea of what the author is tying to convey.

Even though this book is chiefly about dinosaurs and birds it covers a lot of stuff not directly related to the main topic but interesting never the less. For instance I did not know about the Phylogenetic system of classification before I read it. This book explains it quite well so that someone like me, who is not well versed in biology can easily understand it.

This is an extremely thorough, yet readable treatment of the subject of the evolution of birds and the non-extinction of dinosaurs. The drawings in particular are excellent illustrations of the features of the lineages. The discussion of the evidence for the different causes of the extinction event that took most of the dinosaurs is clear and thorough. This is a must-read if you are interested in these issues!

This book rocked so hard it isn't even funny!! I have loved dinosaurs ever since I was a youngster, and still find myself quite fond of those wacky beasts. This book delivers when it comes to dinos. It basically includes two parts: one concerned with the theories of dino extinction(the meteorite-impact hypothesis is given paricular attention-perhaps because one of the authors was involved in research on this hypothesis), the other with dino evolution into birds. Both are written by experts, and more than that they are experts who know how to write in an engaging and easy to understand fashion that the non-expert can understand and appreciate. The prose made the book hard to put down, and the pictures of the biological poetry we call dinosaurs are enough to bring tears to the true dinosaur lovers eyes. So if you like dinosaurs, geology, or I would even say science in general, or are just a curious soul looking for new things to learn I highly recommend this book.

The Mistaken Extinction: Dinosaur Evolution and the Origin of Birds written by Lowell Dingus and Timothy Rowe is a dinosaur book that makes a difference. This is a frank account of how we know what we know about the dinosaurs and how the work can and should be approached. There are issues surrounding a dinosaur extinction as though they are elements in a scientific detective story; following a trail of geologic and paleontologic clues toward a solution. This book show the reader the way of intelligent thinking and the conclusions that make sense.

Over the course of this book, it will become clear that the questions being raised today actually have their roots in the debates that raged within the scientific community in the nineteenth century, when Dawin's theory of evolution first burst upon the scene. This book is divided into two parts.

The Search for the Smoking Gun is part 1. The eight chapters include: The Seductive Allure of Dinosaurs, Earlier Extinction Hypotheses, Contrating Volcanic and Impact Hypotheses, Enormoud Eruptions and Disappearing Seaways, THe Fatal Impact, Direct Evidence of Catastrophe, Patterns of extinction and Survival, and Our Hazy View of Time at the K-T Boundary.

These chapters give the reader adequate background information, to take us back to the time of the murderous extinction at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundry of geological time. Here we find a theory of gradual extinction... a theory that most reseachers favor, but could this be true... there are convincing theories.

Part 2: Dead or Alive has ten chapters and it includes: Living Dinosaurs?, Dinosaurs Challenge Evolution, Dinosaurs and the Hierarchy of Life, The Evolutionary Map for Dinosaurs, Death by decree, The Road to Jurassic Park, Crossing the Boundary, Diversification and Decline, The Real Great Dinosaur Extinction, and The Third Wave.

Here we learn why most researchers now believe that birds and other dinosaurs sprung from the same ancient ancestors, all this stems from one of science's theories... evolution. This book is beautifully illustrated and has plenty of morphoroloigal drawings arising for comparitive anatomy.

I found the book to be a wealth of information easily readable and a plethora of detailed compendia on dinosaur facts. This is a book that lays out the extinction of dinosauria with great skill and clairy

I originally bought this book for a class I'm taking, coincidentally being taught by one of the authors, Timothy Rowe. Not only does this book include facts and myths about the extinction of dinosaurs, but it makes them comprehendable, and very entertaining by including recent myths such as those presented in popular movies. A total must read for dinosaur fanatics!

This is an excellent book, and it worked for me. I went from being near sighted and needing glasses to 20/20 vision (to the amazement of my eye doctor). I have also been bothered with light sensistive eyes since my childhood, and my eyes are now comfortable even in brilliant sunshine.

An excellent book! When I first started looking into alternatives to contacts and glasses I was lucky enough to have a friend refer this book to me. I started reading it and immediately began to apply some of the simple vision exercises. My eyesight improved radically! - About an immediate 75% improvement (towards what I remember from youth). This book had lots of simple eye exercises I could do during short 2 - 5 minute breaks during my workday. It was also really helpful in showing me how to deal with the other mind/body issues related to my deteriorated vision as well as simply helpful instruction on how to avoid eyestrain and the blurriness that comes with it now and in future. Due to these methods, one of my friends who has worn glasses for half their life has totally repaired their eyesight to the point they feel confident enough to have thrown out all their glasses et al! I was lucky enough to find this book early and I've only just begun! Five stars for the lady that keeps me from having to wear glasses!!! Thank you my friend and thank you Janet!

NATURAL VISION IMPROVEMENT
by Janet Goodrich

I have owned this wonderful book since the late eighties, when I started to have an ardent desire to learn more about the eye-brain connection. I have deliberately bought it despite its new agey connotations.

I have learned that, whatever we learn in a lifetime, as much as 90% will enter us through our eyes. Our brains are stimulated more by visual cues than any other senses. Our eyes also form a very significant part of our brains, some two-thirds of which are fully dedicated to vision & associated processing. Jokes aside, sexual attraction relies greatly on vision! Despite its comparative size, each eye ball has more significant moving parts than the Columbia space shuttle!

I love to read & I am an avid as well as a voracious reader. (From early '92 to mid-2004, I actually owned a small bookstore. It fueled & bankrolled my reading pursuits.) Naturally, I want to keep my eye balls in peak condition.

I was introduced to the book by chance. I did not buy the book on the grounds that I had wanted to get rid of my glasses. Today, I still wear my glasses, only when I drive or watch action movies on TV. When I read or work on my laptop, I don't need my glasses at all. This is inspite of the fact that my laptop screen display has been configured with small font size, especially my Internet Explorer, which allows me to read large chunks of information at one glance.

The most productive learning experiences I got out of this book are the 'natural vision improvement' exercises introduced by the author. They are:

- Palming exercise;
- Sunning exercise;
- Near/Far Focus exercise;
- Peripheral Vision exercise;

I have done these exercises for more than fifteen years. Oftentimes, I could amaze myself - & my friends - particularly when I could read relatively small prints on distant sign-boards or posters. I have also combined the vision exercises with some of the 'Brain Gym' exercises, namely, The Owl, Neck Roll, Cross Crawl & Brain Buttons. Additionally, I do a lot of diaphragmatic breathing exercises. I find all these exercises very useful in maintaining my active physiological frame of mind as well as my sharp mental focus when I read.

I have also taught these exercises to professional adults in my creativity classes, as well as to students in the schools. I have also shared them with my own friends. The feedback from them has always been positive.

Of course, from the book, I have also achieved a much better understanding of the eye-brain connection. If you are interested in this book, my suggestion is to read it with an open mind!

Frankly, if you want to keep your eye balls in peak condition, learn & practise the natural vision improvement exercises in this wonderful book! They have been field tested by me for more than fifteen years!

This well conceived and instructive volume combines empirical data and wholistic methods for just about every kind of eye condition short of blindness.
I met Janet Goodrich at a vision improvement course at Crystal Waters. She is one of the most interesting and eccentric ( in a pleasant way) people I have ever met. At the course I not only improved my vision, albeit marginally, but also lost weight. I don't know if she still lives in Australia.
These natural methods are intense and so a lot of people probably won't have time to use them but I can testify that they work, although very gradually. Few people have the patience these days to stick to these routines unfortunately.
If you ever read these reviews, Janet, best wishes.
Regards, Mike.

The author goes over the mental states associated with clear vision and includes a lot of vision games to help stimulate relaxed seeing. I needed more than what's here, but it's a good book and goes over some great stuff.

This book will clearly be considered the bible of the neuroendocrine field.

This book is a magnificent review of this fascinating subject. Strand presents a wealth of data in a very comprehensive manner. She has summarized the information in a scholarly yet highly lucid manner

This book is a superb compilation of the complexities of the fields of neuropeptides. Portions of it are general enough to be of real value to any neuroscientist who wishes to understand more about this complex field. In its entirety the book offers an excellent summary which can be of use to anyone no matter how specialized or advanced in the neuropeptide field. The book begins with an excellent summary of the origins of neuropeptide theory, the discovery of the first of these transmitters, and a general summary of where we are today with the identification of this enormous group of peptides. For those beginning a career in research concerning neuropeptides, there is some excellent generalization of the techniques which are involved in discovering, quantifying and manipulating these neurotransmitters. The section on biosynthesis and action of neuropeptides is extremely well done and simple enough for anyone interested to understand, as is the description and localization of neuropeptides. The neuroendocrine system is presented in a very simple but complete form, and the section on the blood brain barrier brings anyone up to date in the function of the barrier transport system. Recpetors are described generally and then individual classes of receptors are described in great detail. This allows any specific group of receptors and any specific system to be investigated thoroughly. The book is well referenced. The illustrations and especially the schematic figures are exceptionally well done. All the pituitary peptides are thoroughly discussed and the literature surrounding them summarized. The section on the opiate neuropeptides is also well done, and then a number of peptideswhich are much less well known, particularly those that involve gut and other visceral functions are thoroughly discussed. The book is an invaluable resource. Anyone casually interested in the field can learn much by superficial perusal, but the real value will be in the thorough review of each topic which makes each individual chapter a valuable source for anyone wishing detailed information. This is really "must reading" for the graduate student interested in this field.

Given the complexity and rapid growth of research in neuropeptides it is perhaps not surprising that few texts have attempted to give an overview of this field. We should, therefore, be grateful to Fleur Strand for her well-written and comprehensive monograph. The author is an experienced neuroscientist who has been actively involved in research and teaching on the subject of neuropeptides, and the book is a coherent and readable volume that provides a great deal of valuable information to advanced students and others who are interested in neuropeptides. The book is well prepared with clear illustrations, and a comprehensive bibliography and index. The author provides an easily understood review of the many different experimental approaches needed to study the genes, receptors distribution, biosynthesis, release and actions of the neuropeptides. These include molecular neurobiology techniques, immunohistochemical-mapping procedures, the use of genetically engineered animals and studies of peptide actions at the cellular and systemic levels, using neurochemical, neurophysiological and behavioral analyses. A section on the relationship between neuropeptides, stress and the immune system is particularly well prepared, as is the explanation of the physiological roles of neuropeptides in the broader context of biology and evolution. Each chapter concludes with a detailed summary of the conclusions drawn, highlighting the main concepts, which makes for easy review. A concluding section on invertebrate neuropeptides again mixes peptides of neural and non-neural origin but provides a valuable overview of the evolution and biological importance of peptides as chemical signalling molecules.

The Book "Neuropeptides: Regulators of Physiological Processes" is terrific. Not only does it provide the most comprehensive review of the field available anywhere , but it does so in an elegant style that remains amazingly easy to read. Moreover, the material is put together in such a way as to provide sophisticated new insights into the field.

The Origins Of Order is a fantastic book. Not only by it's thesis, also by it's methods.
Errors, time and competition (natural selection) is so easy in order to explain all the complexity we see.
I Spend much time in my work with complex problems in order to know all the details, collect the inputs, etc before I build a big spreadsheet and a power point presentation with my economic recommendations. Stuart Kauffman tells us other posibilities:
with a computer, some skills in programming, common sense and knolowedge of the problem build a random model of the problem, collect a lot of simulations, and analize the outcomes. Not more, not less. You don't need more.
And some times, change the computer by a pen and paper and build some equations. Not more, not less. You don't need more.

The Origins of Order will be viewed in the future as a milestone in shifting the existing Darwinian paradigm in biology from a "survival of the fittest" (natural selection) to a new paradigm focused on explaining the "arrival of the fittest" through self-organisation.
Using a boolean (NK) network model and a extensive amount of biological facts, Stuart Kauffman demonstrates in a powerful
way the central role of self-organisation in the creative process of life. His vision that biology seems to operate
as self-organised non-linear dynamical systems at the edge of chaos will have as much influence in biology that a similar vision offered by Nobel prize winner Prigogyne in the field of thermodynamcis. The book connects a web of fundamental ideas from the fields of biology, physics, mathematics and computer sciences and requires a strong background in biology that I unfortunately did not possess. The laborious style, the lack of clarity in the writing and the (unnecessary) length of the book should not stop anyone from reading this amazing book.
Stuart Kauffman combines an intellect and a vision that only very few scientists possess. This book is a must.

Kauffman believes that spontaneous self-ordering, which both simple and complex systems can exhibit, must be incorporated into evolutionary biology, along with traditional random variation and natural selection. Certain complex systems will be spontaneously self-ordering. Natural selection then tends to push such systems to the edge of chaos. In addition to advancing Kauffman's theories, this reference provides a good overview the Neo-Darwinian synthesis, a review of origin of life theories, a review of genetic regulatory theory, and a review of cell differentiation.

It took me a whole summer to read this book in 1993 and it is still the most amazing book I have ever read. If you are computer/mathematically inclined, have an interest in biology, and have enough time to digest it, this book will blow you away. It contains the most amazing hypotheses to come out since 1859. Unfortunately, it takes a huge investment in time to really read this book, but an epiphany awaits those who get through it.

Stuart Kauffman has an MD and is a generalist. The book deals primarily with theory and understanding of computer simulations of state driven systems of large numbers of connected nodes. It examines how such systems evolve through mutation and gives a clear understanding of the limited role of natural selection in comparison to the self-organizing forces at work within such systems. It examines the meta-interaction of sub-systems of interacting states (attractor basins) that occur within a system. In English: it gives the first theoretical framework for understanding just how it is that cells which all contain identical DNA express themselves as some number of stable cell types. Normally a cell will react to a perturbation in whatever way will return it to its base stable cycle (attractor loop). One type of cell turns into another type when just the right perturbation kicks the system from one attractor basin into a different attractor basin.

This is heavier reading than his popular science book, At Home in the Universe, but preferable for anyone with the necessary tiny amount of knowledge of genetics and logic operations. There are few equations of any kind. The results apply to more than just biological systems.

The book is long because instead of just presenting a few principles that you can try to remember abstractly, he leads you through all the important steps of his research and gives you a real feel for how complex systems actually evolve and operate. The book raises more questions than it answers, as it should be for a book of such originality and importance.

When you fully grok the contents of this book you'll be so excited you'll want to rush and explain it to someone else, which will be utterly impossible, so you'll probably have to lend them your book, buy them the popular version, or face the fact that you are now relatively alone on a higher plane.

I have read this book a couple of times. I have used Dr.Colling's book, among others, to reconcile my scientific understanding, specifically concerning evolution, and my faith. I have been able to develop a harmonious understanding between the two topics, that I was told could never coincide. I thank Dr.Colling for his hard work and encourage his continuing research.

In September of last year (2007), Olivet Nazarene University Professor Richard G. Colling found himself embroiled in a controversy over views expressed in this book. Random Designer (Browning Press, 2004) had been used as a textbook in some of his science courses, and recommended by other professors at the university. When certain church members and pastors learned of the content of Random Designer, they objected to Colling's views on evolution loudly and persuasively. Despite the support of faculty at Olivet, several of these denominational leaders wielded their influence to intervene and compel the removal of Colling from the biology department.

One unintended consequence of their action is that I picked up and read Colling's work. Hopefully, the controversy will spur many such new sales, because I believe that many will benefit from reading Random Designer. The book targets some of those very pastors that led the charge against Colling, as indicated on this slip cover blurb:

"Written in easy-flowing personal narrative for working professionals, pastors, religious leaders, public school teachers, college students, and people of all faiths, Random Designer is a story of a loving and caring Creator who miraculously harnesses the random and chaotic forces of nature to accomplish his ultimate purposes. And now, after faithfully laboring for billions of years to bring His creation to an awareness of Himself, He calls to us from the deepest recesses of our minds. Will we hear His voice?"

Random Designer is divided into two sections. Section I deals with the science of randomness. Randomness is the necessary consequence of the laws that govern our cosmos, particularly the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics, or entropy. Colling shows how entropy works as a randomizer, and how this same law suffuses the earth with a constant flow of energy which in turn serves to being order to randomness. Hence, in Colling's view, the natural rise of life on earth through evolutionary processes. Randomness becomes the necessary fodder for natural selection, and it is apparently the Designer's tool of choice. If like me, you have contemplated the place of randomness in Creation, you will benefit from Colling's descriptions of these processes.

In Section II, Colling turns from science to the theological and practical considerations of randomness. I want to highlight two of the chapters. One seeks to answer questions that surround Adam. Is Adam an historical figure? Is he a metaphorical "stand-in" for the human race? Colling explores these and other possibilities. A chapter which fascinated me is entitled "The Ultimate Creation". Colling cites science which suggests that the human race may have arrived at the pinnacle of evolution. The same processes of randomness that increase complexity must also serve to maintain complexity. The complexity of the human genome may have reached a balancing point. Or to put it another way, the human genome may be nearing full capacity. If this is true, as genetics suggests it may be, then it is not unreasonable to conclude that we are the ultimate creation of the Random Designer!

Random Designer is written for undergraduates, and as such is an easy read. If you are seeking understandings which bring purpose and order to a world of apparent randomness, you may find Colling's book helpful.

I appreciate the different perspective. I would like to encourage the author to continue his work in this area.

Colling writes in a clear and understandable manner to show how biology, and in particular evolution, is in accord with basic Christian theology. Frankly if you have studied biology a good deal, you'll find this work rather repetitive and simplistic. You want to read something like Perspectives on an Evolving Creation or God After Darwin: A Theology of Evolution. But this book is ideal for the biology layman, who had little training or forgot what they learned previously, and never understood the basics of evolution.

In a sence, Colling is the anti-Behe. Behe wants to show how there are some aspects of life that are inherently complex, and therefore couldn't have evolved. He therefore goes into great detail on the steps of different processes, to show how this is a complex process, and obviously, couldn't have happened "merely by chance". In doing so, he doesn't go into any greater detail than would be found in a myriad of other disciplines, in a higher-level text consulted by experts in the discipline. Behe thus gives an impression of false complexity. Colling instead shows how the basics of evolution are easily understandable, while recognizing that the theory is rather complex. Colling goes through evolution step by step, relating it to our understanding of God in the Bible, thus showing that the issue is more a matter of superior pedagogy and good heuristics, rather than objects which are "irreducibly complex".

The first half of the book shows what evolution is, and why it's believable. Colling explains in concise terms ideas like entropy, neatly side-stepping misconceptions commonly held by Literal Creationists like entropy forbidding the development of complex lifeforms. The second half delves into what the meaning of all this evolution can have for our understanding of Christ as Christians. Particularly of note is the title idea- that randomness exists, and God uses this randomness in his design. Indeed, it is within this idea that Colling actually introduces some novel thoughts, on how failure is necessary for God's success.

This is not a book to convince the unbeliever, nor is it groundbreaking for those who closely follow the Intelligent Design controversy, or the theology of evolution. It is however an excellent work for those new to the discussion, wishing to get their feet wet and understand the basics. In fact, for that purpose, I have never run across a finer book.

This book addresses science and faith. Colling starts out discussing thst the purpose of the book is to attempt to reconcile, explain, and exlore the views of science and faith. The fist part of the book involves bringing non-science people up to speed on basic biological principles and research. The second part addresses the much more elusive aspect of why we were created as we were created.
This book is like beef jerky. It is really tough to chew and the processing is slow at times, but when you get done, you have to have another piece. It is hard to reform ideas about creation from the Christian upbringing to accepting the scientific evidence. It would seem that God could have chosen evolution to create His most prized possession. The informationon the Second Law of Thermodynamics, radio isotope dating, the Big Bang theory, and the possible ways that the first life could have formed was extremely helpful and tactfully presented.
The foundation set in the first part stands firm for the much more subjective second part. Some main points were that we were created to know the Creator, humans are the first creation with the ability to discern the presence of God, life is mainly about intimate relationships , and we are made in the image of God, therefore having the mind of God.
No matter what veiws you hold on this issue, this would be a beneficial book for you to chew on.

If you are a squirrel fan,you will go nuts with this book! Good info.! Very thorough, and helpful, not to mention interesting! A must for your nature library.

I expected to see more photos in this book, however for fun or studying its really great book.

Very informative, but not dry. Never knew I needed an ultimate resource and go to book on squirrels, but bought it on the recommendation of a friend-- boy am I glad I did!

This book is packaged a bit like a children's book, as an "animal answer guide" with lots of pictures. It is written as a series of questions and answers, though the "answers" may go for several pages and read like regular text. The Q&A format is really more of an affectation.

While much of the book could be enjoyed by pre-teens who really love squirrels, the information is probably too detailed for them. High schoolers writing a report on squirrels - - for whatever reason - - would find it very helpful. However, it's really written for a general audience.

What then will you find in this book, gentle reader? In short: everything you ever wanted to know about squirrels, and then some. You'll learn not only about the fox squirrel in your backyard but other North American squirrels such as woodchucks and marmots. You'll also learn a bit about squirrels around the world, especially in South and Southeast Asia.

The book is full of black-and-white pictures on many pages, and has two collections of color plates in the middle of the book. The black-and-white pictures tend to aim to be informative, while the color pictures are often beautiful art shots. So, if you think squirrels can be a subject of High Art, this is your book.

Actually, it's a remarkably good book on an unexpected subject. It's not quite as good as some other animals books I've reviewed (on wolves, bison and locusts - - see my reviews), and it's not really a "classic" book for anyone. so I'll only give it 4 stars. But it really deserves 4.5. It's hard to imagine a better book on squirrels.

If you have an interest in any of the squirrels in North America, you'll like this book. I am enjoying it immensely, and I have read most of the really good squirrel literature available. This new book is excellent.

Somewhere in the advertising literature, it says that the book is in question and answer form. This nearly put me off and caused me not to order the book. Don't allow that to happen to you. It is simply that the titles to each short section of the book are in the form of questions. The text that follows these headings is excellent. I'm glad I bought it.

For readers seeking knowledge of tree squirrels, I would also recommend The Natural History of Squrrels by Steele and Arizona's Tree Squirrels by David Brown. That would be in addition to, not in place of, Squrrels: The Animal Answer Book.

If you attend the course of statistics, this 's one of my recommedation. Good book and applicable.

.
What can be said that Dr. Chernik has not already written?

I am learning my statistics for epidemiological purposes and laboratory methods. This book is fun because the descriptions of the tests are succinct and it is replete with examples using medical data. I have been using it as a quick reference for statistical methods that I read about in journal articles, but have not had formal training in or experience with. This book is complementary to by basic stats book. This book is a must for amateur biostatisticians.

This very recent book is already getting rave reviews from health professionals particularly in the US Navy where Dr. Riffenburgh is known. I recently met Dr. Riffenburgh at an ASA chapter meeting in San Diego and again at the Joint Statistical Meetings in Indianapolis this past August. The Foreword by Vice Admiral Richard Nelson sets the stage for the book and praises Dr. Riffenburgh.
I am a biostatistician working in the medical device industry. Last year I taught an introductory course to health science majors at Cal State Long Beach. Had Dr. Riffenburgh's book been out I may have used it. In the future if I teach the course again before my own book comes out I would use it.

Dr. Riffenburgh has a wealth of experience working on clinical trials and medical problems that require statistical analysis. He has a good fundamental understanding of statistical methods and a sense from his experience as to what topics are important to medical researchers. Although he was not formally trained as a statistician he understands statistical methods and the subtleties of the subject. He is sympathetic to the students who do not have strong math backgrounds and conveys the ideas clearly to them with the aid of several carefully selected data sets.

The book is very unique in that it is constructed to be two books in one. He wants to meet the needs of students who need to understand the basics of biostatistics so that they can appreciate, understand and evaluate the medical literature. Part I, consisting of chapters 1 through 9 is designed for them. The second need is for a reference text for physicians and other medical researchers who will need to use statistical methods in their work and publications. Chapters 10 through 21 are designed for them. As he states in his preface the text is aimed to be a 30/90 book. By this he means that it covers 30% of the statistical methods in common use but based on survey articles of methods used in medical journals it covers 90% of those techniques. He claims that 82% are covered in Part I and the remaining 8% in Part II.

Part I is an elementary text that is written in a tutorial fashion and introduces concepts through the data examples. It is well written and does a good job of explaining important ideas such as the difference between clinical and statistical significance, the interpretation of confidence intervals and the idea that the classical statistical approach to hypothesis testing is designed to reject the null hypothesis and not to "prove" it. Consequently he warns the readers not to conclude that the null hypothesis is accepted just because a particular test does not reject it.

Part I covers most important elementary topics. Part II repeats much of the material in Part I but presents it a little differently. In these chapters the material is presented in easy to use reference style using a lot more formulae. The level of the second half is a little higher and includes some more advanced topics (the other 8%). Topics covered in Part II but not Part I include sequential methods, meta-analysis, time series methods and survival analysis. Actually survival analysis is briefly discussed in Part I under epidemiological studies.

Another unique feature is the section of chapter summaries at the end of the book. This is sort of a Reader's Digest summary of the book that highlights the key results for those who want a reference source but may not have the patience to read through the material or those who after taking the course want a quick refresher. I have never seen this done before but I think it may have some value.

I believe that Dr. Riffenburgh has succeeded in his goals and I admire the fresh approach that he has taken. It is very difficult to avoid much of the basic mathematics without losing some of the important concepts and foundation to the subject.

Many authors that try, fail miserably. On the other hand authors that include too much mathematics scare off many of the students that the text is targeted for. Riffenburgh with this book and Motulsky with his book "Intuitive Biostatistics" have both carefully crafted a text that succeeds in this goal.

I did give the book four stars instead of five. This is because I think there are a few important topics in biostatistics that are not included or are covered too briefly. These include equivalence testing, group sequential methods, intention-to-treat analysis, methods for handling missing data and longitudinal data analysis.

The author deserves recognition for including important topics such as meta-analyses, non-parametric methods, logistic regression, sensitivity and specificity and survival analysis methods. These topics are often omitted from elementary courses but are all important in biostatistical applications.

This very recent book is already getting rave reviews from health professionals particularly in the US Navy where Dr. Riffenburgh is known. I recently met Dr. Riffenburgh at an ASA chapter meeting in San Diego and again at the Joint Statistical Meetings in Indianapolis this past August. The Foreword by Vice Admiral Richard Nelson sets the stage for the book and praises Dr. Riffenburgh.

I am a biostatistician working in the medical device industry. Last year I taught an introductory course to health science majors at Cal State Long Beach. Had Dr. Riffenburgh's book been out I may have used it. In the future if I teach the course again before my own book comes out I would use it.

Dr. Riffenburgh has a wealth of experience working on clinical trials and medical problems that require statistical analysis. He has a good fundamental understanding of statistical methods and a sense from his experience as to what topics are important to medical researchers. Although he was not formally trained as a statistician he understands statistical methods and the subtleties of the subject. He is sympathetic to the students who do not have strong math backgrounds and conveys the ideas clearly to them with the aid of several carefully selected data sets.

The book is very unique in that it is constructed to be two books in one. He wants to meet the needs of students who need to understand the basics of biostatistics so that they can appreciate, understand and evaluate the medical literature. Part I, consisting of chapters 1 through 9 is designed for them. The second need is for a reference text for physicians and other medical researchers who will need to use statistical methods in their work and publications. Chapters 10 through 21 are designed for them. As he states in his preface the text is aimed to be a 30/90 book. By this he means that it covers 30% of the statistical methods in common use but based on survey articles of methods used in medical journals it covers 90% of those techniques. He claims that 82% are covered in Part I and the remaining 8% in Part II.

Part I is an elementary text that is written in a tutorial fashion and introduces concepts through the data examples. It is well written and does a good job of explaining important ideas such as the difference between clinical and statistical significance, the interpretation of confidence intervals and the idea that the classical statistical approach to hypothesis testing is designed to reject the null hypothesis and not to "prove" it. Consequently he warns the readers not to conclude that the null hypothesis is accepted just because a particular test does not reject it.

Part I covers most important elementary topics. Part II repeats much of the material in Part I but presents it a little differently. In these chapters the material is presented in easy to use reference style using a lot more formulae. The level of the second half is a little higher and includes some more advanced topics (the other 8%). Topics covered in Part II but not Part I include sequential methods, meta-analysis, time series methods and survival analysis. Actually survival analysis is briefly discussed in Part I under epidemiological studies.

Another unique feature is the section of chapter summaries at the end of the book. This is sort of a Reader's Digest summary of the book that highlights the key results for those who want a reference source but may not have the patience to read through the material or those who after taking the course want a quick refresher. I have never seen this done before but I think it may have some value.

I believe that Dr. Riffenburgh has succeeded in his goals and I admire the fresh approach that he has taken. It is very difficult to avoid much of the basic mathematics without losing some of the important concepts and foundation to the subject.

Many authors that try, fail miserably. On the other hand authors that include too much mathematics scare off many of the students that the text is targeted for. Riffenburgh with this book and Motulsky with his book "Intuitive Biostatistics" have both carefully crafted a text that succeeds in this goal.

I did give the book four stars instead of five. This is because I think there are a few important topics in biostatistics that are not included or are covered too briefly. These include equivalence testing, group sequential methods, intention-to-treat analysis, methods for handling missing data and longitudinal data analysis.

The author deserves recognition for including important topics such as meta-analyses, non-parametric methods, logistic regression, sensitivity and specificity and survival analysis methods. These topics are often omitted from elementary courses but are all important in biostatistical applications.

Comprehensive, succinct with relevant examples that make the teaching points clear to even a non-biostatician like myself.
I have used this book in helping me to design clinical studies and it was extraordinarily useful! Thank you Dr Riffenburgh.

This is a most outstanding work on the anatomic and physiologic concepts underlying visual perception. It is aimed at any interested layman and should be required reading for visual artists, neuro-physiologists and any vision science practitioners. It requires attentive reading initially, but the extent of its insights are breathtakingly rewarding for those efforts. It is a visually stunning book that is the product of an inquiring and perceptive mind who is a senior member of the neuro-physiology faculty at Harvard. As an ophthalmologist and vision scientist-educator, I have strongly recommended it to trainees and older colleagues alike. Try it - you'll like it. MAH

This is a book that every teacher of photography and serious photographer should read and study and re-read. Although the book contains no photographic examples, there are plenty of examples in famous paintings to support the visual research Dr. Livingtson so clearly writes about. The examples in paintings are easily transferable
to a number of familiar and famous photographs.
Ever wonder what Ansel Adams and Edward Weston were so successful with the black-and-white photographs but not with their color photographs? I have, and her book has provided me with insights into this and other photographic practices.

A very good book with great pictures that demonstrate key vision concepts. Near the end of the book, however, I started to skim the chapters because it became too tedious to read - very technical book overall.

I bought a used copy and noticed "student underling" in the first chapter, but an abrupt end to underlining in the second chapter. You know what that means: "This course is not what I expected; I'm dropping out!"
The student and I feel the same way, but I got a lot further.

Buy it, but I found Robert L. Solso's book The Psychology of Art and the Evolution of the Conscious Brain to be a far more exciting read. That one is a five star easily.

Another more engaging book covers many of the same things as Livingstone's but in a more readable style: Visual Intelligence by Donald D. Hoffman.

So, if your interested in vision, etc. I'd start with Solso, then move to Hoffman, and lastly to Livingstone.

Margaret Livingstone has produced a book so very useful to visual artists that it may, in its density of ideas, seem definitive rather than evocative. But evocative it is. As we learn from studying it, Livingstone's book offers implications that may be developed by any artist who reads it in almost any direction. One might take as an example the very rich Chapter 8, with its notions of luminance as a balance for the salience, or pushiness of certain colors - how Leonardo handled it, how Ingres handled it, and how today's painter or digital image maker might go even further. The size and shape of the book allow for illustrations that work on the eye at the right scale. And there is an overall visual loudness to the book that is jarring and satisfying.

The author gets to the structure of our visual systems, makes them very clear, and tells us things that are lasting and verifiable. Her spirit of personal experimentation shows in the book, and makes us think that looking inquisitively at the world will pay off.

After reading it, you'll want to keep it close to you. That way, you'll never forget how important art and science are in your life.

This book is a must have for all wetland researchers, managers, scientists, and anyone with a general interest in wetland ecosystems. If I had to choose 1 wetland book, this is it. It is one of THE most popular textbooks for university wetland courses and workshops. I have been a wetland scientist for almost 15 years, and this is one of the books I use on a regular basis, and recommend to all my assistants and students. Wetland researchers will also want to keep in mind that with the release of the 4th edition, this 3rd edition is still a must have in your wetland library. The 4th edition removed all the wetland ecosystem specific chapters that are in this edition, so this edition is far from outdated. Don't choose one over the other! Buy them both :).

The Mitsch & Gosselink Wetlands 4th edition arrived promptly and in very good condition as was claimed it would by the seller.

This book is very helpful in understanding the various aspects and dynamics relating to wetlands. It includes management, legal, and various other topics of importance to wetland biologists, wildlife students or researchers working in wetland delineation or consultation.

Overall, this is a very good text on wetlands (for students and professionals both). However, I personally feel that a entire chapter could be devoted to wetland soils and wish that this book gave a better presentation of wetland soils. Furthermore, a great deal of research has been performed in Boreal wetlands and Boreal Prairie wetlands of Canada yet the Canadian literature is somewhat lacking in this text. Its still the best option out there for professors.

There is no better book for learning about wetlands that I have found. Many students find hydrology difficult, but this book lays this critical process out clearly, with excellent illustrations and diagrams.

This book helps the biotic oriented student understand the abiotic processes in clear and simple language.

I will never part with my copy, and reference it often!

Why Elephants Have Big Ears covers the basics of understanding life on earth, tackling the more obvious questions such as why elephants have evolved big ears and why there are so many birds. The answers to these and other questions take the form of explaining broad patterns of evolution in the animal world.

answers many evolutionary questions and brings up topics you probably hadn't even thought to ask about. incorporates a lot of paleontological evidence and focuses on the evolution of different groups of animals, as well as on specific species. repeatedly refers back to basic laws of physics to explain various adaptations.

readable in general, although sometimes the text is a little awkward and overly detailed and the footnotes could have been better integrated.

here's a complete rundown of the topics covered:
Ch.1: covers issues with the scaling of areas to volumes, how it affects an animal's leg shape, body size, head size, hair, etc.
Ch.2: the energy costs for cold vs. warm-blood, looks more closely at issues w/ body size
Ch.3: looks at theories about the evolution of warm-bloods
Ch.4: looks at theories about whether or not dinosaurs were cold or warm-blooded
Ch.5: adaptations for animals, including in the tundra and desert
Ch.6: why there are hardly any huge cold-bloods, except in unstable, infertile areas like Australia
Ch.7: why there are hardly any large mammals in freshwater regions, although they exist on land and in the ocean. looks at the success of crocodiles.
Ch.8: why there are many species of birds in general and why there aren't many species of large birds
Ch.9: the catastrophic events that happened when there was global warming and decrease of global biodiversity in a previous era

This book is an extended essay on the continuity of evolutionary trends. In it, Lavers examines the extremes of the animal world, the very large, the very small, animals that can withstand very hot climes or very cold ones, mammals that fly and birds that run. For each of these beasts, Lavers argues that their shape and special characteristics must have been the result of adaptation to their environment or ecological niche. He investigates not only why elephants have big ears (to cool down their enormous rotund bodies in hot climates), but also why we don't have elephant-sized lizards or birds (at least these days). Throughout the book, Lavers draws on results of research in paleontology. For example, he explains the two sides of the debate about whether dinosaurs were warm blooded, and what the implications would be for giant cold-blooded lizards. I, for one, never really cultivated an interest in dinosaurs before. But after reading this book, it's much more clear to me that the animals we see around us today are just one chapter in the overall life of the planet. The book is written in an informal style, without footnotes, but key sources are identified in endnotes at the back of the book, along with a bibliography containing hundreds of references.

Chris Lavers is a paleontologist who specializes in wildlife ecology. It is from this point of view that he presents some of the ideas and controversies of current evolutionary theory along with some of the excitement of recent discoveries and understandings in a popular and nontechnical manner. His readable text is aimed precisely at the educated nonspecialist, but without a hint of any dumbing down.

In the title chapter we learn that elephants pump the warm blood from the interior of their bodies to the array of tubes in their ears to dissipate excess body heat. From this consideration Lavers is led to a discussion of whether dinosaurs were warm blooded or not. The evidence he presents makes it clear to this observer that they were, but his cautious conclusion is that the case hasn't been proven quite yet. Lavers hints that the dinosaurs may have to be put in another category, perhaps somewhere between warm blooded and cold, or maybe even somewhere beyond. How about: "I'm hot-blooded, check it and see" (to reprise a rock lyric).

Lavers goes to considerable depth to demonstrate how much we can learn by combining evidence from the fossil record with what we know about the metabolism of animals and how their bodies work. Dinosaur anatomy, for example, strongly suggests a closer kinship with today's avian world than with the reptilian. Furthermore, the large size of many dinosaurs is inconsistent with cold-bloodedness. Reptiles can't get as big as a Brontosaurus because (for one thing) they would not be able to regulate their temperature. Lavers points out that all the really big animals on earth today, with the exception of the giant tortoises, Komodo dragons and some snakes--and they aren't really that big--are warm-blooded. He cites the arguments of Robert Bakker and others to conclude that T. Rex, for example, wouldn't have the metabolic power to run down prey if it were cold-blooded.

I found Lavers's discussion of the difference between non-oxygen-based metabolic reactions capable of "supercharged" bursts of short-lived energy typical of reptiles, and the sustainable aerobic reactions typical of mammals like dogs and humans very interesting. The quick bursts are those of the sprinter who is wasted after at most a few hundred yards, while the aerobic engine sustains the pace of the long distance runner. Also interesting is the material in the chapter "Life on the Edge" about how birds and mammals maintain their body temperatures in the climate extremes of the deserts and the polar regions of the earth. Lavers notes that in very cold places there are no reptiles.

In some of this I am reminded of the famous and splendid essay by J. B. S. Haldane, "On Being the Right Size," published many decades ago. Lavers presents the same kind of reasoned argument based on physiology and anatomy to demonstrate why animals are built the way they are and why it would be difficult for them to be constructed otherwise. One comes away from the reading with a sense of having learned something important and exciting, a sense of having acquired understanding, not merely a collection of facts.

Elephants can weigh up to 8 tons; their front teeth can be up to 3 meters in length and can weigh over 200 kg. And the African elephant has the largest earflaps of any animal in history. Lavers explains not only why their huge ears are the key to their curious shape but also to why rats are furry and why King Kong could never have climbed the Empire State Building. The elephant's ears, in case you are wondering, act as radiators, an important consideration if you are a lumbering giant baking under the tropical sun.
There is, Lavers's excellent book explains, method to every apparent anomaly in nature. Gazelles, for example, must be built not only to sprint but to dodge and weave as well. This is because cheetahs, which are renowned sprinters themselves, regard them as little more than mobile larders.
Dogs and wolves, on the other hand, are not great sprinters. Instead, they have great stamina and will wear down their prey by sheer perseversence and, well, doggedness. Lavers also explains such interesting things as why swans glide across the water, whereas vultures hop and ostriches cannot fly at all. He also shows how all of these different attributes go to give us the diversity of life on which we all ultimately depend.
This well written book book also explains why the furs of baby harp seals, mink, lynx, snowshoe hares and Arctic foxes are so much in demand but the pelt of a polar bear is not. Lavers also explains how the cubs of polar bears survive the harsh Arctic winter. Although polar cubs are tiny, blind and wet creatures, lacking in fur, fat and the ability to shiver, yet nature has provided the means for them to survive and become the world's biggest bear in some of the world's most inhospitable terrain. That is but one of Mother Nature's daily miracles that Lavers' book unlocks.
The Arizona based spadefoot toad provides another. It spends most of its life encased in cooling mud, emerging only when it rains to have unbridled sexual orgies, massive food binges, and to lay hosts of eggs. Once satiated and once it has ensured the regeneration of its species, it resubmerges itself in the desert's cooling mud.
The Saharan scimitar-horned oryx is a large antelope around two meters in length, which lives beneath the blazing Sahara sun. It never seeks shelter, it drinks very little water and yet it thrives by the judicious use of deep night time breathing, which generates sufficient moisture for it to live on. When the Indonesian based komodo dragon slashes its prey, its filthy fangs cause all kinds of infections, which eventually wear down the unfortunate deer or human it has ambushed. The dragon then saunters after its weakened prey and dines at its leisure.
Although hippos occasionally decapitate them by rolling them around in their mouths, crocodiles have been the undisputed king of the tropical world's freshwater systems for the last 65 million years. Because they are so perfectly adapted to their environment, the only enemy they must really fear is man, the great destroyer. Because we have introduced such ecological vandals as goats, rabbits, cats, rats and mice to fragile ecological systems like Australia and New Zealand, we have done more damage to the environment than anything else since the dinosaurs became extinct.
As well as being replete with fascinating examples such as these, Lavers' book is particularly recommended because its judicious combination of examples such as with an eminently readable style, shows how our own existence is ultimately entwined with the complex life styles of all of those other vreatures, both great and small.