Biology Books

If you are not a biologist or MD, and want to see where the application of genomics to medicine is going, try Brown's book. In clear language, he and other writers explain the key ideas and promises in this field. Like what can be done with massive genomic databases, by aiding the search for inherited diseases, and isolating these to certain places in the DNA.

One chapter looks at gene therapy. Currently, still mostly speculative. Much remains to be done to make it viable for many people. But this chapter is perhaps the most far reaching, if its potential can be fully realised. Related to this is another chapter about proteomics, which is another buzzword. We see that protein structures are another field, closely related, that also holds big promises for understanding and treatments.

"...this book was exactly what I was looking for: a high-level overview of genomic technologies and their application...Brown's book is highly recommended..." (Pharmaceutical Research, Vol. 20, No. 6, June 2003)

"readable account of the underpinnings of genomics and its medical applications...a clearly written book that makes a complex discipline understandable..." (New England Journal of Medicine, July 24, 2003)

"...a good purchase for...academic or medical libraries as well as large public ones." (E-Streams, Vol. 6, No. 5, May 2003)

"It will be quite useful to anyone from other fields who is interested in a taste of what emerging technologies in genomics, proteomics, and bioinformatics can bring to bear on questions of potential importance in biomedical research." --American Journal of Human Genetics

The godfather of extraterrestrial civilizations.
Explore new dimensions.
All the possibilities.
Science fiction?
It was.
In the past that is.
Read this book with a new understanding.
Never too late to revisit the master!

An infinite cosmic landscape of alien civilizations, advance technology from outer space, extraterrestrial dimension, brilliantly discussed and explored by the grandfather of science fiction. The author blended science, time-space, logics, metalogics and philosophy science to materialize the essential elements of a parallel truth. Sublime work. Do not hesitate a second to acquire a copy of this precious book.

This book was written about 20 years ago. Asimov's scientific rigour and marvelouly clear divulgative prose guides us to what we know of the possible existence of extraterrestrial civilizations. Had he written this book today, he would have been less optimistic, perhaps, but most of his reasoning wouldn't have changed. For an updated equivalent of this book,read
Stephen Webb's Fifty solutions to Fermi's Paradox.

Asimov's book provides a methodical step-by-step historical and scientific overview of past and current attempts to answer this question. It has a comforting and well-reasoned inevitability to it, and although the book was written back in the computational "bronze age" of 1979, it still holds up very well indeed.

It would have been wonderful if Issac has been around to see how the Hubble Space Telescope, more recent flybys of the various planets, and how high-speed computing and digital signal processing have greatly advanced the fields of astrophysics & astronomy, not to mention non-terran planetology ... alas, such was not to be.

It's very enjoyable reading. It's fun, and nostalgic at times, to see him write about the scientific principles that some of his earlier works of fiction depended upon ... like how many stars are visible to the naked eye, against the backdrop of a classic novel like "Nightfall". It's also wonderful to watch as Asimov arrives at various conclusions, and how well they've held up in the face of additional advances after his death, and at how other things are a bit off (his mass-driven guestimate of the number of stars in the milky way, and in other galaxies, are a bit off, due to the confirmation of the existence of black holes, both here and elsewhere).

Very enjoyable, and recommended. This is exactly the sort of book that more modern science popularists, like superstring theorist Brian Green, probably cut their teeth on ... they're continuing in the footsteps of others before them - like Issac Asimov.

I do have one nit however ... the title is a bit of a misnomer. A title like "Extra Terrestrial Civilizations" perhaps has some unintentional overtones - as if it were a book about alien civilizations that have been secretly discovered and are being analyzed. I could see people giving me odd stares when they saw the title of the book i was reading ... "oh, he's one of them" (i.e., alien conspiracy theorists). That is NOT what the book is about at all. This is a science book - not a consiracy theory book. A more accurate (but entirely too verbose) title might have been "Astronony, Astrophysics, Exobiology, Biochemistry, and Mathematics, both past and present, attempt to answer: Can/How should life exist elsewhere ?"

I found this book at a used bookstore, and having just finished Foundation, I thought I'd dive into a non-fiction book by Asimov. I have always admired Asimov's brilliant and lucid writing style, and his other non-fiction works are wonderful (particularly Understanding Physics, which is an outstanding treatment of the standard physics canon). In Extraterrestrial Civilizations, Asimov steps readers through a series of observations about the development of intelligent life here on Earth, and he extrapolates the data we have about ourselves into the question of whether or not intelligent life is probable somewhere in the rest of the Universe. I was concerned that a 25-year old book on the topic might feel antiquated--especially considering the advancement of astronomy in general and the data from the Hubble telescope in particular--but as with much of Asimov's work, his ideas are as fresh today as they were in 1979. To be sure, he does make some statements that aren't true today or that have been modified (i.e., he states that we have no direct evidence of planets around other stars, and he also says that neutrinos have zero mass), but he is also careful to comment frequently that "this could change at any moment, even tomorrow." His conclusions are quite interesting, and I was captivated by his "storytelling of the Universe" as well as by his commentary about why we know what we do. If you want a primer on "who might be out there," buy this book.

Amazing photography and stories from some of the wildest ecosystems in the world. This book really provides an unusual and illuminating window on a part of nature that few have an opportunity to see.

This astonishing compilation of a life's work left me amazed and grateful. The photographs--some of them already iconic--will fill you with awe, and the accompanying prose adds color and poignancy to this photographic journey. I cannot recommend this book highly enough!

This book is wonderful visually and has a real story to tell. Mr Curtsinger captures many creatures in their natural habitat - things I could never dream of seeing. This diversity makes it an appealing book for multiple ages and family members. My teenagers have even shared it with friends.It will make a lasting impression on anyone - more than just a pretty coffee-table book. Glad I bought it and I will be giving it as a gift this season.

I loved this book of photographs and suggest it ought to go on everybody's Christmas and Hannukah lists. Curtsinger was one of the pioneers of underwater photography (he's shot something like 35 National Geographic articles and six covers), specializing in the strange and marvelous polar regions. The cover alone is worth the price of the book. It's a shot of two penguins, not cuddly tuxedoed stuffy toys, which we've seen a lot of lately, but two rockets jetting down through the water amid a stream of bubbles. Amazing. Curtsinger is a wonderful writer, too, so after looking at the pictures, plan on spending plenty of time on the text.

This book is so much more than a book of pretty underwater photographs. Mr. Curtsinger shares with us his view of the world in places where other-worldly things live. Many of these photographs were the first of their kind; from the first pictures from beneath the Antarctic ice, to the first images of many elusive mammals like the leopard seal and the walrus, all in their secretive, hostile marine habitats. What is astonishing and powerful about these images, many now decades old, is that they are more than just documents from a wild unseen, uncelebrated world; they are artful and aesthetically moving images that capture attention in form and composition; they are timeless in their beauty and truth. Weaving the imagery together is a collection of essays which tell the stories of some of the Earth's toughest creatures, as well as Mr. Curtsinger's journey in photographing them. These are not encyclopedia entries, rather, they are deeply personal and honest accounts of one man's experience in the magnificant natural world. Filled with struggles and epiphanies, the book is the confluence of a human story and a celebration of nature, in words and fantastic imagery. More than something to sit on your coffee table or shelf, it is a book you will revisit again and again and share with others. My copy is already well worn.

This is a great book...fun for both kids and adults. I love how the pages have cut outs that clue you in to the next page. Fun!

Great simple illustrations with bold colors - neat thinking - leaves age-old question unanswered, which does come first - chicken or the egg?

I love the book. I bought it for my son last Christmas, but it's a little too conceptual for a three year old. Still, it's beautiful. I'll try this out with him in a year.

A lovely book for young people, with die cut pages that explain some of life's mysteries in an age appropriate way.

Which came first--the chicken or the egg? Finally, someone is here to tell us. But the answer later.

"First the egg," written and illustrated by Laura Vaccaro Seeger, is a Caldecott honor winner for 2008 and an honor book for the Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss) Award. What makes it special? Both the artwork and the story, or actually, in this case, concepts that lead from one transformation to the next. Two previous clever winners are Flotsam (Caldecott Medal Book) by David Wiesner and Black and White, an earlier Caldecott by David Macauley.

I took this book from a display in our bi-annual Book Fair. I read it in just one minute. Then reread it. And reread it. Every time I pick up this seemingly simple book, I see something else I missed. Even the covers are part of the story. This book is more than clever--it is brilliant, as in illuminating.

Listen, here is the story. Get comfortable and let me read it to you:

First the EGG
then the CHICKEN
First the TADPOLE
then the FROG
First the SEED
then the FLOWER
First the CATERPILLAR
then the BUTTERFLY
First the WORD
then the STORY
First the PAINT
then the PICTURE, First the CHICKEN
then the EGG!

Well? Exactly! Without the bold colors and almost in-your-face images in the background, the words are fine, but...? A Caldecott Award is given to the most distinguished picture book of the year. Please look at the cover image with this review. That gives an idea of the power of the colors and paint technique, which is impasto on canvas, providing two layers of texture. That is what this book has--texture: layers of texture in the art and the concepts.

Art? A creative, bold enterprise that can make the chicken or the egg first. Think it, do it. Create. That is exactly what Ms Seeger did. She created a bold, creative way to examine this age-old riddle.

"First the egg" is highly recommended, not only for children, who will adore it, but also for adults, who will be reminded of the grandeur of creation in all its many forms. Great children's books belong in the collection of adults as well as in children's.

For those who don't know the name, Rossmo is the detective / mathematician whose pioneering work on criminal profiling in Canada has helped re-shape the way investigators worldwide track down serial offenders. By mathematically studying the location and distribution of crimes, Rossmo developed a way of pinpointing the most likely location of the offender's home base. This book explains his work.

Written as a textbook, "Geographic Profiling" is clearly organized, packed with well-documented research, and is both theoretical enough to satisfy university researchers and practical enough to inform the rest of us. The book can at times be dense and a little tough to wade through, but it's worth it.

Even though you might gulp when you see the inexplicably high price tag on this book, if you're interested in understanding geographic profiling and the different ways that temporal and spatial crime distribution can assist in investigation, pick up a copy. You'll be glad you did.

This book is a real innovation in the field of crime research. The area of criminal profiling is populated by no shortage of Walter Mittys with no empirical grounding, so is it refreshing to find a text that cements the theories of this complex and fascinating area with empirical analysis of real cases. The text is well written and opens up a new area of criminal behaviour analysis to students and police officers alike. This book will undoubtedly become a key text in the field of criminal profiling and a welcome replacement to the long list of dull criminal psychology books that do not tell you anything useful, because the ivory tower authors have no practical experience.

This book is packed with information and offers a complete summary of pertinent research on serial arson, serial homicide, rape, and crime paths. It is the bible of geographic profiling. You won't find a more informative, well-researched, or complete book anywhere.

I use this book in my Geographic Profiling course and the students read it and keep it(they don't sell it after the final exam). The bibliography alone is worth the price of the book. Rossmo presents an excellent piece of cutting-edge research that is written to effectively communicate with a broad audience.

Dr. D. Kim Rossmo has done an excellent job of presenting the theories and practice of criminal profiling in general, and geographic profiling in specific. His book is thoroughly researched and based on empirical studies which demonstrate he is a true pioneer in criminology. It should be noted that geographic profiling can only be tested on solved cases, since it is essential to know where the criminal lives to prove of the validity of any geographic profiling methodology. Dr. Rossmo has proven that geographic profiling is a useful tool to support investigations of serial crimes. Well-written, comprehensive, and innovative--this work could be used as a textbook in any criminology class covering the field of criminal profiling.

This doctor and his investigations really open your eyes.
Not only to read it, but to keep it close and consult it.
Specially after 40,hormonal health is much more important that what we usually think.
A must read for women after 40 or reaching their 40's.
I think in my fabulous 60's I will be happy I got it being young enough as to take advantage of his great reccomendations.
Get your creams,your botox and your workout rutines, but along with them...get this book!

Sellers description of the product was true and accurate...arriving in excellent condition and sooner than expected. Will not hesitate to purchase from this seller in the future.

I have been studying Human Nutrition for over 14 years and have found no other who understands the intricacies and sheer importance of proper hormonal balance through good nutition. Proper hormonal balance is the single most important aspect to living a healthy mental and physical life. All represented with solid scientific research, Dr. Colgan explains in an easy to read format the simple Do's and Dont's for making your health the best it can be. So don't lose anymore time. Take charge of your health now and experience for yourself the unbelievable feeling from having a hormonally healthy body and mind.

Anyone can benefit greatly from this book Powerful knowledge is presented in great form.

finaly a book that is dealing with the hormonal diseases on every hormones (for woman, and for man as well), and tells you how to heal it in the nutrition-way,plus suplements.this book is also a book that explaining to you how hormones realy work, why, and what is the nutrition, and nutrients are involved in balancing them, and what is the conection among the complex hormones with the orthomolecular-nutrition therapy,-concerning natural hormone therapy(not replacement).as a therapist i must admit that only after i learned this book, my understanding on the complex hormones cooperation, and how to treat it the right way, became more accurate and more fast resoults with my patients. this book is also for a non proffetional as well as for the proffetional.

I enjoyed reading this book. I found "It's Alive" forced me out of my comfort zone from time-to-time. While many of the concepts are abstract, the authors tended to amplify the message making the ideas easier to swallow. Do I think this is where the organizational America is heading? No, but, it will influence the thinking of those who pick up the book and make them stretch a bit more intellectually than if they hadn't.

Compared with Davis & Meyer's excellent 1998 work 'Blur', the theme & concept of 'It's Alive' is much more abstract & provocative. 'The coming convergence of information, biology, & business' sounds like another 'management fad'; but as I enjoy 'Blur' very much, I gave the book a try & realized that my initial impression was wrong. Davis & Meyer managed to vividly elaborate their theme, with real-world examples & coherent arguments. I find their work to be highly pragmatic in guiding visionary leaders to shape their organization into an adaptable one.

Running a business these days feels like going on a blind date with the future. Most efforts to understand what lies ahead take on a rather breathless quality, lapsing into technobabble as they struggle to avoid the future's central truth: unknowability is its essence. Marshall McLuhan once observed that anticipating the future is like steering an automobile by looking into your rearview mirror. Yes, seeing where you've been does give you some idea of where you're going...but not much. That said, We strongly recommends this look into the crystal ball of technology. It's a clear improvement over most works of the future-shock genre. Soundly rooted in practical business applications, and presenting surprising examples and possibilities without resorting to mind-numbing jargon, this book will prove very useful to anyone savvy enough to realize that just improving your business is no longer enough.

Meyer and Davis say the way to succeed is to avoid planning (p.36), make lots of mistakes (p.149) and have as much sex as possible (p.81).

"Library is a growing organism, said a Guru of information age, Dr. S R Ranganathan in his five laws of library science in 1930s. If library manifests the information content, and infromation, in turn, then simply manifests ideas, practices and thought.

The subtitle of the book is (The Coming Convergence of Information, Biology, and Business), then, not making any news in 2003. It is an age old fact, and those who forget history will be forced to repeat it.

Old wine in a new bottle? May be? Or is it a good way to constantly remind that the wolf is coming....

The book has a real value in its main title, and that's the value of information--not just in convergence that has suddenly manifested in New terminology or newer catchy phrases.

This book is, nevertheless, handy and telling precisely that informational value is just obvious, DONOT ignore it, nor dismiss it as trivia. Information has here a vocal and visual representation in scientific and technological domains.

The prediction of the book is straight forward: "During the next ten years, molecular technology will follow the same pattern, moving from the lab and into the basic operation of the corporation itself... The rules of evolution help explain the process of change in biology, business, and the economy, thereby providing a management guide to the business world around thecorner."

At last a practical way to review and analyse the culture of an organisation and track its development.

What are organisations for? This book enables the reader to understand the root causes of current imbalances in the world economy/ecology and know what they can do (within their reach) to make a difference.

A synthesis of the works of Stephen Covey, Jim Collins and other great corporate alchemists.

"This book has been such a journey. I started out with two ideas. The first idea was that organizational transformation must look and feel a lot like personal transformation. The second idea was that the values held by successful companies must be similar to the values held by successful individuals. These two ideas led me on a journey of discovery that gladdened my heart...This book...provides a road map and tools for those who want to travel the same path" (from the Foreward).

In this context, Richard Barrett, in Chapter 11, shows a comprehensive framework for building a visionary organization. Here, he defines a visionary organization as a long-living, successful organization that cares about its employees, its customers, the local community, the environment, and a society at large. According to him, visionary organizations take social responsibility very seriously, and they display six important characteristics:

1. They have strong, positive, values-driven cultures.

2. They make a lasting commitment to learning and self-renewal.

3. They are continually adapting themselves based on feedback from internal and external environments.

4. They make strategic alliances with internal and external partners, customers, and suppliers.

5. They are willing to take risk and experiment.

6. They have a balanced values-based approach to measuring performance that includes such factors as corporate survival (financial results), corporate fitness (efficiency, productivity, and quality), collaboration with suppliers and customers, continuous learning and self-development (corporate evolution), organizational cohesion and employee fulfillment (corporate culture), and corporate contribution to the local community and society.

Hence, he develops a three-phase process for building a visionary organization: (1) preparation, (2) implementation, and (3) maintaining an evolutionary culture.

Finally, during the process of building a visionary organization, he writes that "the critical factors in successful transformations are (a) the management team's commitment to modeling the new values and behaviors; (b) integrating the new values into the structural incentives of the human resource processes of the organization; (c) building psychological ownership by involving employees in defining the missiom, vision, and values and the Balanced Needs Scorecard objectives and targets; (d) helping employees to think like owners; and (e) assigning responsibilities and developing structural mechanisms to support innovation, learning, and cultural renewal."

Highly recommended.

In his visionary and hopeful book, Global Mind Change, The Promise of the 21st Century (1990), futurist Willis Harman observed that we are in the midst of the greatest social shift since the Middle Ages, a change in the actual belief structure of Western society. As the dominant institution in society, Willis felt business had an obligation and the potential to lead this shift. In Creative Work: The Constructive Role of Business in a Transforming Society (1990), he provided some benchmarks of new paradigm business and examples of a handful of leading companies.

Richard Barrett is clearly an inspired central figure in empowering the business world to take its place as an evolutionary and transformational force. Through his consulting practice, speaking engagements and now his powerful new book, Liberating the Corporate Soul, Richard presents the business world a gift of immense proportions providing a clear understanding of how to liberate the untapped creative brilliance, deep compassion and universal love that has been trapped within the prisons of old paradigm business models.

He challenges business leaders to "create strategic goals that call for quantum increases in performance that promote transformational thinking." "These improvements are achieved", he says, "only by taking a systems approach-a shift in basic assumptions that create a new way of being and doing - evolution". "Not doing things differently, but doing different things." Not shifting things around a table but creating a new table. "When individuals are asked to participate in transformational thinking they tap into their intuition and creativity. This type of thinking can only be maintained in corporate cultures that are built around trust, employee involvement and openness."

He cites the research of Collins and Porras whose book, Built to Last, proves that "contrary to business school doctrine, maximizing shareholder wealth and profits are not the dominant driving forces in most long lasting successful companies. Throughout the history of most visionary companies a core ideology existed that transcended purely economic considerations."

Quoting mystic poet Kahil Gibran, who said "work is love made visible", he goes on to say that "the challenge for companies in the twenty-first century is to create a work environment that encourages personal fulfillment-taking care of employees' physical, emotional, mental and spiritual needs....to live out their passions and provide them with opportunities for service". According to a 1995 Newsweek article, 58% of Americans feel the need to experience spiritual growth. "What better place", Richard asks, "than through your work?

Building on the work of humanistic psychologist Abraham Maslow, he finds that "most companies are stuck in the lower levels of consciousness he has identified as survival, relationship or self-esteem consciousness."

Barrett has developed the Balanced Need Scorecard and other powerful laser-like measuring tools to help organizations determine if the values they espouse are being embraced and lived. In the end, he believes "companies either operate from the fears of the ego or the love of the soul". Richard defines evolutionary leaders as "people who hold a vision and courageously pursue that vision in such a way that it resonates with the souls of people".

As the editor of an online publication that explores new paradigms in business and other disciplines, I would not risk entering the 21st century without reading, digesting and implementing the ideas contained in Liberating the Corporate Soul. Those companies that do will have a strategic advantage over those that don't. More importantly, it is unlikely that corporations will survive without creating transformational cultures that nurture and liberate.

New Book Provides Road Map and Tools For Building Visionary, Values-Based Businesses

(Washington, D.C. - December 1, 1998) You don't have to look far these days to witness the growing trend in business to nurture the corporate "soul." Once muttered in hushed tones of self-conscious reserve, soft-sounding words like "values" and "meaning" and "spirituality" are becoming as bold and common in the corporate lexicon as hard-nosed phrases like "bottom-line" and "return on investment." Until recently, though, the two vocabularies have struggled to come together in any cohesive, systematic process for guiding the strategies and actions of corporate America.

In a new book entitled Liberating the Corporate Soul (Butterworth-Heinemann publishers), author and business consultant, Richard Barrett, bridges that gap with an approach to organizational planning that will warm the hearts of human resources, corporate affairs and financial people alike.

The book begins with a review of Barrett's central thesis that "who you are and what you stand for are becoming just as important as what you sell." Next, Barrett describes his Corporate Transformation ToolsSM which is a set of measurement instruments for "auditing" individual and organizational values. Finally, the book provides a framework for using those tools to build a visionary, values-based organization.

Barrett's model is based partly on the landmark work of Abraham Maslow who defined the human "hierarchy of needs" on four main levels - security, relationship, self-esteem, and self-actualization. "Maslow himself concluded, however, that self-actualized individuals were actually motivated by higher states of consciousness, including spiritual needs," says Barrett. "But he never fully delineated what those states were."

Liberating the Corporate Soul expands on Maslow's work with a detailed explanation of Barrett's Seven Levels of Organizational Consciousness (survival, relationship, self-esteem, transformation, organization, community, and society) and Seven Levels of Leadership Consciousness (authoritarian, paternalist, manager, facilitator, collaborator, partner/servant, wisdom/visionary). According to Barrett, one level isn't necessarily superior to another. "All are relevant. It's really more a question of balance," he says. "However, it is at the higher levels of consciousness that organizations are meeting spiritual needs that focus more on the common good than individual self-interest."

The book's message and methodology are receiving acclaim from noted business leaders and authors throughout the world. Martin Rutte, co-author of the popular Chicken Soup for the Soul at Work calls Barrett's book "the bold, practical blueprint we need for moving business to the next evolutionary level. Sweeping, brilliant, a sense of the grandeur of the new paradigm of business." Marcello Palazzi, Co-Founder and Chair of the Progessio Foundation in The Netherlands says that "Liberating the Corporate Soul achieves the impossible: it integrates the intangibles of ethics, vision, and consciousness into a tangible measurement system."

Barrett began his search for a mechanism that would align an organization's actions and decisions with individual and social values when he was employed at the World Bank. In the early 1990s, he set out on a personal mission to move values to the top of the bank's business agenda. Through a series of determined steps - including the formation of the "Spiritual Unfoldment Society" at the bank - he managed to fulfill his mission and simultaneously formulate his values-based organizational development system.

Today, Barrett is head of his own consulting firm, Richard Barrett and Associates, LLC, and he is using his values-based system in working with organizations throughout the world. He is quick to point out that all of the organizations with which he works have values. The question is whether those values resonate internally with employees searching for deeper meaning in their work lives, as well as externally with a society increasingly favoring businesses that exhibit advanced levels of social consciousness.

The book cites revealing data from several research studies to support Barrett's claim of shifting trends in employee and social attitudes. The Cone/Roper Marketing Trends Report shows that 76% of consumers in 1997 said they would switch to brands associated with a good cause if price and quality were equal. That figure is up from 66% in 1993. On the employee front, a study conducted by Students for Responsible Business with 2,100 students at 50 graduate business programs found that 50% said they would accept a lower salary to work for a "very socially responsible" company. Perhaps more revealing, 43% claimed they would not work for a company that was not socially responsible.

Data like that is not being lost on some of the country's leading business figures. In his book, Barrett quotes Levi Strauss CEO, Robert Haas, as stating "In the next century, a company will stand or fall on its values."

None of the enthusiasm for this growing trend is much of a surprise to Barrett. "People naturally feel better about themselves and their companies when they see a clear sense of values, vision and compassion driving management decisions and actions," he says. And there's good news in that for the people watching the bottom line, because those positive feelings will translate into greater loyalty, stronger performance, and higher profits. It's a win-win outcome all the way around."

Liberating the Corporate Soul is now on sale at major bookstores across the country.

Live Ten Healthy Years Longer examines the principles behind healthy lifestyle habits proven to work. They bolster energy, help fight disease, and decrease the effects of aging. When applied long-term, they can even help you live longer. I like this book because it contains no pop-pysche diet-hype. It is a reality-based guide to healthy living. I trust what it says because its suggestions are based on well documented studies. I think so highly of it, I am sending a copy to my mother. I WANT to keep her around!

This book gives a fresh, and refreshing, perspective on a very tired subject. How many weight-loss books have we been subjected to recently? Not to mention the many books on how to live longer, healthier, sexier--you name it. In one day recently I saw a new book that said the secret to healthy weight is no carbohydrates after 5 pm, and another new book that said just the opposite. Readers are left to wonder who is right. This book provides a balanced view of how to sort throught all the health claims, and make very simple adjustments to the way you live that can make a significant difference in your health. And, these suggestions are all backed up by scientifically valid studies by reputable sources--not just someone else selling something. The book is very readible, and a must read for anyone who considers the spiritual side of their life as important as what they eat and how much they exercise. Every church should consider teaching a course based on this book as a part of their educational outreach to their members and the community.

I found Live 10 Healthy Years Longer to be a helpful guide to attacking the mountain of improving my health. My personal struggles include diabetes, obesity and aging. This book lists and discusses specific causes and solutions to many diseases, conditions and circumstances that lower our quality of life. From stress management and exercise to how to use food and drink to maximum benefit, this book covers all the bases.

Although I have studied nutrition and use of vitamin and herbal supplements extensively, I have not come across any other book that is both comprehensive and easy to understand and follow. Each chapter highlights key elements and charts for quick reference and also contains practical suggestions for implementing the material.

One of the things I enjoy most about the book is that it is not just a health manual. The authors speak in a warm and personal tone, revealing their own experiences with the principles they teach. They are both vegetarian and I don't plan to be. But they outline specific benefits to the various elements of their lifestyle so the reader can intelligently decide what parts they want to incorporate.

I would like to see a chart at the end of the book to summarize the numerous recommendations. Still, this is a book I will be reading and studying continuously as I stretch toward the goal of not just living longer, but living better.

In this healthy approach to a healthy life, Kuzma and Murphey present facts as facts, trends as trends, and speculation as speculation, a simply stated smorgasbord of ideas, insights and information, without force feeding their personal beliefs on the reader. First on the menu is the appetizer, "How Long Would You Like to Live?" The book proceeds with well documented and verifiable entrees related to physical and mental health, then concludes with dessert, which includes scripture and Sabbath to feed the soul. This would make a great gift book for any adult and a stimulating study for adult reading groups, both church related and secular.

One of the most difficult dilemmas for a health-care provider is to convince patients that they need to make and sustain major changes in theif lifestyles to make maintain good health and delay or prevent major illnesses. This dilemma has been greatly facilitated by a new book titled LIVE 10 HEALTHY YEARS LONGER.The book reports results of a 40-year Adventist Health Study with over 27,000 participants who made simple adjustments in their lifestyle to help them live 10 or more years longer as compared to a controlled group. The book points to the adage that it is easier to prevent or delay illness than to treat it. The recommendations are simple, easy to apply, inexpensive, and apply generally to persons of any decade. I have recommended this book to my patients and have seen dramatic results in those persons sincerely desiring to take control of their lives in regard to good nutrition, exercise, stress management, etc. I recommend the book highly as a guidebook and reference book for any person or family wishing to take charge of their health. Health-care providers and lay persons in general will find this book an extremely useful resource for achieving and maintaining optimal health and a quality lifestyle.

This personal biography is really a biography of biology in the 20th century. any one interested in how scientific and cultural/political ideas interact, and in how scientists have attempted to understand large issues like human culture and history with the help of small evidences, like genes and molecules, will have a ball reading this lovely, well written book.

I thoroughly enjoyed this engaging and fascinating tale of one of the most controversial and thought provoking scientists of the twentieth century. I recommend it highly to anyone interested in science, biography, and history.

I am not a scientist, but very much enjoy biographies. I read this book on a friend's recommendation, and literally could not stop turning the pages. Darlington, the man and the scientist, is truly brought to life on these pages.

I found the story behind Harman's `unlikely scientific hero' consistently engaging. The author does a superb job of seamlessly weaving together the many colorful strands of the social and scientific fabric that served as backdrop to Darlington's life. With Harman as a guide, the reader gains a unique first-hand appreciation for Darlington's days, reliving them as heady times for genetics in particular and for society as a whole.

A must-read for all those in the know. Amongst the best biographies I have come across.

Harman has produced one of the deepest books about biology and evolution I have encountered in over 30 years of more-than- amateur interest in the field. He has been able to pinpoint the true paradoxes of life: foresight versus randomness, the individual versus the group, the past as against the future. And he has done so with a wonderful pen: understated, deeply intelligent, deeply modest. I believe that while lesser intellects may not comprend its true value, really smart people will recognize it as nothing short of a brilliant book.

This biography of Cyril Darlington is of a renowned scientist who enjoyed a long career, first as a microscopist exploring the workings of the chromosome, then as a leader in the fight against Lamarckism, Lysenkoism, Marxism, and suppositions on the equality of men. His early career was built primarily on a book, "Recent Advances in Cytology" which brought together a coherent picture of the chromosomes and their role in evolution. Perhaps a key insight, new with him, was that though the chromosomes contained the hereditary information, they could be understood better by seeing how evolution affected them as well.

Darlington was a confirmed materialist, hard headed scientist, but was positively attracted by controversy, and a rather intolerant, arrogant character to boot. He had many enemies, but was a forceful and prominent public voice, who relished his role. This combination makes for a lively biography, and deserves serious consideration by anyone interested in the history of the development of the "modern synthesis" of evolutionary thought. He was a driving force for much of it.

Darlington was during the 1940's to the 1980's a sort of early version of Richard Dawkins, and was opposed for many years by JBS Haldane, who was a sort of early version of Stephen Jay Gould. Many of the controversies, being rooted in deep-seated views of human nature, have hardly changed. There is the Marxist version of a faith in the malleability of man by wishful thinking, opposed by hard lessons drawn from science, evolutionary theory and the observation that man is a creature acting in accordance with hereditary behaviors which have developed differently in different races. Not for Darlington the notion that race is a "social construct" or that IQ is a "reified" useless hypotheis, the same for all races. He was a sociobiologist well before the term was invented.

The first part of the book that deals with Darlingtons cytogenetics is not the easiest read, dealing as it does with a pretty arcane subject in perhaps a little too much detail, even for the informed reader. The old controversies about such things as parsynapsis vs telosynapsis, are enfolded in a vocabulary that will be intimidating to many readers. I wish, though, that he had covered in a little more detail the methods of cytogenetics, the stains used, the sample preparation methods, and so on. Just how hard was it to prepare an informative experiment? A little more about the influence of Darlington's cytological insights on the conventional modern practice of the art would have been welcome too.

No matter--skip on to the major part of the book where Harman covers the course of the debate over the nature of man and the insights brought by an evolutionary perspective. The meat of the book is here.

In his later years, as for all scientists who live a long time, the main developments in his science began to become too much for him--molecular biology, psychometrics, and a bevy of new techniques were to add much that he could appreciate, but could contribute very little. Exploring the big picture, speculating, theorizing and publicizing became his game, and we are better off for it.

Harman has done a splendid job in this biography--he writes clearly, and has a very good understanding of his subject. It is based on exhaustive research and interviews and will be the definitive work for a long time. The many pictures bring the story to life, and make for a lively read. I enjoyed the book a lot and even re-read much of it for a second time!