Wallace Books

Reviewed for The Wilderness Record, publication of the California Wilderness Coalition.

Most California environmentalists are familiar with the works of David Rains Wallace, having read his award-winning The Klamath Knot, the superb natural history of the greater Siskiyou region, or The Turquoise Dragon, an enchanting eco-thriller that takes the reader from the Bay Area to the Trinity Alps and Kalmiopsis wilderness areas. If you enjoyed these or a dozen other of his books, you will appreciate The Monkey's Bridge.

Wallace's latest natural history treatise looks at the region that linked North and South America some three million years ago and the amazing mix of flora and fauna that surged back and forth across this land bridge. His knack for bringing an region to life makes it a delight to learn about hundreds of species, volcanoes, plate tectonics, and gomphotheres.

But Wallace tells more of the story than just the natural history. He begins with the adventurers who sailed from Europe and conquered some, but definitely not all of the native peoples of Central America. Next are those trying to find a shortcut from the Alantic to the Pacific, including the French attempt to build a canal at a cost of an estimated 22,000 lives. He then brings in the naturalists, from those with the first explorers to Charles Darwin and Alfred Russell Wallace.

Much of the story is embedded in geology. The fossil record in North and South America led evolutionists to recognize the importance of this land bridge, and the revolutionary theory of plate tectonics gave us the mechanism to explain how the bridge formed.

But what really brings this book alive is that Wallace has been there, from his first three-month journey in 1971, a return in 1987 for a "gaudy bird-watching trip," and repeat visits during the last decade. He climbs the volcanoes, claws through the dense rain forests, and snorkels the coral reefs. "Big marine toads plopped in and out, acorn woodpeckers called 'Kraaaa! Kraaa' in the pines, and a flock of parakeets flew shrieking overhead," he colorfully writes.

As you surely imagine, this is not a totally happy tale. Wallace discusses the "island ecology" theories of habitat fragmentation and loss of species. He mentions the recent extinction of the flightless, grebe-like poc and the golden toad and recounts the decline of the harpy eagle. But he also describes efforts to reverse this loss of habitat through programs like Paseo Pantera ("the path of the panther") that is a major element of The Wildlands Project's strategy to protect the biodiversity of the North American continent.

Wallace clearly is in awe of the complexity and diversity of the Central American rain forest. "Sometimes I think the human language, or simply human mentality, hasn't evolved yet to the point where tropical rain forest is comprehensible or describable," he writes.

But with The Monkey's Bridge, Wallace has made a great start.

I read this book 25+ years ago when I picked it up off of the new book shelf at the Seattle Public Library. It is the story of two boys at a private eastern school in the 60s. One is quiet from a middle class family, the other is daring and rebellious from a more advantaged family. His pranks are audacious, funny and ultimately negative. This was the only book of this author. He died swimming in Europe just after publication. I would recommend this book to any male between 14-25. Actually, anyone would enjoy it although Noni can become irritating!

I bought this book because I am a descendent of the Muhlenberg family... However, I never expected to enjoy it... This well written history is the first time I have been so close to the experience of the American Revolution since "Johnny Tremain". The struggles you just don't consider as a 21st century resident are strongly represented. Henry Melchoir Muhlenberg left his well-educated world in Germany to deal with an unstable and often unfriendly new world in Pennsylvania. He struggled to create the Lutheran church in America while raising his family and caring for a wife who suffered from seizures. His children went on to be extremely important men in history. Wonderful and important history which includes many notable figures (George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Benedict Arnold, Alexander Hamilton, etc.).

Well worth the purchase, this book is full of easy and adaptable ideas to push your congregations into more meaningful prayer and contemplation. Author is Anglican (Episcopal) so has a secure dogma as a baseline - nothing fruity here! The prayer ideas involve all of the senses: taste, smell, touch listening to introduce some exciting ideas. Can't wait to try some of these.

This book has absolutely beautiful. incredibly endearing illustrations by Anita Jeram (illustrator for the blockbuster bestseller about a daddy and child rabbit called "Guess How Much I Love You"). The hardcover edition's cover illustration truly doesn't represent the super-cute and detailed drawings inside-- if they replaced the cover with one of the inside illustrations I think this book would sell many, many more copies. (The paperback edition has an illustration which is a little bit more representative, but still not as cute as what's inside!)

The book gently teaches about chickens by following a sweet little boy as he notices his chickens' behavior and habits. The illustrations are not only super-cute, they illustrate all the funny things chickens do really well. :) It is clear that the author and illustrator understand and have great affection for their chickens.

I love the examples this book gives of chicken behavior-- scratching, creating dust baths, setting on eggs, finding food, hatching chicks, etc etc. If your family has hens, or your kids love visiting the petting zoo or a neighbor's hens, they will love this book.

Some families like teaching their kids that eggs don't come from a box, too. :) This book shares lots of fun facts about the endearing, funny, and fascinating creatures who provide us with eggs for breakfast, baking, and Easter time. :)

In short, this is my absolute favorite book about chickens. :) I have three pet hens that provide the family with fresh eggs (and lots of entertainment with their antics), and this book reflects their personalities and behavior really well. I'm going to try to find an extra copy for some of the neighbor kids who stop by to visit my three ladies every day.

A very readable autobiography of the co-founder of evolution which is better than a lot of fiction I have read. Of particular interest are Wallace's friendships with many promenent men such as Lyell, Darwin and Huxley. The accounts of his naturalist expeditions to Asia, Australia and South America have some adventure. His dedication to happily studying nature in all aspects is inspiration.
With all the positive in Wallce's character it is sobering to see his racisim and backwards ideas, which should serve as a guide to humility to all of us.

Worth picking up.

This book was just what I wanted. A R Wallace's account of his own long and interesting life.

If you are interested in being taken away from this world to another reality, you will absolutely LOVE this book. The way the author uses simple and complex words to describe his emotions and what he feels inside is amazing. He can make the hardest emotion crystal clear. I recommend this book to everyone young and old. Buying this book will not be a regret in your life. The contents this book beholds is something you only get a chance to read once in a lifetime.

Dr Olive Banks taught at the University of Liverpool in Britain and first published this book in hardback in 1968. Her book is of historical value to those wanting to trace the growth of the sociology of education in modern sociology. Here, in what no doubt became a standard textbook, is a general picture of the field during the 1960s with particular reference to research and trends. Although written primarily for the sociology student rather than the intending teacher (and presuming some basic familiarity with sociological concepts), this book is valuable to teachers wanting to trace the evolution of the sociology of education.

The first half of the book is concerned with education in the context of wider social systems. Banks wrote "The wider social structure in which the educational institutions are enmeshed must . . . be seen . . . as the expression of manifest or latent ideological conflict" (p12). She discusses current developments of that time period in such traditional topics as education and the economy, social stratification and social mobility, and family values and achievement, the socialization process, and educability.

In the second half the author comes to grips with the developing field in her day of the sociology of the school. Banks discusses the influence of the State in schooling, the teaching profession, the school as a formal organization, and the school as a social system. A final chapter considers the issue of education and social change, and reviews some of the recent innovations in the field of education and social policy. Althought British education and British society is the starting point of the analysis, comparative data with American research have been introduced throughout. She concludes by stating that "the educational system is itself a part of the society which is changing"(p217) and makes a call for further research.

Knowing the early history of the sociology of education helps teachers, educational anthropologists and sociologists to focus more clearly on contemporary research into current schooling practices and educational alternatives. This book works well alongside Dubay's "Philosophy of the State as Educator".

True or False - Swifts fly in their sleep?

There are more than 8,600 species of birds and new species are still being found. In total, about 100,000 million birds are flying, walking or swimming around the world. They can be seen in coal mines and on mountain tops, in jungles, cities and deserts, and over oceans and icecaps. Almost wherever you look you will see birds. This book is a lively introduction to many of the species and concentrates on the more curious and unexpected parts of their varied lives.

Birds range in size from smaller than moths to taller than people. Some are great travellers, literally flying around the world. Others cannot fly at all. This book looks at birds that dance, vegetaarian vultures, birds that fly backwards, bone-eaters, parrots that sleep upside down, a heron that fishes with bait, and a poorwill that sleeps through the winter.

This book reveals the fascination and beauty of birds and shows that there is still much to learn about the way they live.

ANSWER: True - Swifts do fly in their sleep. They rise high into the sky at dusk and sleep on the wing, flying down again at dawn.