The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2003

by Richard Dawkins and Edward O. Wilson

Book Overview

Since its inception in 1915, the Best American series has become the premier annual showcase for the country's finest short fiction and nonfiction. For each volume, a series editor reads pieces from hundred of periodicals, then selects between fifty and a hundred outstanding works. That selection is pared down to the twenty or so very best pieces by a guest editor who is widely recognized as a leading writer in his or her field. This unique system...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0618178929
• ISBN13: 9780618178926
• Release Date: October 2003
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 2.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Brief yet thorough...

Part of what makes this collection so interesting and of lasting value is the wide range of topics addressed. Each of the selections honestly and expertly examines the issues at hand, many of which most people would not even think about if left to themselves. The political and religious articles were of particular importance and relevence. A superb and absorbing collection from some of the finest minds writing today.

Mixed bag ? exactly as it should be

The best thing about a collection of essays like this is that you get to read articles by writers you've never heard of, on topics you never realized could be at least interesting and sometimes even compelling. The writing ranges from dry and technical to almost purely emotional. I can't think of a single dud, which is little surprise, given the editor.So, read it for elucidation or inspiration. You will come away with a few previously-unfamiliar names firmly lodged in your head for future reference, like Ian Frazier. The end of his (quite literally sensual) ode to icebergs is so beautiful it almost hurts. Here it is in full:"A lot of what is exciting about being alive can't be felt, because it's beyond the power of the senses. Just being on the planet, we are moving around the sun at 67,000 miles an hour; it would be great if somehow we could climb up to an impossible vantage point and actually feel that speed. "All this data we've got piling up is interesting, but short on thrills. Time, which we have only so much of, runs out on us, and as we get older we learn that anything and everything will go by. And since it all go by anyway, why doesn't it all go right now, in a flash, and get it over with? For mysterious reasons, it doesn't, and the pace at which it proceeds instead reveals itself in icebergs."In the passing of the seconds, in the one-thing-after-another, I take comfort in icebergs. They are time solidified and time erased again. They pass by and vanish, quickly or slowly, regular inhabitants of a world we just happened to end up on. The glow that comes from them is the glow of more truth than we can stand."

Light from Andromeda?

Opening an essay collection is rather like breaking the Christmas pinata - there's bound to be something to please everyone. If you hope to discover whether "royal" blood trickles in your veins, skip right to Steve Olson's account of tracing his ancestors and the surprises he reveals about all of us. For a more practical, if more disturbing, application of gene research, sit in the Sequenom waiting room with David Duncan while he ponders the results of a DNA test. He's not hoping for claimant-to-the-throne status. He wants to know whether some quirk in his genetic makeup might indicate heart problems. If you wish to enjoy the life extended age might grant you, you may wish to peruse one of several articles on the environment and the changes it's undergoing. Residents of coastal cities or islands may consider moving to higher ground after Ian Frazier's revelations about retreating glaciers and their watery residue. "Science and Nature Writing" allows many subject options. Dawkins has chosen well and in a timely fashion for this anthology. It would be redundant to assess the writing styles - all of these pieces are compelling, informative and presented in a highly readable style. The subjects may have a scientific or technical foundation, but the information offered isn't buried in arcane terminology. For some of the articles, the style is designed to catch your attention over the destination of your tax dollars. Is the response to the 11 September World Trade Centre attacks rational? Is money being diverted to programs that might find better use and offer better security elsewhere? Clark Chapman and Alan Harris address the first part of the question, while Steven Weinberg in one article and Charles Mann in another look at the second part.With twenty-nine essays to consider, it quickly becomes clear what treasures of information this book contains. Since it isn't indexed [which would likely double the size of both book and cost] browsing its pages is almost mandatory. Alternatively, of course, you may simply start with Natalie Angier's paean to grandmothers and read until Edward O. Wilson's examination of the "economic development for people" versus "protect the environment first" debate. No-one is better able to summarise the points and offer pointers to satisfy both. Between those two fine writers, you will meet astronomers, cosmologists, biblical analysis and enjoy the interesting experience of seeing Oliver Sacks from within and without. Outside those limits is a reminder that light from the Andromeda Galaxy we see tonight started its journey when hominid species were first walking upright. Is there a connection?No matter what your interests, politics, level of science education, or even eating habits, there will be rewards for you within these pages. This series has been beneficial and informative to anyone wishing to learn something new about the world around them. Wade in from the shallow end or plunge into the deeper ch

Fascinating and thought provoking

I am not a scientist, but my career is in healthcare. So, I really enjoy reading about science. I thought this book was very good for the average lay person. Some of the essays were a bit over my head, but I was still able to learn something new from each one. A good variety of topics from icebergs and amateur astonomy to 9/11 and The Atkins Diet.

Pondering icebergs, elephants, the stars, diets and coyotes.

The twenty-nine essays he has collected here demonstrate that, when it comes to science and natural science, Cambridge evolutionary biologist, Richard Dawkins, is not afraid to confront a good controversy. In his Introduction, Dawkins writes, "science is the systematic method in which we apprehend what is true about the real world in which we live. If you want consolation or an ethical guide to the good life, you can look elsewhere (and you may be disappointed). But if you want to know what is true about reality, science is the only way" (pp. xiv-xv). In his Introduction, he considers the fact that 45 percent of the U. S. population does not believe in evolution to be "something of a national education disgrace" (p. xvii).In addition to questioning whether we are alone in the universe, why our government is attempting to spend billions of dollars on a missile defense system that won't work, whether archeological discoveries support the Old Testament account of history in the Near East, and whether, from a statistical perspective, our response to September 11th has been out of proportion to the number of deaths involved, Dawkins' fascinating collection of essays also examines "wacky" planets and the "star people" who watch them, elephant seismic communication, advances in human DNA and embryo studies, icebergs, the world living beneath a single leaf, coyote persecution in Maine, the joys of of driving a Honda Civic hybrid, and "the big, fat lie" of the low-fat diet. This is a provocative collection of essays that will many prompt readers to rethink their perceptions of the wonders of universe.G. Merritt