The authors of Mystery Dance: The Evolution of Human Sexuality
(1991) return to the fundamental biological questions, this time
taking on the slipperiest of all issues. Wisely, they avoid any
temptation to present a single, simplistic answer to the question
posed in the title. Instead, Margulis (Biology/Univ. of Mass.,
Amherst) and her collaborator/son end each chapter with an answer
from a different perspective: astronomical, physical,
bacteriological, evolutionary, and so forth. While the range they
cover is thus greatly extended, the reader will quickly begin to
note certain limitations. For example, the book's initial chapter
excludes viruses from the definition of life, on the ground that
they do not metabolize; but very few biologists would be
comfortable with such a clear-cut demarcation. At the other end of
the scale, the illustrations quite deliberately scant what most of
us would think of as "higher" organisms; the only vertebrates shown
in 80 full-color photographs are a pair of human skeletons and a
fish. Even granted that vertebrates comprise a small fraction of
all species, the decision still seems eccentric. Equally eccentric
is the pervasive niceness of the authors' viewpoint: Any
tough-minded biologist would laugh at the quaint exegesis of
Darwinian competition as the idea that organisms "knock up against
each other and work things out." Likewise, the text is skewed in
favor of such fashionable but still controversial notions as the
Gala theory. And while the book is full of interesting insights,
many of them will be obscured by a prose style that rarely finds a
middle ground between the muddiest kind of technical language and
self-consciously "poetic" overwriting. Visually very attractive,
this book will probably find a place on many coffee tables; but it
would be surprising if any but the most dedicated readers
persevered through the entire text. (Kirkus Reviews)
Half a century ago, before the discovery of DNA, the Austrian
physicist and philosopher Erwin Schrodinger inspired a generation
of scientists by rephrasing the fascinating philosophical question:
What is life? Using their expansive understanding of recent science
to wonderful effect, acclaimed authors Lynn Margulis and Dorion
Sagan revisit this timeless question in a fast-moving, wide-ranging
narrative that combines rigorous science with philosophy, history,
and poetry. The authors move deftly across a dazzling array of
topics--from the dynamics of the bacterial realm, to the connection
between sex and death, to theories of spirit and matter. They delve
into the origins of life, offering the startling suggestion that
life--not just human life--is free to act and has played an
unexpectedly large part in its own evolution. Transcending the
various formal concepts of life, this captivating book offers a
unique overview of life's history, essences, and future.
Supplementing the text are stunning illustrations that range from
the smallest known organism (Mycoplasma bacteria) to the largest
(the biosphere itself). Creatures both strange and familiar enhance
the pages of What Is Life? Their existence prompts readers to
reconsider preconceptions not only about life but also about their
own part in it.
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