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Title: The river that flows uphill: A journey from the Big Bang to the Big Brain by William H Calvin ISBN: 0-02-520920-5 Publisher: Macmillan Pub. Date: 1986 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $24.04

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Average Customer Rating: 4.5 (2 reviews)

Rating: 5
Summary: Stranger Than Fiction; The Chaotic Order In Evolution
Comment: Fascinating! An excellent overview of what is "known", according to available evidence, about how life - particularly humans - evolved, along with some extremely intriguing theories yet unproved (although the "aquatic ape" hypothesis was being taught when I studied anthropology 20 years ago! Indeed - dig Danakil!). All set like a metaphor within the context of a 2-week rafting trip through the Grand Canyon with insight into its evolution. On the other hand, the "metaphor" can also be put the other way around. Look at man's evolution in the context of that of the Grand Canyon. It's really food for thought. Might be a bit of a hard chew in certain spots for those without a certain level of knowledge or interest in natural science, but the level required is not THAT high and Calvin explains clearly and succinctly enough to follow if you take time to read any troublesome passages twice. Popular science writing at its best. It is humbling and awesome to contemplate our existence as he explains it. The marvel of man owes so much to a certain - serendipity - that one must believe in a creative force swirling and pushing towards ever more interesting development, even if one does not believe in a "God" per se (or if one does believe in Gods, to borrow from a popular film, "they must be crazy"). The "chaotic" (stoachistic) concepts he describes are particularly intriguing. The idea that many of the traits and abilities that make us so "superior" are actually "hitchhikers"; unexpected benefits of adaptations to challenges completely unrelated to what they eventually turned out good for. Made possible because evolution - the developmental force - is by nature an innovative, irrepresible and experimental one - one that is always pushing "upstream". Now THAT is a miracle! Also really enjoyed the quotes pulled from many, many sources (from the Bible to Descartes to Newton) published in the margins which illuminated and complimented the text in a marvelous manner, such as; "Man's future is even more obscure than his beginnings. To venture to sound either depth is to enter an unknown, perhaps unknowable, realm, but it is characteristic of man that he constantly attempts these journeys" (L. Eiseley). And the book is NOT just useful for reconstructing the past and how we have come to be - it's greatest value may well be in alerting and arming (alarming?) us for the future, for our breathtaking development has been much too far, too fast and made us way too arrogant and big for our own britches. We need to recognize and acknowledge ourselves for the absolutely amazing (please don't take offence at the word) mutants that we are and realize we have no special "control" over this world. We only think we do because we have become so extremely good, in an obscenely short period of time, at exploiting and manipulating it. Population control and environmentalism have EVERYTHING to do with the topic of this book. Nature is inexorable. We are not. And we are positioning ourselves to be flattened like a pancake - no, even worse, to flatten ourselves, if we don't watch out. Of all the astonishing accomplishments of man, the most amazing is the unprecedented ability and possibilities we have created (the first life form to do so in 3,000+ million years) of making ourselves extinct. And for all our "higher" intelligence, still keep looking dead-set on doing so. I started reading this book only because I am going to be doing the exact same rafting trip in September '99. I had hoped to get some insight into what to expect on the trip. And I did, but the "trip" is, indeed, metaphorical. Where does it start? What happens on the way? Where do (or could?) you end up? It was all in there alright, but I got a lot more than I expected. Thanks Bill.

Rating: 4
Summary: Great science writing with a dose of ideology thrown in
Comment: Calvin does science writing that is a pleasure to read. This account of floating the Grand Canyon on rubber rafts is all wrapped up in a wide sweep of natural history. My only criticism is his constant diversions to his own personal views on population control and environmentalism. He brings up these topics with all the fervor of a true religious believer, though they have little to do with the topic of the book. This is a strange diversion for a book which otherwise sticks close to a scientific outlook. Good scientists (like most of us) have a difficult time separating their own religious ideology from their science. Read it anyway. This book is a playground of stimulating ideas

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