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Title: Symbiotic Planet : A New Look at Evolution (Science Masters Series) by Lynn Margulis ISBN: 0-465-07272-0 Publisher: Basic Books Pub. Date: March, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.07 (14 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Radical theories on the evolution of life on earth
Comment: I um'd and ah'd about how many stars to give this book. If I was just assessing the importance of Lynn Margulis's scientific work it would definitely receive five stars. Margulis is an underrated genius. Her work on symbiosis and evolution is extremely important. It reminds us that evolution is far more complex than a simple choice between neo-Darwinism and Lamarckism. Her connecting of her ideas to the Gaia hypothesis of James Lovelock is inspired. Unfortunately, this book shows why she might be getting less exposure than she deserves - it is not terribly well written. In fact, it reads as though it was produced in a hurry with almost no editing. Further, there are diagrams in the book which have no stated connection to the text (OK, you can work it out for yourself, but it still comes across as shoddy). Having said that, the style perhaps gives an insight into the person - clearly Margulis is a battler for her ideas. Its good to have something to read by her that is less weighty than her other seminal but hefty works. Sometimes here she can be very funny. I particularly liked her comments on James Lovelock's dislike of the patenting process. So in all, four stars - a very good book that with a little tightening up could be great.
Rating: 5
Summary: An superb book for all readers interested in life's origins.
Comment: Lynn Margulis takes a decidedly personal approach in explaining her view on how the two theories she has been most devoted to in her career, serial endosymbiotic theory (SET) and GAIA, the interrelation of all things, are linked.
Beginning with the smallest organisms, bacteria, all the way to the largest, the planet Earth, Margulis charts the way from the beginnings of life to current day thinking in symbiotic biology. Symbiosis, which is the biological term for the intimate and mutually rewarding pairing of two kinds of organisms, is critical to evolution. A reknowned expert in both SET and Gaia theories, Lynn Margulis writes with authority and persuasion on the subjects she knows best. Interspersed in her account is the evolution of her own professional life which allows the reader a glimpse into her mind. Called "one of the most successful synthetic thinkers in modern biology", (E.O. Wilson) Margulis invites the reader to think about the world and our place in it in a totally new way.
Rating: 5
Summary: It fits---it is as simple as that.
Comment: "Symbiotic Planet" may sound to the average reader like just another attempt to "classify" life on our little Earth. This would be an error. This book, as is typical of Dr. Margulis' writing is precise, complete, and allows the reader to easily follow along this amazing journey through time and life itself. I have read, as well as reviewed a number of Dr. Margulis' books through the years, and stand in awe at how she can "break down" what to myself seems an incredibly complicated idea, into plain common examples. Her writing captivates the mind of the reader, to the point that it seems impossible to put down. I am a very slow reader-yet I finished the book (the first time) in a single day. One cannot stop reading it is just that fascinating! There is little I can say that would be nearly adequate to properly describe this book. The reader will decide for themselves that is really is a great read and a great book to keep as reference. It really is as simple as that.
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Title: Microcosmos: Four Billion Years of Evolution from Our Microbial Ancestors by Lynn Margulis, Dorion Sagan, Lewis Thomas ISBN: 0520210646 Publisher: University of California Press Pub. Date: May, 1997 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Acquiring Genomes: A Theory of the Origins of Species by Lynn Margulis, Dorion Sagan, Ernst Mayr ISBN: 0465043917 Publisher: Basic Books Pub. Date: 18 June, 2002 List Price(USD): $28.00 |
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Title: What Is Life? by Lynn Margulis, Dorion Sagan, Niles Eldredge ISBN: 0520220218 Publisher: University of California Press Pub. Date: 07 August, 2000 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: The Ages of Gaia: A Biography of Our Living Earth (Commonwealth Fund Book Program (Series).) by J. E. Lovelock ISBN: 0393312399 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: May, 1995 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth by James Lovelock ISBN: 0192862189 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: September, 2000 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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