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| In Search of Nature | 
| Author: Edward O. Wilson
Creator: Laura Southworth
Publisher: Island Press
Category: Book
List Price: $17.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 624033
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 224
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5 x 0.6
ISBN: 155963216X
Dewey Decimal Number: 113
EAN: 9781559632164
ASIN: 155963216X
Publication Date: September 1, 1997
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Review
Biologist Edward O. Wilson has been observing humans and nature in a career in biology that spans more than four decades. For the last 10 years or so, he has labored to alert us to the dangers we face due to the decline in the "diversity of life, which we are so recklessly diminishing through species extinction." The essays in In Search of Nature range widely. He gives us tales of nature's boundless variety with creatures like the reservoir ant and the cookie cutter shark and with a discussion of the importance of taxonomy. In the final essay, "Is Humanity Suicidal?" he returns to the topic that seems to be most on his mind: mankind's assault on the world of nature.
Product Description
"Perhaps more than any other scientist of our century, Edward O. Wilson has scrutinized animals in their natural settings, tweezing out the dynamics of their social organization, their relationship with their environments, and their behavior, not only for what it tells us about the animals themselves, but for what it can tell us about human nature and our own behavior. He has brought the fascinating and sometimes surprising results of these studies to general readers through a remarkable collection of books, including The Diversity of Life, The Ants, On Human Nature, and Sociobiology. The grace and precision with which he writes of seemingly complex topics has earned him two Pulitzer prizes, and the admiration of scientists and general readers around the world.In Search of Nature presents for the first time a collection of the seminal short writings of Edward O. Wilson, addressing in brief and eminently readable form the themes that have actively engaged this remarkable intellect throughout his career.""The central theme of the essays is that wild nature and human nature are closely interwoven. I argue that the only way to make complete sense of either is by examining both closely and together as products of evolution.... Human behavior is seen not just as the product of recorded history, ten thousand years recent, but of deep history, the combined genetic and cultural changes that created humanity over hundreds of thousands of years. We need this longer view, I believe, not only to understand our species, but more firmly to secure its future.The book is composed of three sections. ""Animal Nature, Human Nature"" ranges from serpents to sharks to sociality in ants. It asks how and whythe universal aversion to snakes might have evolved in humans and primates, marvels at the diversity of the world's 350 species of shark and how their adaptive success has affected our conception of the world, and admonishes us to ""be careful of little lives""-to see in the construction of insect social systems ""another grand experiment in evolution for our delectation.""The Patterns of Nature"" probes at the foundation of sociobiology, asking what is the underlying genetic basis of social behavior, and what that means for the future of the human species. Beginning with altruism and aggression, the two poles of behavior, these essays describe how science, like art, adds new information to the accumulated wisdom, establishing new patterns of explanation and inquiry. In ""The Bird of Paradise: The Hunter and the Poet,"" the analytic and synthetic impulses-exemplified in the sciences and the humanities-are called upon to give full definition to the human prospect.""Nature's Abundance"" celebrates biodiversity, explaining its fundamental importance to the continued existence of humanity. From ""The Little Things That Run the World""-invertebrate species that make life possible for everyone and everything else-to the emergent belief of many scientists in the human species' possible innate affinity for other living things, known as biophilia, Wilson sets forth clear and compelling reasons why humans should concern themselves with species loss. ""Is Humanity Suicidal?"" compares the environmentalist's view with that of the exemptionalist, who holds that since humankind is transcendent in intelligence and spirit, our species must have been released from the iron laws of ecology that bind allother species. Not without optimism, Wilson concludes that we are smart enough and have time enough to avoid an environmental catastrophe of civilization-threatening dimensions-if we are willing both to redirect our science and technology and to reconsider our self-image as a species.In Search of Nature is a lively and accessible introduction to the writings of one of the most brilliant scientists of the 20th century. Imaginatively illustrated by noted artist Laura Southworth, it is a book all readers will treasure."
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| Customer Reviews:
excellent in every way February 20, 2004
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Among all of E.O. Wilson's spectacular books, this one is one of my favorites - not just for the substantial content - but for one of the best cover-designed and illustrated books I have ever seen.Everything about this book is top notch and all who were involved should be applauded. This book is an enduring collection of ideas expressed with lucidity and wisdom. Bravo.
Excellent essays November 22, 2003
I was first introduced to E.O. Wilson when I went on a butterfly count a few years ago. As we were looking for butterflies and counting what we saw, the count leader (who is an incredibly smart naturalist) made a passing refernce to E.O. Wilson. That day I came home and got onto Amazon to find out more. This was the first book I came across and I'm so glad I did. It is filled with about 12 essays on different topics in nature. They're broken down into three groups:
Animal Nature, Human Nature (In the Company of Ants is one of these)
The Patterns of Nature (The Bird of Paradise: Hunter and Poet is one of these)
Nature's Abundance (The Little things that run the world is one of these)The writing style is easy to read, fun, interesting - I learned a lot reading the essays but also just found the reading fun. I love how Wilson pulls back the stories to ideas/concepts that are relevant to us so we can put things in perspective. Great book! Any nature lover would enjoy it
 Stimulative reading August 28, 2002
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This book is not as provocative as 'On human nature'. The writing is not as combative, although it has many of the same themes :
- human aggression (he does not agree with Konrad Lorenz - even aggression evolves rapidly - and Erich Fromm - humanity is not suicidal -)
- the fallacy of ethics (human nature is to a large extent the heritage of a Pleistocene hunter-gatherer existance)
- the place of mankind in Gaia (the totality of Life on Earth). He argues clearly that if human beings were to disappear, the world would go on little changed and would heal itself from the damage inflicted by mankind. The only necessary animals,for Gaia and also for the human species, are the invertebrates.
Perhaps the most controversial point of the book are his arguments in defence of racial differences in the human populations, based on genetic components. But as always with E. O. Wilson, his argumentation is based on solid research and clear thinking.
An EXCELLENT read..... June 21, 2002
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The author has a very easy to read style. It is very succinct and eloquent. If you love nature, you will love this book. The chapter "In the company of ants" is probably one of the best chapters [of any book] that I have ever read. I found the hierarchal structure of the leaf-cutter ants very intriguing. What marvellous little creatures! I'll never look at an ant the same way again. Here's a little snippet for you: "Watch where you step. Be careful of little lives. Feed them crumbs of coffeecake. They also like bits of tuna and whipped cream. Get a magnifying glass. Watch them closely. And you will be as close as any person may ever come to seeing social life as it might evolve on another planet." I also loved three other chapters entitled, "Humanity seen from a distance", "The little things that run the world" and the final chapter, "Is humanity suicidal?". Other interesting chapters are about snakes, or rather serpents, sharks, altruism & aggression, etc. The essence of the book is really as the title suggests, "in search of nature". Towards the end, a sincere and legitimate message is delivered by the author. It is a very moving assertion and everyone, yes everyone, should read it. Edwin O. Wilson is proof that Carl Sagan wasn't the only good author.
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Wildlife, nature and the Environment
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