Sunday, September 24, 2006
Comment on In the Beat of a Heart
Hello. You've come here either through my regular blog page, or by following the 'comment' link at www.inthebeatofaheart.com. If you'd like to post a comment or observation on the book, bring my attention to some relevant research, or correct a mistake, I'd love to hear from you.
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8 comments:
Hi! I'm about half-way through, and absolutely loving the book so far! The only thing that caught my eye as strange is on page 68-9: the time that Tusko was injected with LSD is given as 8 AM and the time of death as 10:40 AM, a period you say is "one hour and forty minutes." I think it's two hours and forty minutes. Anyway, it's a very small detail. The stuff about West, Brown and Enquist is fascinating!
@ lynn
Good spotting of that error! John already picked that up, and its the first (and so far only) entry on the corrections page of the books website. If you or any other readers spot any more, post them here!
There's some great photos, links and extras on the site too, so do take a look. (I know this because I helped John put the site together!).
Hi John,
congratulations with your magnificent and impressive book 'In the beat of a heart', which I just finished reading. This is what I wrote on my site:
I recommend this book to every evolutionary biologist as well as non-biologist seeking a deep and broad understanding of universal regularities of life independent of evolutionary accident and history. Far from criticising evolutionary theory, Whitfield's theorizing takes over where evolutionary theory reaches its boundaries of explanatory domain. Whitfield is not only a skilful populariser of science, but has also a thorough command of this extraordinary fascinating subject. I hope to write an extended review of this important book soon on my site Was Darwin Wrong?.
joan said...
Do you have a direct email address I can send extended comments on your book to? Your forest ecology is provacative and satisfying. Your writing is first rate and a joy. But your energy physiology a la West and fractals is pure fantasy. The book is just what I needed, an up to the minute statement on math obscuring the blood and guts reality of oxygen transport inside mammals. It was my lifetime research subject, and what I taught at Harvard and MIT. jkanwisher@gmail.com
Having just had the pleasure of attending John's talk in Edinburgh, and obtaining the book, I'm surprised at no mention in either of David Campbell's excellent commentary on life in Antarctica, The Crystal Desert. This contrasts polar ecosystems with equatorial ones, in relation to animal sizes and metabolism; and also gives extensive coverage of the industrial slaughter of whales, seals and krill - the effects of such depredations being within the scope of In the Beat of a Heart.
The Crystal Desert is a popular book but written by a scientist and contains a wealth of potentially useful material.
Arthur Mather
Thanks for that - I hadn't come across the Crystal Desert; I shall have a look at it.
Thanks for the suggestion. Will check it out.
I've just read ITBOAH, Nov. 08, and enjoyed it greatly, and came to the website for more info. I noticed a 'corrections' link and was sure I'd find mention of plant respiration. I didn't and so mention something I noticed. I think on at least two occasions you speak of plant respiration in identical terms with animal respiration, i.e. consuming oxygen and expelling CO2. I'm sure you know it's reversed, but should there be more editions you might want to clarify this point. The book was greatly informative for me, especially my interest in Life as self-directed energy flow.
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