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suebrownreads's review
5.0
Eiseley is an excellent writer. There are many great passages such as this one where he is walking along a frozen snowy river, he writes, "It is then, when the wind comes straitly across the barren marshes and the snow rises and beats in endless waves against the traveler, that I remember best, by some trick of the imagination, my summer voyage on the river. I remember my green extensions, my catfish nuzzlings and minnow wrigglings, my gelatinous materializations out of the mother ooze. And as I walk on through the white smother, it is the magic of water that leaves me a final sign. . .
The temperature has risen. the little stinging needles have given way to huge flakes floating in like white leaves blown from some great tree in open space."
My only complaint is that this book is dated. I would like to know how to easily find out about the last 60 years of the study of man's origins without reading a long difficult science book. Is there another Eiseley out there? Please.
The temperature has risen. the little stinging needles have given way to huge flakes floating in like white leaves blown from some great tree in open space."
My only complaint is that this book is dated. I would like to know how to easily find out about the last 60 years of the study of man's origins without reading a long difficult science book. Is there another Eiseley out there? Please.
sgtdracula's review
adventurous
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
3.0
trisweb's review
5.0
His writing is beautiful and captivating, and the entire book is worth reading for the insights into both science and life, through to the last chapter, which may be one of the most true and moving passages I've read all my life. That chapter deserves its title: "The Secret of Life."
rhaines46's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
3.5
Felt like something I could have liked a lot, but instead it was just okay. I think my interest in nature writing stops short of reading about different early hominid skulls. Still, there were some bits that struck the right note. The right note, for books like this, is: the world (or human life) (or non-human life) is bigger and funnier and stranger than you remember from day to day. It's absurd to think about yourself at all, you're not even a fraction of a percent of the real story of what's going on. Annie Dillard does it best, I have to say.
bobbo49's review
5.0
Written/revised in the late 1940s and 1950s, this is a philosophical anthropologist's reflections on evolution on the earth, where humans come from and where we might be going, all in the context of the natural world we share. The science is clearly laid out; how did I not know that the reason humans are born so helpless and dependent for so many years is that the cranium, and the brain within, must have time to grow: a larger cranium could not pass through the womb. Eiseley's later chapters are reflections on what we know and may never about the origins of life on earth, and on our endless connections with and to nature. Timeless writing and thinking.
gregorybasil's review against another edition
5.0
A collection of essays reflecting on life's journey through time and connecting with nature through understanding this journey, this has already become one of my favorite books ever. Although there are a few incredibly dull pieces in the middle, most of them were so profound, opening the door to some really great conversation and getting my brain juices flowing in ways that most science books don't.
I think Eiseley's position as a naturalist instead of strictly a scientist is what sets his writing apart, while he is explaining the great understandings we have of the development of life over billions of years, its done in a very elegant and personal way that makes me wish I could see the world through his eyes. Being written in the 1940's gives the book a unique perspective on the topics, so much of what is discussed was a lot newer to them and it was interesting to see how much more we know now and, in many cases, how little we've learned since then. And because Christianity and science were more closely conjoined, there's some really good discussion about how christian scientists interpreted these new findings about our planet.
Anywho, this book really moved me and if you're at all interested in evolution or just want to read some beautiful writing you should track a copy down and at the very least read the piece "The Flow of the River"
I think Eiseley's position as a naturalist instead of strictly a scientist is what sets his writing apart, while he is explaining the great understandings we have of the development of life over billions of years, its done in a very elegant and personal way that makes me wish I could see the world through his eyes. Being written in the 1940's gives the book a unique perspective on the topics, so much of what is discussed was a lot newer to them and it was interesting to see how much more we know now and, in many cases, how little we've learned since then. And because Christianity and science were more closely conjoined, there's some really good discussion about how christian scientists interpreted these new findings about our planet.
Anywho, this book really moved me and if you're at all interested in evolution or just want to read some beautiful writing you should track a copy down and at the very least read the piece "The Flow of the River"
ewo2's review
3.0
The essays in this book come in one of two varieties - reflections and meditations on humanity's relationship with nature, or the science of evolution as it pertains to a handful of particular human skulls. The former were really incredible. They were beautifully written, enlightening, and timeless because they are universal in theme. I can't imagine a period in humanity's future when we won't be interested in nature, and Eisley turned some very simple encounters with the outdoors into works of art in this book. However, the latter type of essays, which bogged down the middle of the book, were very dry. They may or may not be up-to-date scientifically, since the book was published over half a century ago, so it was hard to connect with those sections. Also, the way the book discusses gender and race heavily dates it - whether it they were the opinions of the time or the opinions of the author himself, it's hard to say, but it made the material hard to connect with. Interestingly, it was mostly in the middle third of the book, which was also the slower, dryer section that focused on human skulls, where that material was found. Skipping over everything from "The Real Secret of Piltdown" to " The Future of Man" would make this a 5 star book, because the chapters at the beginning and the end are really amazing stuff.
It's hard to pick a favorite passage, but here's a great one:
"Every spring in the wet meadows and ditches I hear a little shrilling chorus which sounds for all the world like an endlessly reiterated "We're here, we're here, we're here." And so they are, as frogs, of course. Confident little fellows. I suspect that to some greater ear than ours, man's optimistic pronouncements about his role and destiny may make a similar little ringing sound that travels a small way out into the night. It is only its nearness that is offensive. From the heights of a mountain, or a marsh at evening, it blends, not too badly, with all the other sleepy voices that, in croaks or chirrups, are saying the same thing."
It's hard to pick a favorite passage, but here's a great one:
"Every spring in the wet meadows and ditches I hear a little shrilling chorus which sounds for all the world like an endlessly reiterated "We're here, we're here, we're here." And so they are, as frogs, of course. Confident little fellows. I suspect that to some greater ear than ours, man's optimistic pronouncements about his role and destiny may make a similar little ringing sound that travels a small way out into the night. It is only its nearness that is offensive. From the heights of a mountain, or a marsh at evening, it blends, not too badly, with all the other sleepy voices that, in croaks or chirrups, are saying the same thing."