Remarkable Creatures: Epic Adventures in the Search for the Origins of Species

Reviews

1. 

   Gio – September 14, 2024

   If You Know a Brainy Teenager …
   … with a robust constitution and a strong streak of curiosity about the natural world – not a gamer or a couch potato – then you couldn’t give her or him a better book to read than Sean B Carroll’s “Remarkable Creatures.” And if you still have inner traces of your own brainy teenagerhood in your seventh decade of life, you’ll find plenty to relish as well. The creatures in the title are not dangerous beasts of the jungle or the sea; they’re Homo sapiens who have earned their species name (sapiens=knowing) through lifetimes of physical and intellectual adventure. In other words, this is a book in praise of the author’s heroes — Alexander Humboldt, Charles Darwin, Alfred Wallace, Henry Bates, Eugene Dubois, Charles Walcott, Roy Chapman, Luis and Walter Alvarez, John Ostrom, Neil Shubin, Luis and Mary Leakey, Linus Pauling, Svante Pääbo — all of whom contributed significantly to our knowledge of the evolution of life, and all of whom were “field” adventurers, intrepid in life style. Some of their stories have been told many times – Darwin of course, and Wallace – but some will need to be introduced to most readers. Because this is a book about the spirit that sends people in search of knowledge in outlandish and dangerous places, Carroll focuses on the early development of his heroes – their motivations, their first accomplishments, their adventures outdoors.This is NOT a book defending or explaining the modern Darwinian theory of evolution. It’s a chain of capsule biographies linking 200 years of discovery. Each of Carroll’s scientific adventurers linked his/her discovery to those previous. You don’t need to have a thorough understanding of evolutionary theory, of paleontology or genetics, to appreciate these narratives of derring-do. If you’re looking for an explication of our still incomplete knowledge of the evolutionary history of Life, Sean B Carroll’s earlier book “Endless Forms Most Beautiful” would be a more appropriate choice. Here the author simply assumes that the reader is rational and sane enough to accept that evolution is an obvious fact and that current understandings of the ‘mechanisms’ of evolution are at least on the right track. That may be too bold an assumption, of course, for readers in a country where more than half of the population professes not to “believe” in evolution at all.Sean Carroll is not Stephen Jay Gould, though their subjects overlap. He’s not as witty or allusive as Gould, which means also that he’s not as pretentious and elusive as Gould. His prose is simple and concrete, intended for a general readership. If you actually LIKE Gould, you may find this book light weight. If you detest Gould, as many people do, I promise you’ll do better with “Remarkable Creatures.”

2. 

   J. Picó – September 14, 2024

   I already read the two other great books by Sean B. Carroll, “Endless forms most beautiful”, and “The making of the fittest”. So, this was a good bet for a great summer reading. Carroll’s writing style is engaging: fluent, simple, and direct. As a good chating with friends. On top of this, what I found remarkable about this book is how the author transmits a good deal of sound knowledge on evolution and its history without you almost to notice. While you think you are reading an adventures novel (a good one), and you are engaged in that, Carroll is making you to “study”. Amazing.

3. 

   2nimm – September 14, 2024

   livre anglophone broché souple format moyen récent (2009) consacré à la paléonthologie; l’auteur retrace les fantastiques découvertes de cette science durant les deux derniers siècles qui ont mené à la compréhension de l’origine des espèces y compris la nôtre; ce livre de vulgarisation scientifique documenté et passionnant ravira tous les curieux mais rebutera certains par son iconographie décevante

4. 

   A. Drakou – September 14, 2024

   This book is a chronicle of the greatest adventures in natural history in the last 200 years. The author Sean Carroll, a professor of genetics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, looks at the lives of people who had gone into the wild, with one purpose, to find evidence of evolution. He starts with Darwin and his voyage around the world. Darwin’s passion for collecting and for exploring the unknown was remarkable, and helped him endure the loneliness, constant seasickness, discomfort, and dangers of the voyage.Next is Alfred Russell Wallace with his two expeditions. Wallace spent in the Amazon four years and he almost lost his life when the ship that was bringing him in England caught fire and sank along with almost all the specimens he had collected. He was rescued, after ten days in a lifeboat, only to leave again, this time to New Guinea, where he spent eight years collecting. It was there, that he came up with the same idea Darwin did, about the evolution, of species.One of most interesting portraits in the book is the one of Charles Walcott. Despite the fact that he never finished formal education, he developed a passion for fossils and became an expert on trilobites – they are arthropods that went extinct in the Permian. He was the first to explore and survey the rocks and the fossils in the Grand Canyon only with himself, a cook and a mule. The task was enormous, but it didn’t deter Walcott to make one of the major discoveries in the field of natural sciences. He found the earliest fossil evidence of life; the simplest form of life, during the Precambrian period. Later, Walcott become director of the U.S. Geological Survey, and a trusted advisor to seven different presidents. He also played and significant role in promoting aviation in the United States, and helped in the creation of a new organisation called NACA which was the civil aviation authority in the US and 50 years later, developed into being NASA.Carroll also talks about Eugene Dubois, who found in Java the missing link between apes and humans. It was a molar skullcap and a thigh bone of what we called today, Homo Erectus. Probably the most exciting portrait is that of Roy Chapman Andrews. He had an intriguing personality; an explorer and adventurer, a spy and gifted scientist. He was captivated by Mongolia and the Gobi desert. With his team he discovered the first nest of dinosaur eggs and several new dinosaur species, including Velocipartor and Tarborsaurus.The book is beautifully written. The description of the adventures and struggles of the scientists to discover and fill the gaps in the natural history and human evolution is captivating, and easily grasps the attention of the reader, especially the younger ones. The photographs, maps and charts are useful supplement in the text. The reading list is extensive and comprehensive, and definitely you should go through it. In total, the book is highly recommended.

5. 

   Oenophilia – September 14, 2024

   この本は三部より構成されています。第一部は進化論を考え出すきっかけとなったDarwinのビーグル号の航海。アマゾンやマレー列島を探査したWallaceとアマゾンの蝶の擬態の研究で進化論を補強したBatesについて述べている。第二部は主に化石や古生物について書かれており、ジャワ原人を発見したオランダ人医師Dubois、グランドキャニオンやBurgess Shaleの発掘をしたWalcott、ゴビ砂漠で恐竜の化石を発掘したRoy Chapman Andrews。そして小惑星の衝突による恐竜の絶滅を証明したAlvarez親子（父親のLuisは以前にノーベル物理学賞を受賞しているとは驚き）の話。ほかに恐竜と鳥の関係、北極圏での化石の発掘などが書かれている。第三部は人類の進化について、アフリカで化石の発掘を続けているLeakeyファミリーの話。現代における革命的なDNA分析と、それによるネアンデルタール人のミトコンドリアDNA解析での現代人との関係の研究が書かれている。専門家にとっては新鮮味がないかもしれませんが、私は進化論の概略がわかって面白く読めました。恐竜の卵の化石を発見したレンジャー帽をかぶり腰にピストルのRoy Chapman Andrewsは映画のインディージョーンズのモデルだそうです。