The Science Times Book of Mammals (Science Times)
Editorial Reviews
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Culled from the pages of the New York Times--from its excellent Science Times section, to be precise--this collection of nearly 50 short articles written by various Times journalists reports on some of the more intriguing members of our planet's most dominant class of animals. Former Science Times reporter and editor Nicholas Wade edits the book, envisioning it as a sort of who's-who of "mammals that have brought themselves to biologists' attention or made the headlines."
Each article builds on the insights of those preceding it. The book is organized in ascending order of brain power, from lowly monotremes ("If a Platypus Had a Dream, What Would It Mean?") all the way up through lions ("Please Say It Isn't So, Simba: The Noble Lion Can Be a Coward") and sea otters ("Picky Eaters in Monterey Bay Who Dabble in Petty Theft") and, finally, us humans. A short series explores how we compare with our less sophisticated fellows ("Why Babies Are Born Facing Backwards, Helpless and Chubby," "What Makes a Parent Put Up with It All?"). All the articles include their original illustrations, and each chapter of successively more complex mammals (from rodents to cats to canines to whales) gets an introduction by Wade setting the context. --Paul Hughes
Book Description
Mammals, warm-blooded, big-brained, and lactating, are the most highly organized animal group on the planet and, despite their relatively small numbers, the dominant one. Split off from reptiles over 200 million ears ago, they now range over the earth in myriad forms from rodents to whales to primates. Humans are but one subspecies of mammals, but we have much in common with even the most distant of our cousins, and examining their biology and sociology reveals much about ourselves. This volume collects fascinating articles about mammals by award-winning Times journalists, carefully organized so that each builds upon the principles gleaned in the preceding article. The result provides fundamental truths about the way our world and its mammalian inhabitants work. In order of ascending brain power, the book reveals the bizarre behaviors of the rarest of creatures and little-known facts about common animals, from naked mole rats that colonize like bees and the two-foot-tall Himalyan flying squirrel, thought to be extinct, to the randy peace-keeping practices of bonobo chimpanzees of Zaire and the brutal and cunning courtship of dolphins, who depend on an exceedingly complicated social structure to get the job done. Among the startling discoveries of odd animals are bats who lactate and a giant, man-size sloth that may still exist in the Amazon rainforest. Focused chapters include: surprisingly cowardly lions, hyenas, and other cat relatives; returning wolves - and the landmark journalism on their reintroduction to Yellowstone Park - as well as their cousins foxes and African wild dogs; seafaring mammals such as the placid manatees and disappearing right whales; primates; and finally, a look at ourselves and how we relate to others in our mammalian class regarding parenting, play, aggression, emotionality, sociability, and more. With the wonderful illustrations that originally accompanied the articles, and introductions to each chapter by Nicholas Wade, who guides readers through the maze of mammals with erudition and insight, this book will fascinate naturalists, biologists, and animal lovers of every stripe. (71/4 X 91/2, 292 pages, illustrations)
The Science Times Book of Mammals (Science Times)
The Science Times Book of Mammals (Science Times),Nicholas Wade,The Lyons Press,1558218920,Mammals,Nature,Nature / Field Guide Books,Reference,Science/Mathematics,Nature / Mammals,Wild animals,Science
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