The Flamingo's Smile: Reflections in Natural History
Author:
Genre: Science & Math
Book Type: Hardcover
Author:
Genre: Science & Math
Book Type: Hardcover
Laura S. (BookHappy) reviewed on + 32 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
Great book of essays in natural history previously printed in Pensee magazine. Much food for thought on issues still controversial in some circles even today. Evolution, Darwin's voyage to the Galapagos -- and errors he made in failing to identify which bird specimens came from which islands -- so he wound up having to rely on tagged birds that others on the voyage had collected.
The title comes from a famous essay about how odd it is that the flamingo's beak bends in the opposite direction from most other birds' -- also it has the larger beak part on the lower location rather than the upper. All the better to filter, my dear.
Topics run the gamut from flamingos and other birds to mammals like apes and man, Darwin, and the history of scientific thought on all these puzzling designs in natural history. Excellent and very readable essays.
The title comes from a famous essay about how odd it is that the flamingo's beak bends in the opposite direction from most other birds' -- also it has the larger beak part on the lower location rather than the upper. All the better to filter, my dear.
Topics run the gamut from flamingos and other birds to mammals like apes and man, Darwin, and the history of scientific thought on all these puzzling designs in natural history. Excellent and very readable essays.
