[bksvol-discuss] second request for Erequests Ecoviews: Snakes, Snails, and Environmental Tales by J. Whit Gibbons, Anne R. Gibbons, and John Cairns Jr
- From: Cindy <popularplace@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 6 Jul 2010 22:17:01 -0700 (PDT)
Shelley, is this something you might like to scan?
Cindy
"Musings on the environment, particularly that of the southeastern US,
delivered with an easy fireside manner, from the Gibbonses (he's author
of Their Blood Runs Cold, not reviewed; she's a freelance editor). It is
unlikely there's anything in these pages that hasn't been said before,
much of it frequently and in more impressive prose, but it is impossible
to deny the Gibbonses' enthusiasm for their topic: the protection of
biodiversity. They see as their mission the firing of young imaginations
to create an attitude that considers the protection of biodiversity
estimable and commonsensical. To this end they spin out the web-of-life
theories and the value-of- species-diversity theories most readers will
already know (though often with a decidely anthropocentric cast:
``Perhaps the most important reason we should care about the environment
is that natural habitats and wildlife are an essential foundation for
human culture''). But where the Gibbonses will likely make their impact
is in deploying ecological curiosities and vagaries peculiar to the
American Southeast (he teaches at the University of Georgia) to make
their point, a niche that hasn't been overexplored in popular
environmental literature. There is fascinating material here on
cottonmouths abroad in winter; how it is that aquatic turtles unerringly
locate the next-closest body of water (``Do they look up at the sky and
somehow perceive light reflected from the surface of the water?''); why
one should never pause when slinging a seven-foot whipsnake between
one's legs (which, of course, begs the bigger question). These are
enthralling regional tidbits, the kind of stuff that makes readers yearn
for more, for the big picture. (illustrations, not seen) --"Copyright
©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
manner, from the Gibbonses (he's author
of Their Blood Runs Cold, not reviewed; she's a freelance editor). It is
unlikely there's anything in these pages that hasn't been said before,
much of it frequently and in more impressive prose, but it is impossible
to deny the Gibbonses' enthusiasm for their topic: the protection of
biodiversity. They see as their mission the firing of young imaginations
to create an attitude that considers the protection of biodiversity
estimable and commonsensical. To this end they spin out the web-of-life
theories and the value-of- species-diversity theories most readers will
already know (though often with a decidely anthropocentric cast:
``Perhaps the most important reason we should care about the environment
is that
and the member wants it. It's only 168 pages
natural habitats and wildlife are an essential foundation for
human culture''). But where the Gibbonses will likely make their impact
is in deploying ecological curiosities and vagaries peculiar to the
American Southeast (he teaches at the University of Georgia) to make
their point, a niche that hasn't been overexplored in popular
environmental literature. There is fascinating material here on
cottonmouths abroad in winter; how it is that aquatic turtles unerringly
locate the next-closest body of water (``Do they look up at the sky and
somehow perceive light reflected from the surface of the water?''); why
one should never pause when slinging a seven-foot whipsnake between
one's legs (which, of course, begs the bigger question). These are
enthralling regional tidbits, the kind of stuff that makes readers yearn
for more, for the big picture. (illustrations, not seen) -"- Copyright
©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Cindy
Wish List (i.e., books wanted added to the collection) and books-being-scanned
list available at sites below
Wish List: https://wiki.benetech.org/display/BSO/Bookshare+Wish+List
Books Being Scanned List:
https://wiki.benetech.org/display/BSO/Books+Being+Scanned+List
Other related posts:
- » [bksvol-discuss] second request for Erequests Ecoviews: Snakes, Snails, and Environmental Tales by J. Whit Gibbons, Anne R. Gibbons, and John Cairns Jr - Cindy
