Customer Reviews (1)

Evolution before Darwin
Corsi's book made me change the way I teach the history of evolutionary theory. I had accepted the Darwin-centric account, which says that modern theory begins with Charles Lyell and Darwin. Yes, Lamarck originated 'transmutation' of species thinking and Cuvier was an outstanding paleontologist. But Lamarckian inheritance doesn't work and Cuvier was a bitter opponent of evolution.

Thanks to Corsi's painstaking research we know that English evolutionary thought was time-lagged about a half century behind the French. The unifromitarianism vs catastrophism interpretation of earth history, which I had thought was due primarily to Lyell, was intensively debated by French geologists by 1800. The geologist Philippe Bertrand, proposed, in 1797, the marine origin of life and gradual evolution of all organic forms. Terrestrial plants and animals are descended from original marine species. Julien-Joseph Virey proposed (1816) that the term 'evolution' be used to denote the transmutation of species. 'It is thus plausible that, thanks to such evolution, nature has risen from the most tenuous mold to the majestic cedar, to the gigantic pine, just as it has advanced from microscopic animals up to man, king and dominator of all beings.' In his Histoire naturelle du genre humain (1800) he stated the principle of sexual selection, which assured the optimum adaptive state through elimination of the weaker: "Nature resembles the law of Sparta, which let weak and sickly babies die, but took extreme care of strong, muscular individuals. Thus it is that women submit more easily to the most ardent males, seek the strongest ones, prefer the most untamable." We seem to hear Darwin speaking when Virey writes: "Nature initially produced only one very simple plant and one very simple animal, which it then varied to infinity, with gradual increases in complexity, to produce the most consummate species." The geologist Louis-Constant Prévost proposed that the evolutionary descent of each organism might one day be traced from the fossil record, from "the creation of the simplest beings to that of man himself."

Corsi summarizes his findings: "In the late-eighteenth-century Parisian scientific community, there was extensive discussion on the origin of life, on the possibility of explaining vital-function characteristics in physical terms, and on interpreting the success of life forms on earth in evolutionary terms. Far from being an isolated thinker, Lamarck took part in a far-reaching, momentous debate that aroused the curiosity and concern of many of his contemporaries."

This book is a must-read for all those teaching history of science. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1744-1829   2. Biography   3. Biology   4. Biology (General)   5. France   6. History   7. Lamarck, Jean Baptiste Pierre   8. Natural history   9. Naturalists   10. Science/Mathematics   11. Lamarck, Jean Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet de   

Subjects:  1. General   2. Religion   3. Religion - Contemporary Issues   

Customer Reviews (1)

Excellent beginner book
This sturdy and attractive board book bills itself as "a first reference book for toddlers and preschoolers." Although most people don't think of board books as a format for reference, this is exactly what Scholastic has done here. The book is divided into flaps that depict images of animals. A child can easily choose a picture and turn directly to that particular entry. Each section lists a verb, such as "crawl", "run", "swim", etc., and gives examples of three animals that the verb is applied to. The lifelike illustrations match the text beautifully. Recommended for ages 2-6. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Animal locomotion   2. Animals - General   3. Children's Baby - Nature   4. Children: Preschool   5. Juvenile Nonfiction   6. Juvenile literature   7. Science & Technology - Zoology   

Customer Reviews (1)

A woman with a vision
This book looks into the wonderful Tarot Garden which was made in 20 years by Niki de Saint Phalle. It has many pictures and opens the mind for great, colorful, living art. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1930-   2. Art   3. Art & Art Instruction   4. History - Modern (Late 19th Century to 1945)   5. Individual Artist   6. Popular Culture - General   7. Saint-Phalle, Niki de,   8. Sculpture   9. Tarot Garden   10. Saint-Phalle, Niki de   

Customer Reviews (17)

Tellhard de Chardin is a must read for those in conflict.
I am not going to argue points as the author can do that for him self. I will say, many people surpassingly arrive at the same conclusions independently of this work. The few negative reviews are because of a disagreements not that this book is negative in any way. Even with all of today's scientific discoveries the truth in his extrapolations still hold up. However I would listen to Dinosaur in a Haystack : Reflections in Natural History [UNABRIDGED] ISBN: 0787109150. Just put the number in the search engine and press "GO!" before reading Book 2, chapter 2, section 3 "THE TREE OF LIFE".

This is a five star book no matter what side of the argument you are on. Listen to Teilhard de Chardin's words coming from Oskar Werner as Fr. David Telemond in "Shoes of the Fisherman (1968)" ASIN: B00003OSTW

Profound, Complex and Farsighted
This is the toughest book I have ever read.

Teilhard de Chardin starts with the Universe as primal gas and traces the evolution of "matter and consciousness" to the present day. He charts this development as a vector leading to higher consciousness. Man is only one more stepping stone along this path. What is next? He predicts the development of a "noosphere" existing between the biosphere (the thin, wet, green and flesh layer on the lithosphere) and the atmosphere.

When I read this book, 20 years ago, I thought the noosphere was the development of a collective consciousness and a precursor of mental telepathy. I now believe that the internet and widespread use of wireless communications already fulfills his prophecy.

Despite being a Jesuit (or perhaps because of it), Teilhard de Chardin develops his analysis without relying on the concept of God.

Brilliant and subtle. Not for the faint of heart or the speed reader.

Muddled Synthesis
Pierre Teilhard De Chardin was a Jesuit scientist, a brilliant paleontologist and evolutionist who attempted throughtout his life to reconcile Catholic belief with scientific knowledge. It was necessary for him to invent a new vocabulary in order to accomplish this. The trouble is that this vocabulary is rooted in mysticism and faux scientific terminology.

He valiantly tries to show the long march from unicellular creatures to modern human. This is much more plausible than his introduction of a spiritual "zone" through which this evolution is strained. In other words, evolutionary change with a hidden guiding hand. Parts of it were beautiful and I agree with the author that man is a unique phenomenon on this planet. But how one reconciles a physical mechanism with a spiritual theology is a task too great even for a great man.

How is Jesus as God reconciled with ape-man or pre-man? Chardin suggests that religion is a natural outgrowth of being human and he may be right. But it should be noted that the spiritual side of man has evolved along with the physical changes. All we can do is take a "snapshot" of where we are, discover who we were and prepare for who we will become. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An Old Sweat
The men who followed Napoleon across the length and breadth of Europe for twenty years and fought countless skirmishes, actions, and battles, enduring enormous hardships as well as many wounds were a unique breed. Honed by war and hardship, they were tough as nails, and defeated every enemy of their country and Emperor at least once, stabling their horses in every continental European capital. They were also the men Napoleon felt most at home with, for his home was the Grande Armee.

General Daumesnil was one of those 'men of bronze' who could and did survive anything, including his Emperor, and soldier on despite overwhelming odds in men and guns.

This story, one not usually told in such detail and color, is told with great panache, as well as painstaking accuracy, by the author who is the authority on his subject. Starting with Daumesnil's humble beginnings as a cavalry trooper, he follows him through the wars and many wounds, promotion, heartbreak, unbelieveable success and promotion into the Imperial Guard until his serious wounding at Wagram in 1809 which cost him a leg.

Continuing in the service of his Emperor, Jambe de Bois Daumesnil is famous for his unrelenting defense of Vincennes, not once, but twice, in 1814 and 1815, where he refuses to surrender to the allies, stating that he'll give up his post to them as soon as they restore his amputated leg.

This volume is a must have for any student of the period, and especially of the Grande Armee. Daumesnil was one of its great characters, and one of the most gallant of its officers and commanders.

One of the highlights of the book is the stirringly told story of the cavalry charge up the Somosierra pass in 1808 during Napoleon's second invasion of Spain. Frustrated with the slowness of the French infantry trying to outflank the pass defended by 9,000 Spaniards with sixteen guns in four batteries entrenched at strategic locations up the pass, Napoleon turns to the commander of his escort squadron of Guard cavalry, that day the 3d Squadron of the newly organized Polish Light Horse, and orders him to take the pass. The hardy Poles took the order as a challenge and charged up the pass in a column of fours, losing half their strenth and taking the four batteries in succession. The author's correct version of this amazing fear of arms is the best this reviewer has seen in English.

This book is enthusiastically recommended and it is the best and most lively biography of the period that the reviewer has ever read. If you come across any book written, edited, or translated by Edward Ryan, my advice is to pick it up immediately. You won't be disappointed. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1776-1832   2. Biography   3. Biography & Autobiography   4. Biography / Autobiography   5. Biography/Autobiography   6. Daumesnil, Pierre,   7. France   8. Generals   9. Historical - General   10. Medical - General   11. Military   12. Military - Napoleonic Wars   13. Napoleonic Wars, 1800-1815   14. baron,   

Subjects:  1. 1770-1849   2. Art   3. Essay on absolute signs in art   4. Humbert de Superville, David P   5. Philosophy   6. Humbert de Superville, David Pierre Giottino   

Customer Reviews (3)

Inelegant, ill-written and unreliable.
Having read Kerry Downes' standard monographs on Hawksmoor, Du Prey's "Architecture and Theology" is very disappointing. Du Prey does not, to begin, bring the book to its logical conclusion; despite commencing with a gushing account of Anglican Divines in Augustan England (Atterbury and Aldrich, though not, rather surprisingly, Sacheverall), the way in which contemporary religious thought might have conditioned the form of the churches built is inconclusive and not argued with the conviction that made an old article on the matter by Du Prey himself (ie., 'The Basilicas of the Primitive Christians') worthwhile. Furthermore, broad, out-of-context and misleading generalisations (such as a description of the Tory party of 1711 as 'right-wing') mixed with pockets of narrative make the book extremely irksome to read. As if that were not bad enough, Du Prey proves himself a brazen and misguided name-changer: St. George-in-the-East becomes 'St. George's-in-the-East', whilst St. Alfege, Greenwich, is nicely modernised as St. Alphege (which is, in fact, in dioscean records, a completely different church!). These observations might seem pedantic, but such mistakes are quite surprising from a Professor of Architectural History. Du Prey does not mention the churches of Gibbs (St. Mary-le-Strand, St. Martin-in-the-Fields), Archer (St. John Smith Square, Westminster, St. Paul, Deptford) or John James (St. George Hanover Sqaure), even though the latter collaborated on St. John Horselydown and St. Luke Old Street with Hawksmoor himself! Neither of the churches, not surprisingly, are studied at all. This is a flaw which Kerry Downes highlighted in a review of the book; it ought to have elicited a little caution on my part, because "Architecture and Theology" is definately not worth the asking price.

Fascinating book on fascinating architect
There is so little available on the architecture of the eccentric architect Nicholas Hawksmoor, that this book on his wonderful parish churches in London would be welcome in any case. But the book is a gem--well written, elegant...and goes far in explaining the theological and cultural issues behind Hawksmoor's odd choices in designing these buildings. The book also served as a very useful guide as I traveled around London in search of Hawksmoor projects.

Lively, involving, informative, illustrated, reader friendly
This survey of architecture and theology examines London church structures built by Hawksmoor from 1712-1731. From a review of the architect's education and designs to church politics and issues in structures, Hawksmoor's London Churches: Architecture and Theology provides a lively, involving account with plenty of color photos. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1661-1736   2. 17th-18th Century Architecture   3. Architecture   4. Church architecture   5. England   6. General   7. Hawksmoor, Nicholas,   8. History - General   9. International Architecture - British   10. London   11. Public, Commercial, or Industrial Buildings   12. Religious Buildings   13. Specific Religious Buildings Architecture   14. Art / General   15. Criticism and interpretation   16. Hawksmoor, Nicholas   

Subjects:  1. 1740-1814   2. Criticism and interpretation   3. Erotic literature, French   4. European - French   5. French Prose   6. History and criticism   7. Literature - Classics / Criticism   8. Sade,   9. Theory, etc   10. marquis de,   11. Bataille, Georges   12. Blanchot, Maurice   13. Klossowski, Pierre   14. Literature   15. Sade   

Subjects:  1. Language Arts / Linguistics / Literacy   2. Linguistics   

Subjects:  1. Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre   

Subjects:  1. 1924-1998   2. 20th century   3. Architectural drawing   4. Architecture   5. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions   6. Exhibitions   7. Gilman, Howard,   8. History - General   9. History - Specific Styles   10. New York   11. New York (State)   12. Private collections   13. Visionary architecture   

Customer Reviews (2)

Christianity within the bounds of Evolution
Chardin takes us through an ontological "proof" of his theory of man. By assigning to humanity the same laws that are assigned to the rest of the universe, Chardin levels the playing field between the exclusivity of matter and spirit. He describes the ascent of life into humanity, and posits that if the same essential rule of the universe applies in the future as it does today, that there is an Omega point for humanity. This Omega point is based upon the supposition that complexity and conciousness are directly related, and that life is constantly evolving to favor the more complex, more centered life. At this Omega point, humanity will cease to function as a collection of units, and each individual will place the whole above itself, as cells do to their parent organism.

It is interesting to note that many of the more recent authors of technological evangelism borrow from the ideas of Chardin. For example, Richard Dawkins, in his vain attempt to mask sociology as biology, posited the existance of "Memes". Dawkins controversial work has inspired many conversations, as it attributes qualities previously regarded as solely human, to ideas, or memes. Matching discreet biology to sociology is somehow "magically" performed in Dawkins analysis. Chardin's superior logic, pre-dating Dawkin's misinterperation, notes that rather than looking at memes and meme-groups as direct results of evolutionary pressure, they are instead relegated to a portion of the conciousness of the universe, no more in combat with each other than a liver cell is in combat with a nerve cell.

While the more scientifically-oriented Dawkins concerns himself with observed statistical behavior, stating that it is a result of evolution, Chardin addresses the elephant in the living room, the unmoved mover of evolution.

Chardin wrote all this years before computers took thier ascendance as the main form of communication in developed countries. It's intersting to note that among respective futurist subcultures, the Satanic and atheist subcultures have adopted Dawkins as one of their pets, (likely against his will) while Chardin spends inordinant amounts of time weaving Christianity into his theories, making assumptions about Christianity by view of his all-embracing evolution of mankind, but never leaning on the faith of Christians to prop his theory up.

To this reader, the bottom line is that if I'm going to read something written by someone an order of magnitude more intelligent, I ought to be sure the message that is being sent is one I want to receive. Chardin proposes an idea that can't help but grow, cannot be dis-proved, contains both an emotional/logically appropriate response to both the pleasures and pains of the world. He absorbs Dawkins, before there was a Dawkins, Chardin had already superceded him.

Enough of my predudice, please, check out Chardin and Dawkins and form your own immutable opinions.

Are You Ready For This?
Teilhard is a man of words. He speaks easy. He is very knowledgable on biology, and on evolution. This book is a problem. This guy starts off with writings from Beijing as the second world war is about to begin. He is all about evolution, and that this war is helpful to the evolution of mankind. I nearly faint. How can somebody even explain this? But Teilhard is a different kind of fella: he tells you in ever kinder words that Nazis, Russians, Americans are all the same: WE ARE HUMANS. Teilhard is a biologist by nature and buy vision: he takes all the issues on a cosmic level, and there, we are united. We must obey the laws of university: get together, be kind, be united. That's what biology tells us - according to Mr Teilhard de Chardin. De Chardin is completely crazy, because he does not take into consideration our human spirit: we compete because we are edudated like that. De Chardin is completely sane, because he undertands that we are, each of us, unique, and we want to go for the sun, salvation, because we want to be complete human beings.

Activation of Energy is a great book because it tells you how to be human; there is an energy within the book itself that is enormous. The fact that it takes you to a different level of consciousness is in itself a value. ...

This book will make you think differently about yourself. As part of the universe, you have to contribute to evolution. ... ... Read more

Subjects:  1. History & Surveys - General   2. Movements - Humanism   3. Philosophy   4. Religious   

Customer Reviews (1)

Sublime thoughts to uplift your spirit
This set of five essays expresses Chardin's political, moral and religious ideas about the future of human kind. Although first published in France in 1958, Chardin's philosophical thoughts remain relevant in today's day and age. The essays are an inspirational read and provide the key to the solutions of many of our current world's problems. These writings are not just directed towards Christian thinkers, rather to all those who have a passion for the future, a passion for the universal and a passion for the individual. This 'passionate' concern for the Earth is the main thrust in the modern striving for ecological awareness. Chardin developed his 'passion' for the Earth into a spiritual Evolution -'The Spirit of the Earth', as he called it. For those who wish to go beyond the religion of individualism and expand and tranform their energy into a cosmic awareness, Chardin's essay on 'Human Energy', offers some fantastic insights. Great food for thought and meditation, to build up one's spirit. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Philosophy   2. Religion   

Subjects:  1. College students   2. College teaching   3. Communication   4. Communication in education   5. Discourse Analysis   6. Education / Teaching   7. Higher Education (Specific Aspects)   8. Language Arts & Disciplines   9. Language and education   10. Linguistics   11. Sociology   12. Teacher-student relationships   13. Teaching Methods & Materials - General   

Subjects:  1. Contributions in translating and interpreting   2. History and criticism   3. Plath, Sylvia   4. Ronsard, Pierre de   5. Translations into English