Eric Lawton reviewed Serengeti Rules by Sean B. Carroll
Review of 'Serengeti Rules' on 'Storygraph'
4 stars
I think this is a very good book, though I regret buying it.
It is mostly about ecology, but starts with molecular biology and connects the two by showing that there are some general laws about regulation of complex systems that apply at the largest and smallest scales.
So if you don't know much about any of these topics, you will learn a lot, but if you have been reading about them even at the level of (for example) New Scientist or Scientific American you may find most of the material already familiar.
The ecology part is the most important and the last couple of chapters give us some rays of hope and ideas for slowing or reversing the current trend to loss of species.
I'll be circulating my copy around my friends who like science/nature but haven't read too much.
Sean B Carroll is a good writer, this is …
I think this is a very good book, though I regret buying it.
It is mostly about ecology, but starts with molecular biology and connects the two by showing that there are some general laws about regulation of complex systems that apply at the largest and smallest scales.
So if you don't know much about any of these topics, you will learn a lot, but if you have been reading about them even at the level of (for example) New Scientist or Scientific American you may find most of the material already familiar.
The ecology part is the most important and the last couple of chapters give us some rays of hope and ideas for slowing or reversing the current trend to loss of species.
I'll be circulating my copy around my friends who like science/nature but haven't read too much.
Sean B Carroll is a good writer, this is no exception. I first came across him with [b:Endless Forms Most Beautiful: The New Science of Evo Devo and the Making of the Animal Kingdom|39096|Endless Forms Most Beautiful The New Science of Evo Devo and the Making of the Animal Kingdom|Sean B. Carroll|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348745093s/39096.jpg|1231978], a topic I knew little about at the time. I loved that book and it inspired me to go get a shelf-full of books on development and evo-devo.
