The Ancestor’s Tale
Kindly given as a gift for my *gulps* quarter of a century birthday celebration by ‘Some Loser on the Internet’, The Ancestor’s Tale is a fascinating regressive view back towards the origin of life. The author Richard Dawkins, well known for The God Delusion, The Selfish Gene plus many more popular science books eloquently takes the reader back via certain ‘rendevous’ points in history, tracing that holy grail of explanations: the ancestor of life as we know it. Darwinian from start to finish (sorry creationists!) it’s a in depth view of evolution spelled out via whispers left in geological sediments. Quite scientific from start to finish, there were times I did have t
o Wiki some terms, but over all if you paid attention during high school biology, chemistry and geology you shouldn’t go astray. My only gripe with this book is it’s is a bit too long for the average scientific reader. The story starts to become protracted towards the end, and like the impending flu season immunisation- you just want it over and done with. Considering I started it with such gusto, it was a bit of an effort to finish it and many thanks to ‘Some Loser on the Internet’ for it as a prezzie. 4 stars
Tags: Evolution, Popular Science, Read, Richard Dawkins, The Ancestor's Tale
June 21st, 2008 at 3:28 pm
You’re welcome!
Speaking of flu season, I wish it were over already but it’s only just beginning *sigh*. Oh well, at least I got my ***free*** flu shot again this year. And it came with a lollipop and a sticker. IN YOUR FACE.
July 12th, 2008 at 1:07 am
I’m not convinced of the flu shot (notwithstantding getting violenlty ill last time i had one), and also namely because it’s usually last year’s strain?
Am i correct in saying that it’s an older strain? becuase how hard would it be to constantly change the immunisation every time the virus morphs slightly.