The Giraffe's Long Neck: From Evolutionary Fable to Whole Organism

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The Giraffe's Long Neck: From Evolutionary Fable to Whole Organism
Craig Holdrege
Manufacturer: The Nature Institute
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0974490636

Product Description

This book provides a comprehensive picture of the giraffe's biology and ecology as well as the complex and and controversial issue of its evolution. Through oversimplified evolutionary theory the giraffe has been reduced, in effect, to a long neck that exemplifies how evolution is supposed to work (Darwin) and not supposed to work (Lamarck). It has become a caricature. To resurrect the giraffe to the status of the wonderful creature it is, Holdrege presents unique perspectives on the giraffe as a whole organism. Neither card-carrying Darwinists nor Creationists will be happy with this book, since its intention is to break through the strictures of narrowly confined conceptions of the giraffe and of evolution.

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Examining the Subassumptions of Darwin's Theory

The Neck of the Giraffe
Francis Hitching
Manufacturer: Plume
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0452008964

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Examining the Subassumptions of Darwin's Theory.......1998-06-10

An excellent and informative book that examines the theory of evolution and the Darwinian assumptions that the theory is based on. The author has few preconceptions, and argues eloquently that while the theory itself is on solid ground, manyof Darwin's assumptions should be discarded as being extraneous or in some cases, simply incorreect.

How Giraffe Got Such A Long Neck...and Why Rhino is So Grumpy

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How Giraffe Got Such A Long Neck...and Why Rhino is So Grumpy

Manufacturer: Trumpet
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0440832691

Product Description

Versions of this story are told in many parts of East Africa. Similar tales are told by the Kikuyu and Masai tribes in Kenya and by tribes in Southern Africa. This version has been adapted by permission of Nick Greaves from an East African folktale that appears in When Hippo Was Hairy (David Bateman Ltd. New Zealand, 1988). The artist has based his depiction of Man on early Masai tribesmen.

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Standard work in this area: a must-have
Bad then, outdated now
Grasp at any straw.
Evolution is Dead - Official!

The Neck of the Giraffe
Francis Hitching
Manufacturer: Ticknor & Fields
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Genetics | Evolution | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Evolution | Science | Subjects | Books

Organic | Evolution | Science | Subjects | Books

Natural History | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books
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Billions of Missing Links: A Rational Look at the Mysteries Evolution Can't Explain

ASIN: 0899191029

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Standard work in this area: a must-have.......2007-07-18

Think free! Creation, evolution, is there a Creator or not? What are the arguments against the theory of evolution, that you don't hear in school and that most scientists are not forthcoming to tell you? Read them here. This is a standard work for anyone who wishes to go deep into these questions.

Bad then, outdated now.......2005-08-29

On the dustjacket, we are told that Hitching "has interviewed the leading exponents of creationism, and he rejects their arguments". How bizarre then that the first four chapters of the book consist almost entirely of creationist arguments.

Hitching points to the gaps in the fossil record, and is foolish enough to claim that the fossil record is complete; that no more gaps will be filled. That was in 1982, just think how many important fossils have been discovered since then, including transitional whale ancestors and feathered dinosaurs. His dismissal of transitional fossils, particularly Archaeopteryx, makes no sense whatsoever.

It is clear from Hitching's text that he himself does not understand biology well, which makes him poorly qualified to write about it for others. (I am a molecular biologist.) In addition, what he does manage to convey is hopelessly outdated. He says we have no understanding of how eukaryotes developed (actually, he didn't know the word 'eukaryote', meaning a cell with a nucleus). We now have quite a bit of info on how eukaryotes developed from the merger of prokaryotes (cells without a nucleus). He claims that the combination of DNA and protein in cells is too complex to have started on its own. He can probably be forgiven for not knowing about the RNA World Theory because most of the best evidence for that flagrantly successful theory has come about since publication of his book.

Finally in chapter 5 Hitching gets around to selectively rejecting some creationist claims. He rejects "Young Earth Creationism", choosing to believe the evidence for an old Universe and an old Earth. He accepts common ancestry of all life on Earth. He accepts natural selection, considering it to be an obvious truth, almost a tautology (which oddly he considers to be criticism of it), but he does not believe that natural selection explains all of evolution. He favors catastrophism over gradualism (uniformitarianism). He chooses to believe in a theory of neo-LaMarckism (inheritance of acquired traits) that has not held up well in the scientific arena.

But then, why should we care what he believes? He has established that he is not an expert at the science, and cannot discern good arguments from bad. I recommend that instead of reading this book, you get your science from someone who is and can.

Grasp at any straw........2005-07-16

Francis Hitching's literary credentials include writing TV scripts for "In Search of the Unexplained." Oh. he's written other books too, on subjects like pyramid energy, Atlantis, dowsing, and earth magic (whatever that is). So how did this running nut job become one of the foundational thinkers of the intelligent design movement?

Hitching is cited and quoted as an alleged scientist in the much more widely read, but only slightly less doubtful Phillip Johnson book: "Darwin on Trial." He is also listed among the "Doubters of Darwin" on the website Answers in Genesis, an online clearinghouse for leaders in creation science.

The irony of all this is that Fancis Hitching doesn't disagree with the concept of evolution per se, but rather with Darwin's approach to the subject. Neither is the book completely kind to the intelligent design movement. His pet argument is the absence of any transitional links between species that evolved (hence the title), but there are literally thousands and thousands of those available now for those who want to look at some real science. Read this book if you want to, but you'll have to find it at Goodwill or the flea market, for like all Hitching's books it is out of print.

I regret that this book review is going to be my first on Amazon, and the only one for a while to come. I had wanted to enter the fray with reviews of some far more legitimate works. But I stumbled across it while working on a small section of my much larger senior project for college, Evangelical Christians on the Right Wing of US Politics. So the good stuff will have to wait until I finish the project or get a minute. This was like shooting fish in a barrel.

(...)

Evolution is Dead - Official!.......1999-04-16

An extremely well written and level-headed book that tackles this big question in a comprehensive and methodical manner. If you are looking for hard evidence to debunk the Neo-Darwinists such as Dawkins then look no further. The so-called "transitional forms" are all explained in delightfully non-technical language. A thoroughly good read.

Jessica Giraffe's Long Neck (Standard Kids)

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Adorable

Jessica Giraffe's Long Neck (Standard Kids)
Christine Harder Tangvald
Manufacturer: Standard Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Picture Books | Baby-3 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Baby-3 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

Picture Books | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0784708347

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Adorable.......2001-11-11

I ordered this book for my daughter of the same name who is 3 and she just loves it. It is a kind and loving story that is very sweet.

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How Giraffe Got Such a Long Neck: ..And Why Rhino is so Grumpy
Michael J. Rosen
Manufacturer: Dial
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0803716214

I Wonder Who Stretched the Giraffe's Neck (I Wonder Series)

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I Wonder Who Stretched the Giraffe's Neck (I Wonder Series)
Mona Gansberg Hodgson
Manufacturer: Concordia Publishing House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Ages 4-8 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
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ASIN: 0570050650

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Josephine the Short Neck Giraffe
Fred Rogers
Manufacturer: Pro ed
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 083310036X

The Neck of the Giraffe or Where Darwin Went Wrong

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The Neck of the Giraffe or Where Darwin Went Wrong
Francis Hitching
Manufacturer: Macmillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Genetics | Evolution | Science | Subjects | Books

Natural History | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0330266438

Stick Your Neck Out: The Giraffe Project Handbook (A Guide to Effective Community Service and Social Action)

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Stick Your Neck Out: The Giraffe Project Handbook (A Guide to Effective Community Service and Social Action)

Manufacturer: Giraffe Project
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000HDW3SM

Book Description

Patricia Baker's Iran is aimed squarely at cultural travelers attracted to this country's ancient sites, which include the ruins of Persepolis, innumerable beautiful mosques, and Islamic architecture.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Resource.......2006-02-25

Gorgeous photos.Fabulous information. It's a shame we can't visit this architecturally historic country.

An absolute "must-read" for any male or female visitor to Iran.......2006-02-03

Patricia Baker is a lecturer, writer and tour leader specializing in Islamic are and having traveled to Iran over 16 times since her first visit in 1971. She draws from his considerable experience and expertise in Iran: The Bradt Travel Guide to provide the tourist, student, or businessman with guidance on cultural awareness, religious sensitivity, and absolute do's and don'ts as well as a region-by-region guideline to getting around in different areas of Iran with black-and-white maps to follow. An absolute "must-read" for any male or female visitor to Iran, as familiarity with rules and customs could spare one from an unhappy detention; for example, the Iranian prohibition against cards, gambling and backgammon extends to such things as fuzzy car dice, woman must not walk unescorted at night or they will be presumed prostitutes, and no visitor should eat, drink, or smoke during the daylight hours of the Ramadan religious holidays regardless of their personal faith, else the repercussions to themselves and their sponsors will be severe. Yet Iran: The Bradt Travel Guide is far more than a list of proscriptions and warnings; it is also a tour of the cultural and historical wonders of Iran, a glimpse into the recent transformations of the society, and an in-depth guide of where to go and what to experience. Now in an updated second edition, Iran: The Bradt Travel Guide is a "must-have" for visitors who want not only to see the sights of this proud nation, but to understand its character as much as possible.

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Iran: The Bradt Travel Guide
Patricia L. Baker
Manufacturer: Bradt Travel Guides
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Asia | Travel | Subjects | Books

Guidebooks | Reference & Tips | Travel | Subjects | Books

General | Middle East | Travel | Subjects | Books

Iran | Middle East | Travel | Subjects | Books

General | Travel | Subjects | Books
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Lonely Planet Iran

ASIN: 1841620254

Book Description

A guide concentrating on the cultural heritage of Iran, highlighting areas of particular interest in each region. Covers mosques, architecture, specialist tour operators and religious sensitivity.

Iran, 2nd : The Bradt Travel Guide (Bradt Travel Guide)

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Iran, 2nd : The Bradt Travel Guide (Bradt Travel Guide)
Patricia L. Baker
Manufacturer: NY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Iran | Middle East | Travel | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000MU83YI

Book Description

Stress Much?

Two days into rehearsal, the director of the Capeside Christmas Winter Follies drops out, so Dawson volunteers to direct the town show. But he's finding out the hard way it's easier to direct a small cast film than a giant Christmas pageant filled with friends, family, and neighbors.

Now everybody's feuding with everybody else. Dawson, Joey, Pacey, Jen, Jack, and Andie are all stressed out. Then a tremendous ice storm hits...and frozen hearts begin to melt....

Joey, Dawson, Pacey, Jen, Jack, Andie

Six teens ready to take on the world. They're learning about life, and learning how to love.

Customer Reviews:

a review of the capeside christmas.......2001-01-21

This book is a great read, that puts you right in the middle of the action ! This book is another tale from the action packed new england coastal village that we watch and read fondly every so often.Dawson's creek sets itself an extremely high standard and has not yet failed to keep it,this book is no exeption.

It is about a large christmas pageant- ( capeside christmas winter follies ) that Dawson volunteers to direct after the origional director gives up his position after two days of rehersing.But his good deed soon turns into a hard lesson, when he finds out it's alot easier to direct a small film than an extreme, and large, pageant with close friends and family tangled in. This is a fun book that all fans have to read,with an easy story line to follow making it easy for any 8 yr old-young adult to enjoy.

Book Description

This work presents an overview of the clinical pathology of mycobacterial and nonpathogens, data on genetically based methodologies for clinical testing, straightforward protocols for molecular manipulations, and theoretical explanations of the molecular mechanisms involved. It explains the safest and most efficient methods for detecting mycobacterium avium complex, providing the means to combat this common secondary opportunistic infection in AIDS patients.

Book Description

This book provides an attempt to convey the colorful facets of condensed matter systems with reduced dimensionality. Some of the specific features predicted for interacting one-dimensional electron systems, such as charge- and spin-density waves, have been observed in many quasi-one-dimensional materials. The two-dimensional world is even richer: besides d-wave superconductivity and the Quantum Hall Effect - perhaps the most spectacular phases explored during the last two decades - many collective charge and spin states have captured the interest of researchers, such as charge stripes or spontaneously generated circulating currents.

Recent years have witnessed important progress in material preparation, measurement techniques and theoretical methods. Today larger and better samples, higher flux for neutron beams, advanced light sources, better resolution in electron spectroscopy, new computational algorithms, and the development of field-theoretical approaches allow an in-depth analysis of the complex many-body behaviour of low-dimensional materials. The epoch when simple mean-field arguments were sufficient for describing the gross features observed experimentally is definitely over.

The Editors' aim is to thoroughly explain a number of selected topics: the application of dynamical probes, such as neutron scattering, optical absorption and photoemission, as well as transport studies, both electrical and thermal. Some of the more theoretical chapters are directly relevant for experiments, such as optical spectroscopy, transport in one-dimensional models, and the phenomenology of charge inhomogeneities in layered materials, while others discuss more general topics and methods, for example the concept of a Luttinger liquid and bosonization, or duality transformations, both promising tools for treating strongly interacting many-body systems.

Book Description

This innovative text offers basic understanding of the electronic structure of covalent and ionic solids, simple metals, transition metals and their compounds. It also explains how to calculate dielectric, conducting, and bonding properties for each. Includes a useful Solid State Table of the Elements.

Customer Reviews:

Use it as a paper weight........2006-11-27

As a scientist who went thru the rigors of getting a PhD in an American public university, I have noticed many subtle but inefficient practices. One of the worst goes as follows. A certain promising doctoral student starts on his (or her) research. His advisor hands him a classic text to read. Said text is nigh incomprehensible, but our prodigal student endeavors and comes to gradually understand the text and apply it to his studies. He graduates, begins his career and eventually gets that tenured position. Years later when he supervises his first graduate student, he imparts said text upon a new sufferer and the process begins anew. This book by W. A. Harrison is such a text. It is extremely hard to read, the words are small, there are few images or graphs or plots, and the examples are not geared for the computer age. But, because this book came out when solid state simulations began to spread in use and multiple free codes came about, it was read and used by many scientists and apprentices. Nowadays, there are dozens of much better books that are much easier to read and understand. Yet I still encounter this text being used. Why? Because many academics fought thru it, are proud of the feat, and somehow intend their trainees to do the same.

I read this book after reading thru over a dozen other books in the same subject, and found this to be the hardest and least understandable. This book is often considered the Bible of electronic structure simulations. This is a correct statement in the worst sense possible because the number of people who understand the Bible is much less than those who swear by it; i.e. very similar to this book. Overall, I do not recommend buying it or reading it. Its only redeeming quality is the exhaustive number of equations.

Without parallel in Materials Science literature.......2002-01-23

This book has no parallel in the literature of theoretical materials science. The information contained in the book allows first principle calculations of properties of important technological materials like perovskite oxides, semiconductors, etc. I would suggest the reader to consult the papers by R. Haydock and others in Solid State Physics, vol.35 of 1980 to
complemment the methods presented in the book.

Essential book for condensed matter physicists.......2000-06-07

If you are studying the solid state physics, it is a necessary book for you. It covers various properties of almost all kinds of solid state materials and shows pretty new experimental data from reliable sources. This book also starts with a clear introduction in each chapter so that even for a beginner, it is easy to read. This book will be a good reference book for you to find out the definition of terminologies in this field. Personally, I use this book as a referece frequently.

This book is definitely not a book you can read through quickly but a book where you find out information through your life.

If you are a scientist and interested in solid state physics like semiconductor or metal, this is also a good book to get a good guide and introduction.

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Instructor's guide and manual for Electronic structure and the properties of solids: The physics of the chemical bond
Walter A Harrison
Manufacturer: W.H. Freeman
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0006Y8NFY

Customer Reviews:

Man's "search" for Eden.......2005-11-19

The author's original work is in French and has been ably translated into English. He covers various attempts though the ages by Christians, primarily, _to locate_ the "garden of Eden." This book's "usefulness" is in its comprehensive coverage of various authors up to about the time of the Enlightenment (18th century AD). Towards the end of his book he concludes Eden "is a myth" and gives his reasons for this position. His "bibliography" of sources consulted _is impressive_ and should be useful to those unaware of the vast number of books and treatises done on Eden over the ages.

History of Paradise: The Garden of Eden in Myth and Tradition

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History of Paradise: The Garden of Eden in Myth and Tradition
Jean Delumeau
Manufacturer: University of Illinois Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OPT40I

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