Customer Reviews: Read 12 more reviews...
 Pondering Nature August 31, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Most of us do not spend our days thinking about the magic of nature. In fact, it is rare that we stop and wonder at the unique qualities of life and evolution. This book is a collection of short essays which seem to take a walk through nature, pondering its interesting and beautiful idiosyncrasies. Without going into too much detail, Eiseley helps us to stop and look at the seemingly small things and understand their vast importance. This is not a complicated book designed for naturalists, but a fairly straightforward and engaging book for those who simply enjoy nature. A high school student interested in studying anthropology or environmental science in college would be wise to read this as inspiration.
one of the little known great writers. February 10, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
the title, i suppose, could lead one to think that this book might be too heavily on the new-agey side of things for one's taste. not so! mr eiseley is one of the most profound thinkers i have come across over the years, and his writing is spectacular. i have seldom come across a non-fiction writer with such a marvellous prose style (lytton strachey comes to mind as an equivilant). this great book had me looking at life past and present in ways and from angles i had never considered. the authors wonder at existence in all its mystery, joy, and sorrow, made for some of the most moving reading i have ever encountered. this, and other works by mr eiseley, i will be reading and rereading throughout my lifetime.
Great book arrived in great shape March 20, 2006
0 out of 5 found this review helpful
Great book, it arrived in great shape in a timely manner
 scholarly treatment of Darwin's ideas - and textual analysis May 23, 2004
10 out of 23 found this review helpful
Eiseley has read all of the different editions of "Origin," and in that way traces the evolution of Darwin's thought in the context of his times and in how he re-edited his books as his opinion changed. It is well written and argued and somewhat better than normal academic writing, but it still reads like a pedantic text. Perhaps it was too advanced, or simply too detailed, for the level of my interest, but I found a lot of this somewhat boring - and I admit that that is as personal as a reflection on the text. Eiseley is a world-class science writer, up there with Sagan and Gould, and explains with great clarity, etc. You get to know Darwin's mind, his many doubts, and the way he constantly hedged and worried about his reception.
Recommended with this in mind. It really depends on what you are looking for.
 "...Lie Awake While the Meteors Whisper Greenly Overhead." October 17, 2003
21 out of 21 found this review helpful
This is a very unusual book. It is ostensibly about the "Immense Journey" of man along his long evolutionary trail. But, in the same way that "The Odyssey" is not just an historical travel tale, Eiseley's book is much more. This is a work about the wonders of life, the joys of curiosity, the rewards from solitary time spent in the natural world and the transitory nature of all existence. This one must have been just fantastic when it was published in 1957. It's still very good in 2003 despite the passage of time, which has exposed several of Eiseley's scientific beliefs and musings to be erroneous. Keep in mind the tremendous advancements in archeology, molecular biology and all other fields of science over the last 46 years and don't get hung up on these anachronisms. Instead, revel in the beautiful language Eiseley uses and the imagery he evokes: "Some lands are flat and grass-covered, and smile so evenly up at the sun that they seem forever youthful, untouched by man or time." Or another favorite: "Tyrannosaurs, enormous bipedal caricatures of men, would stalk mindlessly across the sites of future cities and go their slow way down into the dark of geologic time." Read this book and you'll want to dig up fossils, listen to the wind, watch other animals and soak up life. And you will probably want to read it again.
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