Retro Boomers: A Lifestyle Transition Guide for Baby Boomers

Book Description

As a Baby Boomer, ask yourself these questions:

Do I want something different? Something better?

Retro Boomers is the inspirational guide and road map that will guide you toward defining yourself during the pre-retirementphase of your life.

If not now, when?

Start today by re-creating and reinventing yourself. Follow the steps in this book to find a career of passion and purpose.

With the help of Retro Boomers you will discover your life's passion and be embodied by a sense of fulfillment. This book will tell you how to pursue your dreams and create a new Retro Boomer lifestyle that is within your reach.

Customer Reviews:

What a great book.......2002-11-08

This one really helps. I think it's the best career change book
I have read in a long time. It's so easy to follow, and I've been doing just that, and have made real progress in moving to a new career after early retirement in the health services field.

Thought-provoking guide to life after 50.......2002-07-13

Excellent book! Very thought-provoking, incisive, and informative. A practical guide to the second half of life.

Amazon.com

Two years after its release, the second edition of David Siegel's Creating Killer Web Sites remains a bestselling guide to building sites that are driven by design aesthetics rather than technological prowess. Now, in Futurize Your Enterprise, Siegel takes off his Web designer hat and turns his attention to developing a corporate online presence aimed at meeting consumer needs. He cautions readers to throw off their old bricks-and-mortar mindsets and focus not on "how to build a Web site but how to build a Web business." Siegel divides the book into four parts--"Principles," "Practice," "Prototypes," and "Predictions"--that moves from "tools and methodologies you'll need to transform your management-led organization into what I call a customer-led company," to fictional case studies that show how these techniques may be applied today, to speculative future scenarios "in which the Internet is no longer a tool but a platform for work, community-building and individual empowerment."

His suggestions include establishing an autonomous Web division that takes the medium more seriously than itself, encouraging (if not insisting that) all employees interact directly with online customers, and factoring in participatory or community aspects that actively attract those who share demographics or specific interests. Some may find that Siegel's recommendations suffer because of his repeated use of fictional case studies to make his point. However, those looking for new ideas will surely find some here. Futurize Your Enterprise is for Web masters, business people, and the many that Siegel won over through his earlier books. --Howard Rothman

Book Description

Praise for Futurize Your Enterprise "David Siegel has taken the New Economy to an exciting new level. Futurize Your Enterprise is packed with management insights and a philosophy that celebrates life online." - Eric Schmidt, CEO, Novell "Siegel's principles are a roadmap to the future. The limiting factor online is not the pace of technology but the pace of perception." - Jane Metcalfe, founder, Wired Ventures Inc. "David Siegel's vision of the future is a gift. When I look forward to the changes ahead, this is what I envision. A future where companies co-exist with customers in an expandable, renewable relationship. Managers: you will love this book!" - Susan Rockrise, Worldwide Creative Director, Intel "The next revolution on the Internet will be a management revolution. David Siegel shows how your customers will change your company, whether you were planning to reorganize or not!" - Steve Schaffer, CEO, Mystery.net "David Siegel uses a people-centered, commonsense approach to take the Web from the realm of hype into practical reality." - John Porter, Chairman, Telos Group About the companion web site This book comes with a companion web site, where you can get all the tools you need to construct a customer-led web strategy. It's designed to go hand-in-hand with this book. Come to www.futurizenow.com and get the rest of the story.

Customer Reviews:

An author with a fairly accurate vision.......2006-04-25

It is quite something when a visionary book written in 1998, and published in 1999, is pretty much right on point when reviewed in 2006. I think the author did a wonderful job trying to explain to business people in 1999 that they should move away from a storefront mentality and grasp onto the Internet mentality. The people that did this helped the following companies become huge success stories: Monster.com, Google.com, Yahoo.com, Amazon.com, Dell.com, and WSJ.com.

Many of the specifics included in this book were probably not accurate examples. And many of the examples used were not all that fun to read about. For example, in Part III of the book, I suspect readers would have like to have read about attorneys selling services over the Internet, schools teaching classes over the Internet, newspapers selling news over the Internet, and dating services and recruiting services being offered over the Internet. Instead, the author told us about a grocery store, steel fabricator, and a bank intranet. But who cares? The underlying message is the same: The Internet has and will dramatically change the way people live in our world.

Today so many people get their news online, the weather online, their TV schedules online, and they research cancer, drugs, movies, vacation destinations, famous people, etc. You name it, they log onto the Internet to educate themselves or to buy things they need.

I think the author spent a little too much time discussing the significance of online communities. They have not proven to be money-makers for businesses on the Net. However, company Web sites that promote customer interaction with the company have proven to be successful. These sites are ones that are designed to be customer-driven rather than as digital business cards or digital product listings.

I would have enjoyed the book better if Part IV had been eliminated, if Part III had included fewer sample "prototypes," and if Parts I & II had been more fully developed. I recommend that anybody starting a business, or doing strategic planning for an existing business, get hold of this book and read parts I & II: "Principals" and "Practice." What the author calls "E-Business" is what you should be aiming to create.

Oh - by the way, E-Businesses are the best kind of business to start while you are gainfully employed. Through an E-Business you can work during the day to support yourself, and fill your customers' orders at night that were placed over the Internet. There is no need to have a storefront or to be available to deal with customers during the day like you would have had to just a few years ago. Do yourself a favor and read this book so you will be in a creative state of mind when designing your business plan for an E-Business.

Forget it.......2002-10-03

Keep your $'s. This is one of the worse books ever written. One star is way to much. You really can get better business advice from Tarrot cards. No substance and since it has been out a couple of years, history has proven his ideas flawed.

The worst book I ever read!.......2002-07-02

DON'T BUY THIS BOOK!

If you have common sense, don't listen to the stupid people who think this book has any value. The book is made of a pile of pure stupid, simplistic ideas without any foundation. The author wrote a book about web design in 1996 and in 1999 he wrote this book, now about how people will do business in the future. The result? Just a pile of pre-dotcom-blow guru [junk]...

I read this book just because I needed to do it for a course I attended and it was a torture. I wanted to throw this book in the trash can every time I finished reading one of its paragraphs, but I couldn't.

If you don't believe me, just browse the book and you'll see how it stinks.

Good at one time, but now very out of date.......2002-06-26

Let me preface this review by saying that I am a big fan of David Siegel and I have enjoyed his other books. However, "Futurize Your Enterprise" doesn't have the staying power that his other books have. This book was written in the late `90s and therefore Siegel has the same tone that many new media pundits has at that time which is a sense that nothing could sink this ship, not even God himself. As I read through it I cringed time and time again at how irrelevant some of his comments are in today's economy. This book would have been a best seller even today if the bottom had not fallen out of the Internet market. Unfortunately, this reads more like a time capsule or history book rather than contemporary business book.

From Paris, France - Just brilliant & needs deep reading.......2001-10-14

I'm a web manager and have been working in the web since 5 years. I'm also teacher and writer on the web, in France... This David Siegel's book is just brilliant and I keep on reading and re-reading it. I confirm it needs a deep and not fast reading. He talks very well of problems that undergo webmanagers in middle or big companies, and of new principles. Maybe too well, because after reading his book and his many e-cancer's symptoms descriptions,it's not always easy to stay full motivated in one's company, but he's showing the right direction, so ...

Book Description

This book provides a synthesis of plant-soil-plant interactions in agroforestry, intercropping and grass-legume interactions. It focuses on the process level, which is relevant to many types of multi-species agro-ecosystems. It also links basic research to practical applications in a wide range of systems with or without trees, and considers effects of global change on below-ground interactions.

Earthworm Management in Tropical Agroecosystems

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Earthworm Management in Tropical Agroecosystems

Manufacturer: CABI
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Earth Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0851992706

Book Description

This book covers all aspects of the ecology of tropical earthworm communities and their effects on soil properties and plant growth. It examines the latest methods and technologies which facilitate their management for the maximum benefit to the farmer, and it includes work from leading experts in Europe, South and Central America, Africa, and Asia.

Management of Tropical Agroecosystems and the Beneficial Soil Biota

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Management of Tropical Agroecosystems and the Beneficial Soil Biota

Manufacturer: Science Pub Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Soil Science | Agricultural Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

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Tropical | Ecosystems | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Tropical Agroecosystems (Advances in Agroecology)

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Tropical Agroecosystems (Advances in Agroecology)

Manufacturer: CRC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Science | Subjects | Books

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General | Medicine | Subjects | Books

Ecology | Environment | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Tropical | Ecosystems | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

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All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

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ASIN: 0849315816

Book Description

Tropical areas present ecological, cultural and political problems that demand analysis that is distinct from general ecological analysis. The tropical environment is special in many ways, from the lack of a biological down season (winter), to generally poor soil conditions, to a reliance on traditional methods of agriculture in an undeveloped society. At a time when the sustainability of natural resource use in the tropics has become a very big issue Tropical Agroecosystems provides a critical scientific foundation for developing a sustainable agriculture component within this process. Presenting a broad range of approaches to agroecosystem analysis, the text addresses specific ecological issues associated with agricultural production, examines two case studies of agricultural transformation and its effect on biodiversity, and discusses key landscape relationships between agroecosystems, wildlife, and human disease.

Copro-necrophagous beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) diversity in an agroecosystem in Yucatan, Mexico.: An article from: Revista de Biología Tropical

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Copro-necrophagous beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) diversity in an agroecosystem in Yucatan, Mexico.: An article from: Revista de Biología Tropical
Enrique Reyes Novelo , Hugo Delfín-González , and Miguel Ángel Morón
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000VN7JNM
Release Date: 2007-09-01

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Revista de Biología Tropical, published by Thomson Gale on March 1, 2007. The length of the article is 8685 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Copro-necrophagous beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) diversity in an agroecosystem in Yucatan, Mexico.
Author: Enrique Reyes Novelo
Publication: Revista de Biología Tropical (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 1, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 55 Issue: 1 Page: 83(17)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Evaluating soil quality in tropical agroecosystems of Colombia using NIRS [An article from: Soil Biology and Biochemistry]

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Evaluating soil quality in tropical agroecosystems of Colombia using NIRS [An article from: Soil Biology and Biochemistry]
E. Velasquez , P. Lavelle , E. Barrios , R. Joffre , and R
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Elsevier | By Publisher | e-Docs | Formats | Books
ASIN: B000RR3CW4

Book Description

This digital document is a journal article from Soil Biology and Biochemistry, published by Elsevier in 2005. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
Near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) analysis was used to discriminate soils of different agroecosystems in Colombia, with different contents and qualities of organic matter, chemical, and biological properties. Correlations were sought between absorbance in wavelength classes as determined by NIRS, and a set of variables describing soil quality grouped into three classes: (i) chemical variables (Ca, Mg, K, exchangeable Al, total P, P-Bray II); (ii) organic variables (total C, total N, N-NH"4^+, N-NO"3^-, respirometry and carbon content in different fractions separated by the LUDOX physical methods) and (iii) NIRS variables quantifying the absorptions in the near infrared region separated into 101 classes of wavelength). For each group of variables, a principal component analysis (PCA), associated with discriminant analysis, was run. Each class of variables separated the different soil-use systems (***P <0.001) similarly. Co-inertia analyses among the different groups of variables verified the sensitivity of the NIRS in detecting significant changes in the soil chemical and organic composition, as well as in microbial activity. These results show the high potential of the NIRS for evaluating soil quality in large areas, rapidly, reliably and economically, thereby facilitating decision-making with respect to soil management and conservation.

Fallow management for soil fertility recovery in tropical Andean agroecosystems in Colombia [An article from: Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment]

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Fallow management for soil fertility recovery in tropical Andean agroecosystems in Colombia [An article from: Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment]
E. Barrios , J.G. Cobo , I.M. Rao , R.J. Thomas , and Amez
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Soil Science | Agricultural Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

Elsevier | By Publisher | e-Docs | Formats | Books
ASIN: B000RR5240

Book Description

This digital document is a journal article from Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, published by Elsevier in . The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
Andean hillsides dominate the landscape of a considerable proportion of Cauca Department in Colombia. The typical cropping cycle in the region includes monocrops or intercrops of maize (Zea mays L.), beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and/or cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz). Cassava is usually the last crop before local farmers leave plots to natural fallow until soil fertility is recovered and a new cropping phase can be initiated. Previous studies on land use in the Rio Cabuyal watershed (6500ha) show that a considerable proportion of land (about 25-30%) remains under natural fallow every year. The focus of our studies is on systems of accelerated regeneration of soil fertility, or improved fallow systems, as an alternative to the natural regeneration by the native flora. Fallow improvement studies were conducted on plots following cassava cultivation. The potential for soil fertility recovery after 12 and 28 months was evaluated with two fast growing trees, Calliandra calothyrsus Meissn (CAL) and Indigofera constricta L.(IND), and one shrub, Tithonia diversifolia (Hemsl.) Gray (TTH), as slash/mulch fallow systems compared to the natural fallow (NAT). All planted slash/mulch fallow systems produced greater biomass than the natural fallow. Greatest dry biomass (16.4Mgha^-^1year^-^1) was produced by TTH. Other planted fallows (CAL and IND) produced about 40% less biomass than TTH and the control (NAT) about 75% less. Nutrient levels in the biomass were especially high for TTH, followed by IND, CAL, and NAT. The impact of fallow management on soil chemical, physical and biological parameters related to residual soil fertility during the cropping phase was evaluated. Soil parameters most affected by slash/mulch fallow systems included soil total N, available N (ammonium and nitrate), exchangeable cations (K, Ca, Mg and Al), amount of P in light fraction, soil bulk density and air permeability, and soil macrofauna diversity. Results from field studies suggest that the Tithonia slash/mulch fallow system could be the best option to regenerate soil fertility of degraded volcanic-ash soils of the Andean hillsides.

Synergistic effect of a tropical earthworm Balanteodrilus pearsei and velvetbean Mucuna pruriens var. utilis on maize growth and crop production [An article from: Applied Soil Ecology]

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Synergistic effect of a tropical earthworm Balanteodrilus pearsei and velvetbean Mucuna pruriens var. utilis on maize growth and crop production [An article from: Applied Soil Ecology]
A.I. Ortiz-Ceballos , C. Fragoso , and G.G. Brown
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000PC0IFU

Book Description

This digital document is a journal article from Applied Soil Ecology, published by Elsevier in 2007. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
Many Mexican and Central American farmers use the legume cover crop Mucuna pruriens (velvetbean) to reduce weed growth, enhance soil fertility, and reduce the use of irrigation, tillage and herbicides. This cropping system can also maintain abundant native earthworm populations, such as of the endogeic species Balanteodrilus pearsei, although the functional significance of these earthworms, particularly their effects on litter decomposition and plant growth are still mostly unknown. Therefore, a completely randomized 2x2 factorial was set up to investigate the effects of B. pearsei and M. pruriens litter on maize growth under controlled conditions. One maize plant was grown in each bucket for 120 days and each treatment was replicated 10 times. Treatments consisted of: soil without B. pearsei and without M. pruriens residues (S); soil with B. pearsei and without M. pruriens litter (SB); soil with M. pruriens and without B. pearsei litter (SM); soil with B. pearsei and M. pruriens residues (SBM). In SBM, biomass, abundance and sexual maturity of B. pearsei were, respectively, 1.6, 1.4 and 2.4 times higher than in the treatment lacking M. pruriens (SB). B. pearsei presence significantly reduced the amount of M. pruriens litter mass remaining on the soil surface. Maize root biomass and grain yields were significantly higher in SBM than in SM, S and SB. Grain yield was significantly related to B. pearsei abundance and biomass, as well as to M. pruriens litter breakdown. The positive yields effects of SBM in this experiment appear to be due to a synergistic effect of B. pearsei and M. pruriens. These findings point to the importance of providing adequate conditions for earthworm activity in tropical agroecosystems, together with organic residue management, to enhance soil fertility, crop yields and agricultural sustainability.

Variations in soil microbial biomass and crop roots due to differing resource quality inputs in a tropical dryland agroecosystem [An article from: Soil Biology and Biochemistry]

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Variations in soil microbial biomass and crop roots due to differing resource quality inputs in a tropical dryland agroecosystem [An article from: Soil Biology and Biochemistry]
S. Singh , N. Ghoshal , and K.P. Singh
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000PC08RS

Book Description

This digital document is a journal article from Soil Biology and Biochemistry, published by Elsevier in 2007. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
The influence of exogenous organic inputs on soil microbial biomass dynamics and crop root biomass was studied through two annual cycles in rice-barley rotation in a tropical dryland agroecosystem. The treatments involved addition of equivalent amount of N (80kgNha^-^1) through chemical fertilizer and three organic inputs at the beginning of each annual cycle: Sesbania shoot (high-quality resource, C:N 16, lignin:N 3.2, polyphenol+lignin:N 4.2), wheat straw (low-quality resource, C:N 82, lignin:N 34.8, polyphenol+lignin:N 36.8) and Sesbania+wheat straw (high-and low-quality resources combined), besides control. The decomposition rates of various inputs and crop roots were determined in field conditions by mass loss method. Sesbania (decay constant, k=0.028) decomposed much faster than wheat straw (k=0.0025); decomposition rate of Sesbania+wheat straw was twice as fast compared to wheat straw. On average, soil microbial biomass levels were: rice period, Sesbania>=Sesbania+wheat straw>wheat straw>=fertilizer; barley period, Sesbania+wheat straw>Sesbania>=wheat straw>=fertilizer; summer fallow, Sesbania+wheat straw>Sesbania>wheat straw>=fertilizer. Soil microbial biomass increased through rice and barley crop periods to summer fallow; however, in Sesbania shoot application a strong peak was obtained during rice crop period. In both crops soil microbial biomass C and N decreased distinctly from seedling to grain-forming stages, and then increased to the maximum at crop maturity. Crop roots, however, showed reverse trend through the cropping period, suggesting strong competition between microbial biomass and crop roots for available nutrients. It is concluded that both resource quality and crop roots had distinct effect on soil microbial biomass and combined application of Sesbania shoot and wheat straw was most effective in sustained build up of microbial biomass through the annual cycle.

Below-Ground Interactions in Tropical Agroecosystems: Concepts and Models with Multiple Plant Components

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Below-Ground Interactions in Tropical Agroecosystems: Concepts and Models with Multiple Plant Components
C. K. Ong
Manufacturer: CAB International
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MV5V3I

Book Description

Do genes explain life? Can advances in evolutionary and molecular biology account for what we look like, how we behave, and why we die? In this powerful intervention into current biological thinking, Brian Goodwin argues that such genetic reductionism has important limits.

Drawing on the sciences of complexity, the author shows how an understanding of the self-organizing patterns of networks is necessary for making sense of nature. Genes are important, but only as part of a process constrained by environment, physical laws, and the universal tendencies of complex adaptive systems. In a new preface for this edition, Goodwin reflects on the advances in both genetics and the sciences of complexity since the book's original publication.

Customer Reviews:

Something of Value, but User Assembly Required.......2006-03-08

Goodwin and some others like to call his point a view a new theory of evolution. Call it what you will, I think it falls way short of a new theory, mostly in the body of evidence category, but also because it doesn't understand and refute Darwinian theory.

What it is, is, a collection of interesting observations that points out that not all in morphology is determined by genetics, but that "excitable systems" are responsible for some aspects of developement and speciation. To me, this helps explains the sources of randomness and arbitrary choice we see in genetic drift or in neutral adapation theory. It is an interesting new flavor in the frosting of the Darwinian cake, but it is not a new cake.

What irritates me to no end about this book is the last two chapters, in which Goodwin makes a totally unsubstantiated (and barely followable) leap to connect his work to the Gaia hypothesis. Here he becomes cloyingly sweet and politically correct in one breath, and it is here that I finally suffocated.

Misinformed.......2005-11-19

Brian Goodwin's book might be worth reading from the perspective that it brings a voice to a little-heard structuralist perspective on evolution. As a biologist myself, though, I have to say that Goodwin misses the mark. Goodwin's knowledge of Darwinian theory is inadequate to critique it, and his knowledge of genetics abyssmal.

Goodwin's central thesis is that organisms adapt out of a structural interaction with the environment. Sort of like a crystal forming on an icy window. Interesting idea, and perhaps with some developmental relevance, but the simple fact that two genetically different organisms placed in an identical environment (an experiment that has been repeated ad naseum since the invention of genetics) are observed to develop differently pretty much lays ruin to Goodwin's thesis.

Readers who are not scientists should know that Goodwin's ideas are tin-foil-hat fringe and lacking in both empirical support and in any demonstration that they lead to a productive research program. This is not a book to read if you wish to learn anything about evolutionary science. It is a book to read if you'd like a novel- if not entirely sane- view on biological change.

Neither Goodwin nor Dembski understands evolution.......2004-06-30

This book is the source of a widely circulated quote by William Dembski which proves beyond a doubt that neither Goodwin nor Dembski has the faintest idea of how evolution works.

Goodwin describes how Sol Spiegelman put some viral RNA in a test tube, along with a "replicase" molecule whose job is to duplicate RNA. He heated the RNA for a while to force the replicase to make copies of the RNA, then took a sample, purified it and used it to innoculate a second test tube. After the RNA in that test tube had been copied, he took a sample, purified it and used it to innoculate a third test tube. This continued for twenty some "generations", at which time the RNA was reduced to a small fraction of its original length and was duplicating much faster than the original because there was so much less to duplicate.

First Goodwin, then Dembski and now the whole Intelligent Design universe think this somehow shows that evolution is impossible. What it actually shows is that if RNA or DNA has no function, it won't be missed if it disappears - and 90 percent of the RNA had no function in the test tube environment. The only parts that were doing something were the parts that the replicase used to find the start and end points for its copying function.

This is made abundantly clear in the original paper when Spiegelman states that after the fourth transfer, the RNA became incapable of infecting a cell. That means that in real life, the "experiment" would have stopped right there because the shortened, defective RNA would not have been passed on.

Unfortunately, first Goodwin and then Dembski completely misunderstood this experiment and now Dembski has spread the misunderstanding to the entire religious community. They both owe the world an apology.

Well I've changed my spots!.......2002-06-21

The main theme is about how DNA doesn't need to provide information in every detail to produce an organism. Chemical, physical and mathematical forces also play a significant part in the production of an organism. The book is also about how natural selection is not the only process at work for evolutionary advancement. I totally agree with the conclusion, and he's sure changed my thoughts on the subject, but it was a challenge to read it all because of the way it is written. It could have been more fun.

For the others that read this book and still don't get "how the leopard changed its spots" - its a metaphor. Leopards aren't supposed to change their spots. The leopard symbolises scientists like Richard Dawkins and others who are fixated with genetic evolution and DNA. After reading this book, will they change their ways? Its not about leopards!

It does have loads of fascinating examples, with all the relevant diagrams & figures to make the point clear, so he's done a good job assembling all of those. From ant colonies & the BZ reaction, to evolution of the eye & fibrillation in the human heart. An example: it is the concentration of calcium that causes the single celled organism (Acetabularia) to grow to a particular shape, NOT the DNA. He also explains why a sunflower seed head forms a spiral, and it is all to do with mathematics, nothing to do with sunflower DNA.

The trouble with this book is that the author uses the word "dynamic" waaaay too much. It quickly becomes very annoying. He is obsessed with that word. Open the book at random, and you will see what I am talking about. Aside from that, it is very tedious to read. Instead of making the ideas easily understood, it seems Brian Goodwin goes out of his way to make it complicated.

I'd really like to give it 3.5 stars, because at the end of it I was glad I read it, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to anyone, because there are better books out there (you might like to see my other reviews on popular science books). Remember that you can only read a limited number of books in your lifetime, and this one is not perfect. Buy it ONLY if you're specifically interested in this field of science OR you've read all the truly good books out there and want to lower your standards a bit and still keep reading popular science!

Dynamics and evolution.......1999-11-22

This is a great book. Readers interested in understanding the rules that shape morphogenesis over evolution should read it. Goodwin provides convincing evidence for fundamental dynamic rules involved in the generation of form. Together with natural selection, these mechanisms offer a more complete view of how evolution works.

How the Leopard Changed Its Spots : The Evolution of Complexity

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How the Leopard Changed Its Spots : The Evolution of Complexity
Brian Goodwin
Manufacturer: Scribner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000O8YAX6

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How The Leopard Changed Its Spots. The Evolution Of Complexity.
Brian Goodwin
Manufacturer: Orion Publishing Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000ORYLFE

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