Books : Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 301.3101
EAN: 9780140047431
ISBN: 0140047433
Label: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 160
Publication Date: February 23, 1978
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Sales Rank: 58280
Studio: Penguin (Non-Classics)
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Lewis Thomas is that odd trifecta: a learned scientist; a speculative philosopher; and a master of prose both gracious and graceful.
The Lives of a Cell is a book of 29 essays originally written for the New England Journal of Medicine. They are short; they are light and airy; they are pretty; they are fun. Teenagers could enjoy them. But these essays are fundamentally serious and scientific. Lewis is always on the hunt for the cosmic insight or deeper truth.
His mind works metaphorically. He seeks interconnections. A recurring motif is to wonder whether social animals such as ants are like cells or more like human societies or perchance like the planet earth. Here is a celebrated quote:
"I have been trying to think of the earth as a kind of organism, but it is no go. I cannot think of it this way. It is too big, too complex, with too many working parts lacking visible connections. The other night, driving through a hilly, wooded part of southern New England, I wondered about this. If not like an organism, what is it like, what is it most like? Then, satisfactorily for that moment, it came to me: it is most like a single cell."
This book was a bestseller around 1975 and won the National Book Award. Everyone seemed to be reading it. I read it. I recently ordered it again because I thought it might contain a tidbit for a video I was making called How To Teach Science. No such luck, but this is a book anyone could enjoy reading twice. ... Read More
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Lewis Thomas' essays offer the creative and whimsical perspectives of a scientist. I doubt the non-biologist would appreciate these 'notes of a biology watcher' much, but as a biologist myself, I have to say that this is one of my favorite books for light reading.
No, I don't get a great deal of new knowledge from reading Lives of a Cell, but he clearly looked at science and the world in ways that I wouldn't have thought of. I've caught myself chuckling at his wit with each and every essay - and there are quite a few in there - and I re-read them when the occasion arises (usually while passing the time during traveling).
And so, in a phrase, I'd describe this book as 'light reading and wit for biologists.' If that's what you're looking for, it's a very good book indeed.
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Chapter 9 of "The Lonely Silver Rain" by John D. MacDonald, Fawcett 1985, opens with McGee "...reading Lewis Thomas and for the first time he depressed me, even when he said that the glue that seems to hold mankind in some kind of lasting stasis is everyone's desire to be useful."
Did MacDonald and Thomas meet at Harvard? He was in the MBA program in 1938-39. Was Thomas in the medical school at that time? MacDonald died in 1986 while undergoing heart surgery. I guess if Thomas depressed him, he had it pretty bad.
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In recommending this book to an acquaintance, I remembered how much I loved it. I read it a long time ago, perhaps 20 years ago, and still feel that it was one of the best reads of my lifetime. Contrary to reinforcing a rift between religion and science, this book seems to marry miracle to biology; it also marries macrocosm to microcosm. My reaction when I finished it, was to want to dance and sing! The content of this book is simply amazing! If you want to have your awe and curiosity piqued, I recommend it--with enthusiasm and joy!
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This is truly an amazing work. Thomas's writing is beautiful and the stories fantastic with just enough humor. I have learned so much and enjoyed it all at the same time. I highly recommend this book. If you are not sure of something, look it up! Just think how smart you will become.
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