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The complex idea of "species" has evolved over time, yet its meaning is far from resolved. This comprehensive work takes a fresh look at an idea central to the field of biology by tracing its history from antiquity to today. John S. Wilkins explores the essentialist view, a staple of logic from Plato and Aristotle through the Middle Ages to fairly recent times, and considers the idea of species in natural history--a concept often connected to reproduction. Tracing "generative conceptions" of species back through Darwin to Epicurus, Wilkins provides a new perspective on the relationship between philosophical and biological approaches to this concept. He also reviews the array of current definitions. Species is a benchmark exploration and clarification of a concept fundamental to the past, present, and future of the natural sciences. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A thorough history of the species concept
Wilkins takes us through a time journey from the age of the early Greek philosophers to the current era of evolutionary biology, dissecting the idea of species (and genus).This book is a must-read for those who aspire to competence in biological systematics.We are reminded of the pervasive notion of the Scala Naturae and its impact on Linnean, Lamarckian, and even contemporary thinking.This is contrasted with the unique insights of Darwin, who, according to the author, created the modern species concept while at the same time giving the impression of denying the existence of species as a special taxonomic category.The views of Dobzhansky, Mayr, and Hennig are examined in a new light.My only reason for not giving 5 stars is the occasional bad sentence.The book would have greatly benefited from a close reading by a style editor.

Exploring the Essence
If you are looking for a fast and easy reading book that concludes with a contemporary definition of the term "species," Species a History of the Idea is not the book for you.

If you are looking for a detailed history of all the major and minor players with their contributions in the search for essence of the term "species," Species a History of the Idea is definitely the book for you.

The following quote from the Preface is illustrative of the overall style of the book:

"In summary, then, we have three claims that this book is intended to demonstrate: the logical and natural species are distinct ideas that largely share only a term; there was a single species `concept' from antiquity to the arrival of genetics, the generative conception; and types are neither the same as essences nor something that changes much with Darwin."

While the reading is difficult, the material is an indispensible resource in the forensic search for the historical essence of the term "species."

Richard William Nelson

Darwin, Then and Now: The Most Amazing Story in the History of Science ... Read more

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Pulmonary Physiology and Pathophysiology: An Integrated, Case-Based Approach
This book is readable and concise. Physiology and pathophysiology are applied to each case study. However, the chest X-ray findings are not reproduced well in the figures.

Concise and Easy
This is really a lovely book for clearing up concepts in pulmonary physiology. Dr West, one of the globally famous physiology author, integrated pulmonary pathology with the underlining physiology in this thin book. He tried to help students understand what goes wrong in numerous common lung and airway problems with the interesting cases he presented. As he pointed out in the preface, he intended to make this book as concise as possible in order to fit the modern cirriculum by sparing more time for students to deal with the expanding syllabus in molecular science!! ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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This volume is produced from digital images created through the University of Michigan University Library's preservation reformatting program. The Library seeks to preserve the intellectual content of items in a manner that facilitates and promotes a variety of uses. The digital reformatting process results in an electronic version of the text that can both be accessed online and used to create new print copies. This book and thousands of others can be found in the digital collections of the University of Michigan Library. The University Library also understands and values the utility of print, and makes reprints available through its Scholarly Publishing Office. ... Read more

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John Wilkins, Bishop of Chester (1614-72), was a founding member of the Royal Society and one of the most influential thinkers of the 17th century. His masterpiece, "An Essay Towards a Real Character and a Philosophical Language", is a key text in the history of language. Ready for publication in January 1666 but destroyed by the Great Fire, the work finally published in 1668 is Wilkins's attempt at creating a universal language. Wilkins maintained that because all people's minds functioned in the same way and had a similar "apprehension of things", it should be possible to cultivate a rational universal language and a character that would also articulate things and notions. Not only would they aid international scientific communication and commerce, but "prove the shortest and plainest way for the attainment of real Knowledge, that hath been yet offered to the World". Although Wilkins's universal language was never adopted for common use (and he never regarded the work as complete), it was widely considered to be superior to the earliest work by George Dalgarno, "Ars signorum" (1661).The first portion of the "Essay" focuses on an examination of the origins, change, adoption and diffusion of languages and alphabets. The second portion contains his "Universal Philosophy" classification system, with tables of animals, birds, fishes and plants drawn up by the two great naturalists, Francis Willoughby and John Ray. It was widely considered that the botanical and biological classifications were superior to any yet available, greatly advancing the creation of a scientific nomenclature. The work inspired John Ray to revise his own system. Appended to the "Essay" is an alphabetical dictionary which lists English words, their symbols in the real character, and references to their proper place in the classification. Some of the greatest minds of the 18th century received Wilkins's creation enthusiastically: John Locke recommended the "Essay" over Dalgarno's work; Newton mentioned the book in his correspondence; Erasmus Darwin admired it; and the anthropologist Lord Monboddo praised it in his "Origin and Progress of Language".The "Essay" continued to attract widepsread attention in the 19th and 20th centuries: Roget, author of the ever popular "Thesaurus", articulated his indebtedness to Wilkins, and based his classifications on Wilkins's system. Wilkins's treatment of the alphabet and phonetics were regarded as authoritative for many generations after his death, and in recent times the work has come to the attention of those interested in the development of symbolic logic and semantics. The work, reprinted here in its original size, is a valuable text for all scholars concerned with the history of language and science. ... Read more

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Webster's bibliographic and event-based timelines are comprehensive in scope, covering virtually all topics, geographic locations and people. They do so from a linguistic point of view, and in the case of this book, the focus is on "John Wilkins," including when used in literature (e.g. all authors that might have John Wilkins in their name). As such, this book represents the largest compilation of timeline events associated with John Wilkins when it is used in proper noun form. Webster's timelines cover bibliographic citations, patented inventions, as well as non-conventional and alternative meanings which capture ambiguities in usage. These furthermore cover all parts of speech (possessive, institutional usage, geographic usage) and contexts, including pop culture, the arts, social sciences (linguistics, history, geography, economics, sociology, political science), business, computer science, literature, law, medicine, psychology, mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology and other physical sciences. This "data dump" results in a comprehensive set of entries for a bibliographic and/or event-based timeline on the proper name John Wilkins, since editorial decisions to include or exclude events is purely a linguistic process. The resulting entries are used under license or with permission, used under "fair use" conditions, used in agreement with the original authors, or are in the public domain. ... Read more

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from: To the Reader: If amongst thy leisure houresthou canst spare any for the perusall of this discourse, and dost looke to findesomewhat in it which may serve for thy information and benefit: let me thenadvise thee to come unto it with an equall minde, not swayed by prejudice, butindifferently resolved to assent unto that truth which upon deliberation shallseeme most probable unto thy reason, and then I doubt not, but either thou wiltagree with mee in this assertion, or at least not thinke it to be as farre fromtruth, as it is from common opinion.

Two cautions there are which I would willingly admonish thee of in thebeginning.

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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In this reader, 19 articles have been collected that bring out the central position of John Wilkins and his "Essay Toward a Real Character, and a Philosophical Language" (1668) in the history of ideas in 17th-century Britain ... Read more

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The book has no illustrations or index. Purchasers are entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Subjects: Bishops; ... Read more

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This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

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Due to the very old age and scarcity of this book, many of the pages may be hard to read due to the blurring of the original text. ... Read more

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The miniaturist art of gem engraving is the least familiar of the major arts of ancient Greece, yet we know it to have been practiced by the greatest artists. This book presents a comprehensive account of the art in Greek lands from the early Bronze Age down to the Hellenistic period. The gems are related to history and to the artistic achievements in other media of their day, and the subject matter of the scenes engraved upon them is examined and found to hold much that will be new to students of Greek myth and iconography. The development of the Bronze Age studios in the Minoan and Mycenaean world is discussed, and the works of the great period of Classical gem engraving are resolved into their styles and schools, with a special chapter devoted to Greek works within the Persian Empire. The attributions and discussion are supported by full notes and lists. The plates, which show the gems enlarged up to four times their natural size, present the fullest possible range of devices and styles from all periods. This revised edition will be an essential work of reference for students and scholars, as well as a thorough survey of the subject for all lovers of Greek art. 1395 illustrations, 51 in color. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

MYSTERIUM TREMENDUM ET FASCINANS
Greek Gems and Finger Rings is not a book about jewelry, merely; it's about history, archeology, art, and the origins of Western civilization. John Boardman makes a great case for why anyone interested in the ancient Greeks, and particularly their fine arts, should take a careful look at their gems and finger rings. Many if not most of the "gems" and "rings" discussed (and pictured in exquisite detail in the book) are actually seals used by the ancient Greeks (and Minoans) for various purposes: to seal and mark private personal correspondence and documents of state, to seal and identify containers and their goods in commerce. They were also used as heraldry. And yes, sometimes they were just jewelry. In Bronze Age Greece, these seals went from crude glyphs to gorgeous works of art in ivory, gold, precious stones. Some depict religious rituals and gods, scenes from mythology. Or they can depict hunting scenes with people and animals. Boardman takes you chronologically from Minoan/Mycenean to Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic. He places the gems in cultural and historical context. He obviously has extensive knowledge of the prior literature on the subject, especially the archeological record and matters of provenance. Many of the gems in this book are artistic masterpieces to rival those of any Greek art. Boardman makes a case for them as miniature sculpture. To me they are more interesting than early Greek vase painting, which appears more frequently in books about ancient Greece than these seals, which are rarely shown. What particularly fascinated me was the clear differences in techniques, tastes, and styles from period to period. Comparing, say, the early Minoan and Mycenean seals to those of the Classical period yields some continuities, of course, but also much that is different, even in the way they portray the human (and also non-human) body. For example, the Minoans depicted people as wasp-waisted, with arm and leg joints very tapered, a total contrast to the Classical depictions, which are more realistic even within their idealizations. The Minoan bodies look more flexible, and their style captures a vibrant sense of animation, movement, life. The Classical gems are beautiful, but I found the Minoan gems more interesting. They are certainly more ecstatically alive. I might wonder to what extent the classical Greeks really believed in their gods, but in the case of the Minoan seals I must say they really convey a sense of pagan worship, showing rituals involving bare-chested women holding serpents, little gods materializing above altars. The Minoans and Myceneans are farther back in time than the Classical Greeks, and their art conveys that primordiality, a spirit and attitude towards existence that appear strange to us today as compared with the seals created in subsequent periods. We recognize the classical; its influence is all around us. But the Minoans seem alien, even in the way they dress. The book itself is large, sumptuous, and brimming with over a thousand detailed impressions and photographs. Well worth the price.

Bargain Price on a Beautiful Book
Boardman's book is great for looking at Bronze Age, early and classical Greek Gems, but only spends a few pages on Hellenistic Gems and lumps them together with Roman, which was a bit disappointing. Other than that, a beautiful book, almost a complete corpus of gems from the noted period. Very useful. ... Read more

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Written in a consistent format to allow easy study and reference, this comprehensive guide to floriculture production covers more crop species than any other book on the market, and incorporates current and historic information from both the United States and international floriculture. This book is the most up-to-date and comprehensive title covering all species. Provides complete coverage of floriculture production, postharvest handling, and marketing as well as greenhouse and business management. Extensive, easy-to-use tables are included that list propagation techniques, production temperatures, and crop times, photoperiodic requirements for flowering, foliar nutrient levels, effective growth retardants, postharvest storage temperatures, and ethylene sensitivity of hundreds of species. Floriculture Principles and Species is a comprehensive book designed for both industry professionals and hobbyists. For the industry this book is used by producers to grow their crops, conduct their business operations, and market their products. It provides technical information for advisors, suppliers and sales staff to aid their clientele. Readers will be able to learn about the diversity and details of floriculture production.

Customer Reviews (1)

ABrief Commentary on the value of this book
This book was used by my son Mark Luftig in apaper in his collage study in hortaculture. The information, details and little known facts this book has is simply amazing!For example, the paper mentioned was on the bulb family Hippeastrum. No other book (he had looked at over 30 other books in4 different librarys) before he found this volume in the reference sectionon campus. Not only did it give information he had already gathered, butvery specific information such as tempature needed to raise them, dormancycontrols, media details and postharvest just to name a few. There arehundreds of other plants listed, all treated the same way. This enabled himto get his a very high mark on his paper as well as his final grade. It isvery detailed and not for the weekend gardener but for the serious studentor professional. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (23)

Concise, but not for the faint of heart
Invariably, if you are studying pulmonary physiology or respiratory systems or anesthesia or anything involving the lung, you have heard of "West's zones of the lung."Take it from the source.And while at first glance you might think you can get through this text in an hour, be prepared, it reads like Finnegan's Wake.....well, maybe more like Ullyses.
You should expect to read this book cover to cover at least twice.Some sections will require the same amount of time you would engaging a much longer, more belaboured text and your brain might feel like scrambled eggs.But once you've read and understood West, you understand lung and respiratory physiology.
Full of useful diagrams and explanations, the only thing i felt this book lacked was a good flow from one subject to another. But from PFT's, to alveolar function and cellular physiology, this book will cover everything you need to know.

poorly written
This book does not explain concepts very clearly. There are other more lucid texts available for this subject. Most of the figures in the book are graphs (2D cartesian plots) which are poorly explained in either the captions or the main text. My reading of this book was largely supplemented by accessing other resources because the book's poorly written style is not conducive to learning the material.

Essential for physiology course and boards!
Don't think twice.Buy it.You need it.It's a tiny book and can be read in a day.

Half of book was upside down
Part of the book was bound in reverse. I just would have like to have known ahead of time. Other wise the book is good condition and it came promptly.

A must have for learning respiratory physiology
My teacher did not provide the best lectures for the respiratory section of my medical physiology.However, I discovered that this is a text that he used for most of his figures!This book really breaks down all the respiratory physiology topics and I would recommend it to anyone taking a medical physiology course! ... Read more