BOOKSHELF

Natural History, June, 1999

Watching, From the Edge of Extinction

Watching, From the Edge of Extinction By Beverly Peterson Stearns and Stephen C. Stearns (Yale University Press, 1999; $30; 288pp.; illus.)

Of the approximately 7 million species on Earth, between seventy and seven hundred become extinct each year. Journalist Beverly Stearns and University of Basel zoologist Stephen Stearns write with urgency and passion about the loss of biodiversity on the planet. Chronicled are a marine biologist's efforts to save Mediterranean monk seals and the disastrous effect of species introductions on East Africa's Lake Victoria.

Cartography in the Traditional African, American, Arctic, Australian, and Pacific Societies

Cartography in the Traditional African, American, Arctic, Australian, and Pacific Societies, vol. 2, bk. 3 of The History of Cartography Edited by David Woodward and G. Malcolm Lewis (University of Chicago Press, 1998; $150; 660 pp.; illus.)

Whether painted on rock walls in South Africa or fashioned from palm fronds and shells in the Marshall Islands, the maps, diagrams, and ceremonial objects in this copiously illustrated book in the History of Cartography series illuminate the material culture, cognitive systems, and social motivations of the indigenous peoples of the world.

Melting the Earth: The Evolution of Ideas About Volcanic Eruptions

Melting the Earth: The Evolution of Ideas About Volcanic Eruptions By Haraldur Sigurdsson (Oxford University Press, 1999; $27.50; 272pp.; illus.)

This century's discoveries in thermodynamics, petrology, geochemistry, and especially plate tectonics have led to a quantitative leap forward in knowledge about volcanoes. In his inclusive history of attempts to understand "the heat below" and the "chimneys of hell," volcanologist Sigurdsson begins as far back as 6200 n.c., with a visual representation of a volcano found in the ancient settlement of Catal Huyuk.

The Sun, the Genome, and the Internet: Tools of Scientific Revolutions

The Sun, the Genome, and the Internet: Tools of Scientific Revolutions By Freeman J. Dyson (Oxford University Press, 1999; $22; 168pp.)

In his seventh book, based on lectures at the New York Public Library in 1997, theoretical physicist Dyson argues that solar energy, genetic engineering, and worldwide communications can be used in the service of social justice. He envisions how these technologies could narrow the gap between rich and poor, benefiting societies on the village level as well as paving the way for deep-space exploration.

Time, Love, Memory: A Great Biologist and His Quest for the Origins of Behavior

Time, Love, Memory: A Great Biologist and His Quest for the Origins of Behavior By Jonathan Weiner (Alfred A. Knopf, 1999; $27.50; 300 pp.; illus.)

Pioneer molecular biologist Seymour Benzer, whose work with Drosophila began the process of cracking the genetic code, is profiled in a sweeping narrative by Pulitzer Prize winner Jonathan Weiner. In chronicling breakthroughs over the last hundred years, Weiner describes the still-unfolding relationship between genes and behavior.

The books mentioned in "Natural Selections" are usually available from the Museum Shop of the American Museum of Natural History, (212) 769-5150.