Leonardo’s Mountain of Clams and the Diet of Worms: Essays on Natural History

Contents......Page 8
Introduction: Pieces of Eight: Confession of a Humanistic Naturalist......Page 12
I. Art and Science......Page 26
1. The Upwardly Mobile Fossils of Leonardo’sLiving Earth......Page 28
2. The Great Western and the Fighting Temeraire......Page 56
3. Seeing Eye to Eye, Through a Glass Clearly......Page 68
II. Biographies in Evolution......Page 86
4. The Clam Stripped Bare by Her Naturalists, Even......Page 88
5. Darwin’s American Soulmate: A Bird’s-Eye View......Page 110
6. A Seahorse for All Races......Page 130
7. Mr. Sophia’s Pony......Page 152
III. Human Prehistory......Page 170
8. Up Against a Wall......Page 172
9. A Lesson from the Old Masters......Page 190
10. Our Unusual Unity......Page 208
IV. Of History and Toleration
......Page 224
11. A Cerion for Christopher......Page 226
12. The Dodo in the Caucus Race......Page 242
13. The Diet of Worms and the Defenestration of Prague......Page 262
V. Evolution Facts and Theories......Page 278
14. Non-Overlapping Magisteria......Page 280
15. Boyle’s Law and Darwin’s Details......Page 296
16. The Tallest Tale......Page 312
17. Brotherhood by Inversion (or, As the Worm Turns)......Page 330
VI. Different Perception of Common Truths......Page 348
18. War of the World views......Page 350
19. Triumph of the Root-Heads......Page 366
20. Can We Truly Know Sloth and Rapacity?......Page 386
21. Reversing Established Orders......Page 404
Bibliography......Page 416
Illustration Credits......Page 423
Index......Page 425