The Klamath Knot: Explorations of Myth and Evolution, Twentieth Anniversary Edition

Book Description

Winner of the John Burroughs Medal for Nature Writing, the Commonwealth Club Silver Medal for Literature 1984, and named one of the twentieth century's best nonfiction books by the San Francisco Chronicle, The Klamath Knot, originally published by Sierra Club Books in 1983, is a personal vision of wilderness in the Klamath Mountains of northwest California and southwest Oregon, seen through the lens of "evolutionary mythology." David Rains Wallace uses his explorations of the diverse ecosystems in this region to ponder the role of evolution and myth in our culture. The author's new epilogue makes a case for the creation of a new park to safeguard this exceptionally rich storehouse of relict species and evolutionary stories, which has largely been bypassed by conservationists since John Muir.

Customer Reviews:

Crawling out of the Ooze in Nor Carl.......2007-01-17

From one special corner of the biosphere, David Wallace explores the evolution of life on earth. Before you say, "not another treatise on evolution," The Klamath Knot is a different animal.

Even though Wallace's knowledge of the Klamath ecosystems and the dynamics of evolution are fundamentally sound, he's grasping for much more in this book. As the smaller print under the title states, it's an "exploration of myth and evolution." The Klamath Knot represents the rare blend of hard science of the world we can observe and measure with that of the world we can only imagine or dream. That's quite a subject-matter-bridge to cross, but Wallace puts it off. Once I got a couple of chapters into the book, the distinction between science and myth began to blur (i.e., Do giants really exist? Not sure).

Wallace doles out each chapter as the creator planned it. He introduces us to rock, primal ooze, water, and ultimately life. And the backdrop for each major step of life evolving on this planet is the Klamath Mountains. A truly magical and diverse region along the California and Oregon border that stretches from the Rogue River south to the Eel River. A place that is home to old growth forests, runs of salmon and steelhead, and high deserts. Wallace takes us into some of the more remote places of the Klamath and masterfully focuses on the biological importance of each ecosystem.

The book goes well beyond the physical world and ponders some interesting questions. Like where is life on our planet headed? Is it possible to know where it's headed? What can we learn from evolution? Does life evolve from cooperation or competition or both? What is the role of myth? Does Big-Foot really exist? Could he exist? Is this creature another branch along life's tree?

I admire the author for both his skill and courage in addressing such diverse subject matter. Reading the Klamath Know will leave you with a renewed sense of wonder about the natural world.

See for yourself.......2005-12-20

This is an essay -- for lack of a better term -- that combines natural science, mythology, philosophy, even some anthropology, in a moving discourse centered around the Pacific Northwest's Klamath Mountains.

It's deeply (though not overtly) spiritual, discussing life with a sense of wonder we often leave behind. It's also as intelligent, and as important, as any good academic work on ecology, but unlike most of those, it'll draw you in, pulling so subtly you won't even feel its power until suddenly you've finished a chapter and realized your perceptions have changed.

Until you've picked it up, you won't know what I mean, but it won't take long to see that THE KLAMATH KNOT can make the Mystery that is life more accessible to all of us. For this reason, it isn't just a philosophical toy you'll be able to discard; instead, you'll find it informs the way you live in the world.

Overlooked gem of natural philosophy.......2004-03-31

Nature writing always carries something of the romantic with it, and this is its greatest strength and greatest curse. As a strength, it provides a window into the sublime limit which nature opens for her human observers. Such romanticism is a weakness, however, if it devolves into a reified hymn to an imagined nature which is as unreal as the imagined un-nature from which one hopes to fly. Nature is not a paradigm, is not a given. One has to meet it, encounter it, realize one's place in it, hear what it has to say, say something back to it, wonder about it, and allow it to remain mystery. The best nature writing has does this -- think of Walden, and how Thoreau allows the pond to retain its power and dignity while plumbing its depths, measuring its boundaries, cataloging its flora and fauna, and descibing his own very human comings and goings around its then mostly deforested banks. In the end, we know a lot about the pond, and even more about Thoreau, but Walden remains Walden, the myth, the legend. Having been lucky enough to have lived close to Walden for several years, I can tell you that no amount of reading about Walden, even at Walden, can capture the life of the pond. Thoreau's book takes the measure of the pond, and makes it real in a way that the real Walden always has been, yet never quite is.

Wallace's book accomplishes this for the Klamath mountains of northern California, home of great trees, deep lakes, and sasquatch. His book never holds the Klamath at arm's length, as the romantic impulse al too often wants to do, but rather gives an account of the terrain, measures it out, proposes a history and a taxonomy of the land and the fields and the rivers which captures so much about the place, but never pretends to total knowledge. He writes (as did Aristotle about his fish, and Thoreau about his flowers) as a scientist with the soul of a poet, or perhaps a poet with a scientist's eye. Of course, Wallace is neither a scientist nor a poet (neither were Aristotle or Thoreau), and so what we see is Wallace's experience of the Kalamath, not Klamath poetry and Klamath science. And of course, that is all we can see, just as all we can see in Walden the book is Thoreau's experience of Walden the pond. Such places cannot be captured by a single perspective, but will not be seen at all unless a single perspective widens the vision for the rest of us. There are many small ponds around Concord, Mass, but Thoreau went to live at Walden. And there are many wild knots of mountains and rivers still scattered around this nation, and the world. Each one needs a Thoreau, or a Wallace, or an Ed Abbey, or Aldo Leopold, or Muir, or Whitman, to bring it to our vision in a way we may have never seen it before. I daresay the lumbermen who cut the trees on Walden's shores saw the same water and sky as Thoreau -- but it was Thoreau's way of seeing it that lasted. Wallace's view is the one that needs to last, to stick in the mind, concerning the Klamath region.

Wallace's theme in the book is an "evolutionary myth," one that tells a story about the land which provides a key to meaning. He writes, "Moses forced his society to accept a unifying law; Jesus forced his to accept the unity of all of humanity; Darwin forced his to accept the unity of all of life" (8). He acknowledges that placing Darwin in league with Moses and Jesus will strike some as odd, but Wallace is a man with a vision. He points out that "both religion and science are mythologies, in the sense that each provides the individual with an account of the origins and meanings of life. It seems to me irrelevant, in this mythological sense, whether such accounts are facts or fictions. They need only to provide their believers with a workable key to life, an invisible world of origins and meanings to help them make sense of an often confusing, sometimes frightening, physical world" (8). Following this idea, he presents his explorations of the Klamath as a playing-out of an evolutionary mythology, a story about how the land came to be, what it might mean, and how the story fits in with the rest of life. It is a powerful and original story he tells, and bound to last. More than a memoir of a love-affair with a place, and more than a naturalist's account of a fragile and vanishing ecosystem, Wallace's book is a testament to the power of a place to transform one's very understanding of the world, and what it means to be human in that world after the knot has been unraveled, and then re-tied. It is a powerful and meaningful vision of lost wild places which avoids romanticism and doomsaying, and which holds as much hope as horror about the loss and preservation of the American wilderness.

Book Description

c Quick & Easy Guidance so your customers will have more time to enjoy their trips and less time to rummage through pages of useless information. Heavy use of dynamic icons, maps, and indexes expertly developed by our Frommer's travel staff. c Idiot-Proof Instructions so your customer will know when to go where and why, all without the stress of wondering, "Will I get burned?" c Down-to-Earth Advice detailing the location by sights, hotels, restaurants, do's and don'ts, tourist traps, and time- and money-wasters to be avoided! Our new Complete Idiot's Travel Guides have the advice and opinions that matter for the perfect idiot-proof trip.

Customer Reviews:

best kept secrets of Las Vegas.......2001-08-13

This excellent book not only saved us time and money...it told us about wonderful things to see & do that neither my travel agent or freqent visitors knew about. It's easy reading, funny, and very informative. I've given copies for gifts to people planning a trip to Las Vegas. Our copy has dog ears, many yellow highlighted areas, worn pages which proves it's well worth reading and re-reading. DON'T LEAVE HOME FOR VEGAS WITHOUT IT !

Fabulous reference book on Las Vegas.......2000-08-18

Las Vegas is one of the most visited cities in America, and this book is a great reference. I got this book right after I went to Las Vegas for the first time and planned all my future trips around it. Admittedly, everything in Las Vegas changes every six months, but there are a lot of websites and references to find more information at the end of this book. The subjects covered in this book include how to get there, where to stay, where to eat and drink, basic gambling, and most importantly, where to shop. They do a lot of categorizing of hotels and entertainment which is good, for example, telling you which activities are good for children and which are fun for wild party people in their 20s. This book also hits on some of the lesser known attractions, and gives you a good idea of what kind of things you'll enjoy seeing (and what things will be a waste of your time). There is also a lot of invaluable advice found in these pages. Despite the "idiot" title, this a smartly written and well put together book that will appeal to a variety of people. Don't leave for Las Vegas without it.

Review of this tourbook.......2000-08-13

I had never been to Vegas before, and a friend of mine loaned me this exact book. My dread of this vacation soon became one of excitment. I took the book with me, and we did tours (Hoover Dam and two city tours) that we wouldn't have without it. The book was a great, great help! It is easy to read, fun to follow, and I even read parts that didn't apply to me. I enjoyed the trip very much and plan to go back next year. It tells you when to go to save money, what the weather is like, what each hotel is like---it was much better than the tour agency I counted on to book the trip for me. There is plenty to do there besides gamble!!!! I had a strict budget for my companion and myself and we didn't even spend that, we were so busy. Take the recommondations to heart and have fun paging threw this to learn and enjoy before you go. Then write me! I found myself at ease when there and I would be glad to answer any questions you have! I was not a believer before I went, and now I want to make it an anual trip! Get this book and GO!

easy reading for idiots.......2000-06-14

I had been to vegas one time before, but wanted a new experience this time. This book showed me the ins and outs of the city..from cheap food to the best place to sing kareoke. It helped me expand my horizons beyond the slot machines. Making for a more well rounded, and fun trip. Easy to read, and very informative.

Book Description

Sent to Carthak as part of the Tortallan peace delegation, Daine finds herself in the middle of a sticky political situation. She doesn't like the Carthaki practice of keeping slaves, but it's not her place to say anything -- she's just there to heal the emperor's birds. It's extremely frustrating! What's more, her power has grown in a mysterious way.

As the peace talks stall, Daine puzzles over Carthak's two-faced Emperor Ozorne. How can he be so caring with his birds and so cruel to his people? Daine is sure he's planning something. Daine must fight the powerful Emperor Mage, knowing that the safety and peace of the realm depend on stopping Ozorne's power-hungry schemes.

Customer Reviews:

Ozorne's making trouble!.......2007-03-31

Daine and her teacher Numair Salamin are sent to Carthak as part of the peace legion. But although Ozorne says that he didn't attack Tortall Daine can tell that he's up to something. She can feel it.

In this book Daine is captured by...sorry I won't tell you. Numair tries to save her and...another thing I won't say. Ozorne is growing powerful and Daine see's her power growing in strange ways. Are these powers good or bad?

While Daine is here she meets Kaddar the prince of Carthak and maybe, just maybe they can do something to stop the war and to defeat Ozorne...

Please read this book. I'm sure you'll enjoy it. It has magic, fantasy, action, adventure and a touch of romance.

Dinos bent on Destruction.......2007-02-20

Ever wished you could trash an empiral palace using dinosaurs? Then this book is for you! Animal lovers unite to take out the bad guy.

A good book in a good series.......2007-01-05

I have read this book many times in the past years. Finally being able to own it is great! It has a good storyline and well-thought-out characters. I've loved these books since I was a kid and I hope others read them as well!

Emperor Mage (Immortals).......2007-01-03

I purchased the Immortals series for my granddaughter, who is 12 years old. She read all the books within a period of a week and has subsequently found other titles by Tamora Pierce in her township library. She has developed into quite a Tamora Pierce fan.

A Darkness Unravels.......2006-01-04

Daine and a group of Tortall ambassadors go to Cathak in an attempt to make peace with the Emperor. Daine soon makes friends with the crown prince. However, when she is given a strange power and even stranger things begin to unroll, Daine is swept into it all.
Wonderful book, I couldn't put it down. Pierce carried me through a thrilling place. If you love fantasy, adventure and animals, like me, then you absolutely will love this book. However, this book should be read by young adults and adults. If you're not one of these then the book maybe a little bit too hard for you to follow. But Pierce gives such detail that it feels like you're really inside the book. It is a perfect squeal to Wild Magic and Wolf Speaker.

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EMPEROR MAGE (IMMORTALS, NO 3)
TAMORA PIERCE
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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The Emperor Mage : The Immortals Book 3
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Emperor Mage

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ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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The Immortals Trilogy - Wild Magic - Wolf-Speaker - Emperor Mage

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The Immortals Trilogy - Wild Magic - Wolf-Speaker - Emperor Mage
Tamora Pierce
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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The Immortals, complete 4-volume set: Wild Magic + Wolf-Speaker + Emperor Mage + The Realms of the Gods

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The Immortals, complete 4-volume set: Wild Magic + Wolf-Speaker + Emperor Mage + The Realms of the Gods
Tamora Pierce
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
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IMMORTALS: WILD MAGIC, WOLF-SPEAKER, EMPEROR MAGE & THE REALMS OF THE GODS

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IMMORTALS: WILD MAGIC, WOLF-SPEAKER, EMPEROR MAGE & THE REALMS OF THE GODS
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Manufacturer: Science Fiction Book Club
ProductGroup: Book
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Book Description

Studying large sets of genes and their collective function requires tools that can easily handle huge amounts of information. Recent research indicates that engineering approaches for prediction, signal processing, and control are well suited for studying multivariate interactions. A tutorial guide to the current engineering research in genomics, Introduction to Genomic Signal Processing with Control provides a state-of-the-art account of the use of control theory to obtain intervention strategies for gene regulatory networks. The book builds up the necessary molecular biology background with a basic review of organic chemistry and an introduction of DNA, RNA, and proteins, followed by a description of the processes of transcription and translation and the genetic code that is used to carry out the latter. It discusses control of gene expression, introduces genetic engineering tools such as microarrays and PCR, and covers cell cycle control and tissue renewal in multi-cellular organisms. The authors then delineate how the engineering approaches of classification and clustering are appropriate for carrying out gene-based disease classification. This leads naturally to expression prediction, which in turn leads to genetic regulatory networks. The book concludes with a discussion of control approaches that can be used to alter the behavior of such networks in the hope that this alteration will move the network from a diseased state to a disease-free state. Written by recognized leaders in this emerging field, the book provides the exact amount of molecular biology required to understand the engineering applications. It is a self-contained resource that spans the diverse disciplines of molecular biology and electrical engineering.

Introduction to Cellular Signal Transduction

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Introduction to Cellular Signal Transduction

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ProductGroup: Book
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Signal Transduction

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The mechanism of information transfer between cells is the subject of Introduction to Signal Transduction. Until recently various aspects of signaling by hormones were studied (and taught) under the subject of endocrinology, and signaling by neurotransmitters was the subject of neurochemistry. With growing awareness of the many similarities between hormonal and neurotransmitter signalling, recent years have witnessed the emergence of Signal Transduction as an independent discipline covering all aspects of information transfer between cells irrespective of the nature and source of the signals. This book is designed for senior undergraduate/graduate-level students interested in a basic understanding of the major participants in the cellular Signal Transduction pathways. The book covers the major topics in Signal Transduction: receptors, which recognize the signals at the cell surface; G-proteins, which transduce the signals; and adenylate cyclases, guanlate cyclases, and phospholipases, which generate second messengers. Chapters also focus on ion channels, phosphodiesterases, protein kinases, phosphoprotein phosphatases and nitric oxide, which participate in the cellular response to signals; the health consequences of defects in Signal Transduction proteins; and the central role Signal Transduction plays in drug abuse. The book is suitable for an introductory course in Signal Transduction as well as for self-study and review. It is recommended for biology and medical students, as well as for interdisciplinary science majors and pharmaceutical researchers.

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This innovative volume explores graphical models using belief functions as a representation of uncertainty, offering an alternative approach to problems where probability proves inadequate. Graphical Belief Modeling makes it easy to compare the two approaches while evaluating their relative strengths and limitations. The author examines both theory and computation, incorporating practical notes from the author's own experience with the BELIEF software package. As one of the first volumes to apply the Dempster-Shafer belief functions to a practical model, a substantial portion of the book is devoted to a single example--calculating the reliability of a complex system. This special feature enables readers to gain a thorough understanding of the application of this methodology. The first section provides a description of graphical belief models and probablistic graphical models that form an important subset: the second section discusses the algorithm used in the manipulation of graphical models: the final segment of the book offers a complete description of the risk assessment example, as well as the methodology used to describe it. Graphical Belief Modeling offers researchers and graduate students in artificial intelligence and statistics more than just a new approach to an old reliability task: it provides them with an invaluable illustration of the process of graphical belief modeling.

Customer Reviews:

goes beyond the idea of a probability distribution .......2006-05-15

A belief function is a step beyond traditional probability distribution functions. The latter describe uncertainty. But, by definition, you somehow know precisely that a given pdf is a correct description of a process. A belief function tries to express the imprecision in knowledge about a pdf.

The book is an advanced treatment of how graphical methods can be used to aid in the construction of belief models. Be aware though that the book has complicated ideas drawn from set theory and graph theory. With rigourous derivations of theorems.

Usages are also stressed. Examples are given of how to model failure rates in systems of many parts. Where a traditional probabilistic analysis may be far too difficult or labourious.

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