How Life Works
Animals are works of engineering--this fact (argued extensively in this book)
annoys some people, who mistakenly suppose that it reduces us to machines. in
fact, I find that analyzing animals in biophysical terms enhances my appreciation
of them. How does the flow of energy (from the sun, through plants, to animals)
help to organize ecosystems? How do birds fly and humans (and dogs and slugs and
snakes and fish and others) walk or canter or gallop or slither or hop? How do
different animals see, hear, smell, taste and feel? How do migrants navigate long
distances, and why? Why do some animals group together in herds or schools or
flocks or colonies or swarms, whereas others are solitary? The very specific (and
astonishing) adaptations of animals to their niches in life are a favorite of
both of us (I co-authored this book with Alan McFadzean)--we beat this drum a
lot.
Engineering Animals (2011) is published by Harvard University Press. Translated
into Italian by Adelphi Press.