Do genes explain life? Can advances in evolutionary and molecular biology account for what we look like, how we behave, and why we die? In this powerful intervention into current biological thinking, Brian Goodwin argues that such genetic reductionism has important limits. Drawing on the sciences of complexity, the author shows how an understanding of the self-organizing patterns of networks is necessary for making sense of nature. Genes are important, but only as part of a process constrained by environment, physical laws, and the universal tendencies of complex adaptive systems. In a new preface for this edition, Goodwin reflects on the advances in both genetics and the sciences of complexity since the book's original publication.
A fascinating, richly illustrated exploration of the poignant origins of Rudyard Kipling’s world-famous children’s classic From "How the Leopard Got Its Spots" to "The Elephant’s Child," Rudyard Kipling’s Just So Stories have delighted readers across the world for more than a century. In this original study, John Batchelor explores the artistry with which Kipling created the Just So Stories, using each tale as an entry point into the writer’s life and work—including the tragedy that shadows much of the volume, the death of his daughter Josephine. Batchelor details the playful challenges the stories made to contemporary society. In his stories Kipling played with biblical and other stories of creation and imagined fantastical tales of animals' development and man's discovery of literacy. Richly illustrated with original drawings and family photographs, this account reveals Kipling’s public and private lives—and sheds new light on a much-loved and tremendously influential classic.
In this retelling of Rudyard Kipling's classic tale, a leopard finds a way to hide when the Ethiopian covers him with spots. Told in graphic novel format.
Follow 14 African animals as they attempt to find out how many spots their leopard friend has. This funny, and frustrating, tale is highly interactive, engaging children to count along with the characters.
The Leopard is happy to be sandy-yellow and greyish-brown all over. But when he goes to the speckly-spickly forest, he begins to wonder if spots would be better...
Inspired by traditional animal stories from Africa and the Tingatinga artwork of Tanzania, the Tinga Tinga Tales series of picture books features the colourful cast of animals from the television animation and glorious Tingatinga artwork. Tinga Tinga Tales airs daily on CBeebies. In this modern take on creation tales, brilliantly colourful Tingatinga artwork tells the story of Leopard's transformation from a dark, shy cat to the beautifully spotted animal we know today. You see there was a time when Leopard didn't have any spots. Her coat was as plain as plain can be, and she was very shy... So what happened when Leopard helped Puff Adder, and in return he sang her a Tinga Tinga lullaby?
The Leopard's Spots: A Romance of the White Man's Burden, Volume I of the "Reconstruction Trilogy," is the first part of a three part historical novel meant to portray life in the immediate period following the end of the US Civil War in the South. Written by a Southern sympathizer, political activist and Baptist preacher, the Reconstruction trilogy tells the story of Charles Gaston, the son of a famous Confederate colonel, who leads his men from the state of North Carolina in a rebellion against the Reconstruction policy which was implemented in the South after the war. Other characters featured include Simon Legree, an ex-slave driver turned Reconstruction leader, emancipated slaves, former soldiers from both sides, and unscrupulous politicians, all set against a love story based around the main character. The personalities in the book are fictional, but are all based on real people, giving the work a uniquely realistic air, which made it a best seller in its time. The entire first edition was sold before it was printed, and the book sold over 100,000 copies in its first 6 months. The other two volumes in this trilogy, "The Clansman" and "The Traitor," were as successful as "The Leopard's Spots," with "The Clansman" becoming the basis for the famous 1915 epic silent movie "Birth of a Nation."