David Quammen has devoted his professional life to waxing poetic about the natural world. His essays in Outside Magazine, National Geographic, Harper's, and elsewhere have ranged in topic from crow ennui to the ethical implications of cloning. Quammen's nontechnical point-of-view and his sense of humor render science not only palatable but entertaining, making this revised and expanded edition of Natural Acts, an enjoyable collection for the reader with even a passing interest in science and the natural world. The first three sections of Natural Acts, containing short pieces from Quammen's eponymous Outside column, appeared in the book's original 1985 publication. A fourth section entitled "After Thoughts" is about as long as the first three combined and is made up of longer essays written between 1998 and 2005.
All God's Vermin
In 1981, with training in neither science nor journalism, David Quammen "blundered into the craft of science journalism," having successfully pitched an essay on the redeeming merits of mosquitos for Outside. This single submission blossomed into a permanent column in the magazine, and it is fitting that the mosquito piece, "Sympathy for the Devil," is the opener for the first section of this book. In "All God's Vermin," Quammen casts his wandering eye upon various aspects of some of nature's less savory characters. These essays cover the mating habits of the black widow, the history of octopus-wrestling, and the habits of blood-sucking vampire moths.
All God's Vermin
In 1981, with training in neither science nor journalism, David Quammen "blundered into the craft of science journalism," having successfully pitched an essay on the redeeming merits of mosquitos for Outside. This single submission blossomed into a permanent column in the magazine, and it is fitting that the mosquito piece, "Sympathy for the Devil," is the opener for the first section of this book. In "All God's Vermin," Quammen casts his wandering eye upon various aspects of some of nature's less savory characters. These essays cover the mating habits of the black widow, the history of octopus-wrestling, and the habits of blood-sucking vampire moths.
Prophets and Pariahs
In the part two of Natural Acts, the author switches gears to spotlight men whose work helped to shape humankind's perception of science and nature. Luminaries like fellow-Montanan Jack Horner whose paleontological discoveries utterly changed our understanding of dinosaurs; Afrikaans poet-lawyer-naturalist Eugene Marais who proposed the far-out notion that a colony of termites might be considered a single organism; Tycho Brahe, the sixteenth century Danish astronomer remembered for a metallic prosthetic nose and a tireless charting of the heavens; and preeminent river-snorkler, George Ochenski are the author's varied and fascinating subjects.
Eloquent Practices, Natural Acts
Quammen returns to the animal kingdom to talk about, among other topics of interest, sex. We learn for instance that parthogenesis, a fancy Latin term meaning "virgin birth," is practiced by some species within every group of animals except mammals and dragonflies. We also learn a bit about "bog bang reproduction," common to Chinook salmon, Chinese bamboo, and the agave plant.
In the part two of Natural Acts, the author switches gears to spotlight men whose work helped to shape humankind's perception of science and nature. Luminaries like fellow-Montanan Jack Horner whose paleontological discoveries utterly changed our understanding of dinosaurs; Afrikaans poet-lawyer-naturalist Eugene Marais who proposed the far-out notion that a colony of termites might be considered a single organism; Tycho Brahe, the sixteenth century Danish astronomer remembered for a metallic prosthetic nose and a tireless charting of the heavens; and preeminent river-snorkler, George Ochenski are the author's varied and fascinating subjects.
Eloquent Practices, Natural Acts
Quammen returns to the animal kingdom to talk about, among other topics of interest, sex. We learn for instance that parthogenesis, a fancy Latin term meaning "virgin birth," is practiced by some species within every group of animals except mammals and dragonflies. We also learn a bit about "bog bang reproduction," common to Chinook salmon, Chinese bamboo, and the agave plant.
The author's proclivity to front-load his essays with references to film, poetry, or history, as in "Desert Solitaire," which begins with a discussion of Lawrence of Arabia, is indicative of why his work has universal appeal. He brings a broad liberal arts perspective to his science writing, apparent not only in the subject matter but through his oft-poetic writing style as well. About deserts Quammen tells us, "a desert is one of those entities like virginity and sans serif typeface, of which the definitiion must begin with negatives."
After Thoughts
What do fire ants, zebra mussels, and Asian gypsy moths have in common? The are all weeds, Quammen tells us, as are homo sapiens, the most aggressively opportunistic, destructive, and resilient weed of them all. In "Planet of Weeds" Quammen sheds light on recent studies that show Earth to be on the verge of a mass extinction of species that will rival the five previous mass extinctions (all of which occurred between 200 and 500 million years ago), and explains how humans are blindly (and not so blindly) contributing to its onset.
After Thoughts
What do fire ants, zebra mussels, and Asian gypsy moths have in common? The are all weeds, Quammen tells us, as are homo sapiens, the most aggressively opportunistic, destructive, and resilient weed of them all. In "Planet of Weeds" Quammen sheds light on recent studies that show Earth to be on the verge of a mass extinction of species that will rival the five previous mass extinctions (all of which occurred between 200 and 500 million years ago), and explains how humans are blindly (and not so blindly) contributing to its onset.
Some of the pieces in "After Thoughts" feature the author more prominently as a character. In "The River Jumps Over the Mountains," Quammen details a 2001 Grand Canyon boat trip he kayaked equipped with a volume of W.H. Auden's poetry and a geology text. His rendering of the 226 mile passage is likewise balanced between the scientific and the artistic. "The Megatransect" finds the author accompanying J. Michael Fay and party as they set out on a walk across Africa, from Northern Congo to the coast of Gabon, cataloging African forests, "before their greatness succumbs to the inexorable nibble of humanity."
David Quammen is a fantastic writer. His pieces, while always informative, are often humorous and poetic to boot. And while I am not convinced that rapid-fire succession is the optimal manner for consuming his writing, Natural Acts was for me a great introduction to an author whose short writing I will watch for and whose longer work (The Song of the Dodo, The Reluctant Mr. Darwin) I will now seek out.
David Quammen is a fantastic writer. His pieces, while always informative, are often humorous and poetic to boot. And while I am not convinced that rapid-fire succession is the optimal manner for consuming his writing, Natural Acts was for me a great introduction to an author whose short writing I will watch for and whose longer work (The Song of the Dodo, The Reluctant Mr. Darwin) I will now seek out.
