Five Kingdoms, 3rd Edition: An Illustrated Guide to the Phyla of Life On Earth [Paperback]

Lynn Margulis (Author), Karlene V. Schwartz (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0805072527 | ISBN-13: 978-0805072525 | Publication Date: December 15, 1997 | Edition: 3rd

An all-inclusive catalogue of the world's living diversity, Five Kingdoms defines and describes the major divisions of nature's five great kingdoms—bacteria, protoctists, animals, fungi, and plants—using a modern classification scheme that is consistent with both the fossil record and molecular data.

Generously illustrated and easy to follow, it not only allows students to sample the full range of life forms inhabiting our planet but to familiarize themselves with the taxonomic theories by which all organisms' origins and distinctive characteristics are traced and classified.

This completely revised and updated third edition includes an introduction by Stephen Jay Gould.

* New ideas on molecular systematics, symbiogenisis, and the place of microbes in the evolution of life

* Newly expanded chapter openings that define each kingdom and place its members in context in time and space

* Definitions of terms in the glossary and, now, also appropriately placed throughout the book

* A new table comparing the main features of each kingdom, showing the logic of the overall classification scheme

* A list of prehistoric dioramas in science museums and in U.S. national parks and monuments guiding readers to trips to the past

* A list of websites directing students to additional information

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This is the most complete and original biological field guide in history. Lynn Margulis, one of the most brilliant biologists of the 20th century, and her colleague Karlene Schwartz provide a roller-skate tour of the whole world of living things, from the smallest bacteria in the hot springs of Yellowstone to the mightiest oak (humans too, but we are set firmly in our place). In his Foreword, Stephen Jay Gould says "If the originality comes before us partly as a 'picture book,' it should not be downgraded for that reason--for primates are visual animals, and the surest instruction in a myriad of unknown creatures must be a set of figures with concise instruction about their meaning--all done so admirably in this volume." --Mary Ellen Curtin --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

With diagrams, drawings, and photographs, this classic guide to the scientific classification of organisms into phylum can be used as a quick reference for systematics or as a source of information on evolutionary trends and organismal relationships. An appendix offers a listing of phyla and genera, with vernacular names when possible. For biology students at any level.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: Holt Paperbacks; 3rd edition (December 15, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805072527
• ISBN-13: 978-0805072525
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,581,767 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Browsable and enriching dictionary of life on earth, March 31, 2000

By 

David R. Downes (Washington DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Five Kingdoms: An Illustrated Guide to the Phyla of Life on Earth (Paperback)

This wonderful book is an endless source of recondite, amusing and enlightening tidbits of information about the fantastic diversity of living things with which we share this earth. In organizing their catalogue of biodiversity around the highest taxonomic level, the phylum, the authors subtly communicate lessons that are both humbling and uplifting. Humbling because one realizes that the entire biological group of backboned creatures that we think of as the paradigmatic "animals" -- mammals, fish, reptiles, birds and amphibians -- is just one among dozens of broad categories of species that populate earth's complex living systems. In fact it appears that much animal life is either microscopic or vermiform. Uplifting because we come to understand that we are ultimately kin to and interdependent with this entire teeming, manifold, cornucopia of life. The presentation, including photos and drawings as well as text, is clear and elegant, providing a wealth of detail about the distinctive metabolisms, feeding habits, body forms, ecological roles and reproductive cycles found in each phylum. We learn, for example, that one species of the remarkably ugly Echiurans, or spoon worms -- which look like out- takes deemed too repulsive for the movie Eraserhead -- holds the world record for the most extreme difference between male and female forms: the male is a tiny dwarf form nestled entirely inside the female's body, which presumably allows him to avoid entirely his share of the housework. Some forms of the microscopic one-celled Zoomastigina dwell symbiotically in the intestines of insects, apparently digesting cellulose to yield nutrients for themselves and their hosts. Such are the divergent options, so different from the choices of most members of our own species, for making a living on this planet.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent categorization of extant phyla., June 19, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Five Kingdoms: An Illustrated Guide to the Phyla of Life on Earth (Hardcover)

This is an excellent reference book. The descriptions and illustrations of the different phyla are very useful to professionals and amateurs alike. In particular, the authors provide the underlying rational used to distinguish one phylum from another. I only wish they had gone further and included some information on phylogeny, fossil records, first appearances, classes and orders, or extinct phylums. That's a lot of information to include, but even brief hints are valuable to a detailed research.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for Bio students, November 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Five Kingdoms: An Illustrated Guide to the Phyla of Life on Earth (Paperback)

I'm a biology student in high school, and this book has helped me to understand all parts of the 5 kingdoms. It's a big help. I highly reccomend it.