Why Big Fierce Animals Are Rare: An Ecologist's Perspective [Paperback]

Paul A. Colinvaux (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

A mind-tingling survey . . . of the many factors involved in the interrelationships of all living things. . . . An incisive and stirring book, and a model of scientific explanation. -- The New Yorker

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (November 1, 1979)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691023646
• ISBN-13: 978-0691023649
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #101,008 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A masterful exposition of the science that asks ``why?'', October 18, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: Why Big Fierce Animals Are Rare: An Ecologist's Perspective (Paperback)

I read this book recently, and wish that I'd read it when it was first published 20 years ago. Colinvaux is fascinating in his relentless search for the answer to the ``why?'' questions of the natural world --- - why are there so many species (why not more?) - why are there more species in the tropics than in the tundra? - why do deciduous trees drop their leaves? - why do there appear to be ``societies of plants'' (deciduous forests, coniferous forests)? - why are plants so inefficient at converting sunlight to plant matter? - and, of course, why are big fierce animals rare (and why aren't there bigger, fiercer ones)? This is not just a book about ecology, it is a book about thinking.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Everything you always needed to know about ecology*, October 25, 2005

By 

Robert S. Newman "Bob Newman" (Marblehead, Massachusetts USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Why Big Fierce Animals Are Rare: An Ecologist's Perspective (Paperback)

*But didn't know that you wanted to ask.

Actually, when I purchased this book from Princeton University Press, I thought it would be about the lives of tigers, leopards, jaguars and other big, fierce animals. I've read and enjoyed a few such zoological tomes over the course of a lifetime---on seagulls, on penguins, or koalas---though my usual fare lies in literature, history, travel, and anthropology. So, when I finally took Colinvaux's work off my shelf, I was rather surprised to find that it was about the whole circle of Life. I kept on reading though and now am glad I did. If you feel yourself lacking a scientific background, like your reviewer, and you have some basic curiosity about the field of ecology, this book is going to be just the ticket. The author has a genius for keeping it simple, keeping it clear. From the idea that every species has its niche, he expands to a host of other topics like the amazing inefficiency of plant life in converting available energy into growth (around 2%, compared to the efficiency of human-made engines, at least 20%); the grouping of trees in forests, the social life of plants; why the sea is blue (no life in it); the composition of soils in different parts of the world; how different sets of plant communities succeed one another as the environment changes; the peaceful coexistence of the vast majority of plants and animals instead of the vicious "law of the jungle" sometimes depicted in other literature. I'm just scratching the surface here. Many of the topics explored bear on the hot issues of the day, for instance global warming, pollution, and exploitation of earth's resources. Each topic is very understandable. If I were a high school or community college biology/ecology/botany teacher, I bet I could make a couple semesters' lectures out of this one book, it's that good. When the author tries to analyze human behavior and geopolitical rivalries on the basis of ecological principles in the last chapter, I think he falls between the cracks. Certainly human beings are animals only recently graduated from hunting and gathering. Their child-bearing habits must hark back to the Ice Age as Colinvaux says. But to try to predict human history on the basis of ecology alone is risky. The predictions made in the 1970s already look out of date. Other than this small criticism of one chapter, I heartily recommend this book. And it seems that the scary, ferocious Tyranosaurus rex (largest predator that ever lived) is a myth. It was a lazy carrion-eater. Ah well, sorry, Rex, you looked great in Jurassic Park !

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How rare! A thinker who can write!, June 11, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Why Big Fierce Animals Are Rare: An Ecologist's Perspective (Paperback)

Interesting, humorous, lucid, balanced -- Paul Colinvaux's book is one of the finest books I've read. He takes biological conundrums and makes them crystalline. Controversial topics are handled with balance and grace. Abstruse terms are explained simply and wittily.

Written in 1978, the book is a little dated in some areas. For instance, he has a whole chapter on the increase of carbon dioxide in the air and never once mentions global warming. But this is a very small issue. Most of the book is timeless, and invaluable.