Civilization and the Limpet. Este artículo no está disponible.Civilization and the Limpet

In the spirit of Lewis Thomass Lives of a Cell or the many works of Stephen Jay Gould, zoologist Martin Wells takes us on a journey to explore the wonders of marine life.. Written during a long sea voyage from England through the Mediterranean, Civilization and the Limpet unveils many fascinating phenomena of undersea life. Wells captures with exquisite detail how limpets, like bees, navigate by the stars; how the brainless sea urchin makes a myriad of critical survival decisions every day; how deserted islands teem with an incredible abundance of animal life; and why deep-diving whales never get the bends. Elegant and finely crafted, Civilization and the Limpet will enlighten, amuse, and awe anyone interested in the natural world.

Conceived on an ocean voyage from the shores of England to the Mediterranean Sea, Civilization and the Limpet, by distinguished zoologist and Cambridge professor Martin Wells, traces a fabulous journey, yielding insights into the natural world along the way. Written with both passion and irony, Civilization and the Limpet is much more than just a sea story; it is a tribute to the diversity and tenacity of life in the ocean. In the title chapter, Wells describes the seemingly unintelligent limpet, which, when taken from its natural route and displaced, overcomes almost overwhelming obstacles to find its way home again. He continues with other wonderful tales of marine life to uncover many strange, mysterious, and even dangerous survival strategies, all of them apt metaphors for the conflicts of our existence.