The Mammal in the Mirror: Understanding Our Place in the Animal World

Amazon.com Amazon.com Review (ISBN 0716733919, Hardcover)

It's often all too easy to see our peers as the animals they are, but sometimes it's harder to see ourselves as biological specimens. The Mammal in the Mirror, by the father-daughter team of David P. Barash and Ilona A. Barash, is a literate and humane outline of life science for a general audience. Warm, funny, and delightfully well-written, the book draws on the Barashes' experience as teachers and researchers to explore and explain in plain language everything from the smallest strand of DNA to our planet's ecosystem. Few, if any, readers will feel out of their depth while perusing chapters on the nervous system, reproduction, the cell, and evolution, among others. Though readers already conversant with the principles of the biological sciences will find little new to learn, the pleasure of reading is undiminished. The examples, metaphors, and parallels with ordinary human life capture the excitement and interest of biology, even for those with no scientific background or training. Understanding issues like AIDS, global warming, and the Human Genome Project become more important with each passing day. With guides like The Mammal in the Mirror, there may be hope for us naked apes yet. --Rob Lightner