Beauty and the Beasts: Woman, Ape and Evolution
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RITAHOOTS, DEPARTMENT EDITOR V) U BIRDING names are prominently dis- and an invaluable resource for played at the top of each page. the classroom. National Audubon Society - Each species is drawn with Sam Berendzen WLL The Sibley Guide to Birds. By exquisite detail, providing mul- BiologyTeacher David Allen Sibley.2000. Alfred tiple views as well as many ChaminadeCollege Preparatory A. Knopf (299 Park Ave., New regional forms of the same High School York, NY 10017) 544 pp. species. Each page contains all St. Louis,Missouri Paperback$35.00. the necessary information the JenniferBerendzen, Retired 0W4 most serious birder needs, BiologyTeacher In today's world, as a socie- including field marks that are WentzvilleHigh School ty, we are becoming more dis- 0 clearlypointed out. Most of the Wentzville,Missouri Downloaded from http://online.ucpress.edu/abt/article-pdf/63/6/452/50206/4451157.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 connected with the outdoors. birds are shown perching in the Our students too often preferto same position, and similar stay indoors and play video species are grouped together to games. Birdwatching is a hobby allow for easy comparison.The PRIMATOLOGY everyone can enjoy. If you want page also includes the song, to get your students up and out male and female color differ- Beauty and the Beasts:Woman, of the classroom into a hobby ences, and the range map, as Ape and Evolution. By Carole they can enjoy their entire lives, well as illustrationsof flight pat- Jahme. 2000. Virago Press this book is an excellent refer- terns for furtherease in identifi- (TrafalgarSq., No. Pomfret,VT ence to use to sharpen your cation. Having all of these fea- 05053). 406 pp. Hardback skills as their leader. tures on one page means that $35.00. This guide is an excellent you do not have to flip from one I wasn't sure exactly what referencefor a novice birder,yet page to another to gatherall the to expect when I picked up this thorough enough to please informationabout the bird you book, possibly a review of old more advanced birders as well. need. Another great feature is time heroines and King Kong The scientific and common found on the opening page of characters, but what I found each taxonomic group of birds was a very interesting mix. CaroleJahme has the ability to * where all the birds are drawn togetherfor immediate compar- teach about primatology,main- RITA HOOTS,Book Reviews Editor, is a ison. Keys to all the features of ly chimps, and history with somewhat the of a Professorat WoodlandCommunity the book are clearly marked in style gossip Collegeand teachesclasses in the bio- columnist. How she ever found the attractiveinside cover. logicalsciences, human anatomy, and out all that stuff, I'll never know chemistry.Her variousdegrees in the The book does not clearly - but it keeps you reading to sciences, counseling,and education state that it covers the birds of find out more. comefromthe CityUniversity of New York, University of Wisconsin- North America. Only in the Much of the book centers Madison,California State University- introduction do you read that around Jane Goodall, who I Sacramento,and the Universityof 810 species in the continent of seems to be a very important l s? California-Berkeley.Before entering North America (north of role model for the author.There the educationfield, Hoots was for Mexico) are covered, although are many other stories told, but manyyears a researcherin cell ultra- species found in northern I kept having the feeling that structureand immunology.Her pre- dominant passion in education is Mexico are also included. The everyone was measured with a directed to the popularizationand book is relatively bulky and Goodall ruler. illuminationof sciencefor the public. therefore somewhat difficult to Did you know that Louis Her address is: Science Dept., carry around in the field. WoodlandCommunity College, 41605 Leakywas extremelyinstrumen- Gibson Rd., Woodland,CA 95776; Sibley's Guide to Birds is a tal inJane Goodall'sstarting out with her e-mail:[email protected]. must have for the avid birder Gombe studies? Did 452 THEAMERICAN BIOLOGY TEACHER, VOLUME 63,NO.6, AUGUST 2001 you know he was a bit of a woman- male or female is inborn or the izer and had the hots forJane? Did result of the environmentin which you know that in the Tarzanfilms of one is raised.The fact that the boys old, Jane and Cheetah hated each were identical twins provided the other? See what I mean? The book perfect control setting for the Pssst. is filled with facts about gorillas, experiment.For 30 years, the ongo- chimps and bonobos along with ing scientific debate between the their caretakers'stories. The major doctor in charge of the twins' case, premise of the book is that to work Dr.John Money, and another high- with primates, it takes a lot of ly regarded sex researcher, Dr. patience, the ability to make keen MiltonDiamond, has been the focal observations, and a great capacity point of this rivetingstory. for and caring. compassion It is an extremely tragic narra- Accordingto the author,women fit tive that describes the case in detail much better than men this profile from both a historical and medical and that is why primatologyis "the Downloaded from http://online.ucpress.edu/abt/article-pdf/63/6/452/50206/4451157.pdf by guest on 30 September 2021 perspective; but it is the human only area of science where women element that makes the story so .t dominatemen in sheer numbers." compelling. The initial conclusion was that gender identity is based Thereis lots of evolution, phys- g .': iology, geography, history and upon environment and after a 12- good old story telling in this book. year programof social, mental and .. ;DX~~t, X I was particularlyfascinated with hormonal conditioning, the experi- A,j , w- ,,ffi', tu ~ ~~y the accounts of Jo Thompson and ment was largely deemed to be a her bonobos, a little bit about the success. However, the reality was sign language-learning chimps that it was a miserable failure with Roger and Debbie Fouts, and which virtually devastated the life stories about MaryLeaky as well as of the castrated twin as well as .. , . ../ Dian Fossey and her gorillas. But nearly destroying the infrastruc- wait to read about Louis Leaky try- ture of his entire family. ing to get someone to eat a raw rat! This book would especially Happy reading. appeal to teenagers who are curi- ous as to what factors really deter- Phil McCrea mine sex. It would also appeal to New TrierHigh School adults without a strong back- 1-80-69-SUL Winnetka,Illinois ground in science or biology, although the scientific portions ,~~~~~BO G , REIW. 453 could become tedious to those who are really only interested in SEX - NATURE the human element. VS. NURTURE It is a fascinating, yet heart- breaking story that will hold the interest from beginning to As Nature Made Him: The Boy reader's it also Who Was Raised as a Girl. By end. As a learning tool, addresses gender and sexual iden- John Colapinto. 2000. never HarperCollins (10 East 53rd St., tity issues that students may to or even knew New York, NY 10022). 279 pp. have been exposed to Hardback$26. existed. Guaranteed provoke classroom discussion! A fascinatingaccount detailing the true story of a baby boy who Donna A. McGill was surgically altered to live as a Healthand PhysicalEducation girl. This landmark "twins case" WoodlandCollege was widely documented and stirred Woodland,California the debate as to whether being .