"Dreams of Dragons"

[Sherri]

 

Just finished this book and wanted to pass on a recommendation for it to anyone looking for an interesting nature-based read to fill the long hours of darkness.

 

The author, Lyall Watson, is a botanist, zoologist, biologist, anthropologist, and ethologist. He presents some fascinating interpretations of natural patterns, mysteries, and "miracles" from both anthropological history and our everyday existence.(ie--why do most people, from those today back to our earliest ancestors, become right-handed? Why do the cherries cluster in one part of a cake? Why would a plant "react" to an animal's death?)

 

The last chapter, about the "perfect ecology" of a Papuan cannibalist society is worth the price of the book, but every chapter is a gem in itself.

 

Publisher's blurb:

 

"Prowling the edges of science with insight and sensitivity, Lyall Watson maintains that there is a truth to be found behind every seemingly impossible legend. The best-selling author of Supernature and Gifts of Unknown Things, Watson takes us on a journey through prehistoric burial sites on the beaches of South Africa, ancient ritual iron mines in Swaziland, and present-day villages in Indonesia and New Guinea inhabited by man-eating dragons and headhunters. In these and other extraordinary travels we encounter phenomenon that defy traditional scientific explanation. Watson looks beyond the scientific "facts" and helps us--through his own remarkable discoveries--to see the poetry and wonder of the natural world."

 

 

[Dechristo]

thanks

[chirp]

Bingo! Perfect timing on this! Thanks, gonna scope it out tomorrow!

[Sherri]

No worries. I just happened to pick it up at the bookstore in Leavenworth this fall. It's not "scientific literature" so much as it is "literary science"--in other words, Watson draws a lot of his own conclusions that are not necessarily scientifically verifiable-- but I found it to be a fun, thought-provoking read. And who's to say that rocks don't cry?

 

 

 

[mike1]

That is perfect timing! I'm going to search this out today. It’ll make a perfect stalking stuffer for my wife. She absolutely loves that kind of reading. I’ve got so many books lined up it’ll be months before I get to it.

[sobo]

That is perfect timing! I'm going to search this out today. It’ll make a perfect stalking stuffer for my wife. She absolutely loves that kind of reading. I’ve got so many books lined up it’ll be months before I get to it.

 

We'll be "keeping an eye on you" there, Mikester...

[mike1]

That is perfect timing! I'm going to search this out today. It’ll make a perfect stalking stuffer for my wife. She absolutely loves that kind of reading. I’ve got so many books lined up it’ll be months before I get to it.

 

We'll be "keeping an eye on you" there, Mikester...

Right back at ya, if you know what I mean...