Microcosmos: Four Billion Years of Evolution from Our Microbial Ancestors

Science & Math

SAGAN, DORION

Margulis, Lynn

Biological Sciences

HarperCollins, Publishers

Describes the earth as a living biological identity and discusses the extent to which biospheres will be produced on earth rather than in space

Biospheres: Metamorphosis of Planet Earth

McGraw=Hill

A breathtaking account of the "unnatural" history of consciousness and human intelligence Taking its cue from The Dragons of Eden, Carl Sagan's 1977 classic and New York Times bestseller, Up from Dragons traces the development of human intelligence back to its animal roots in an attempt to account for the vast differences between our species and all those that came before us. In a book that will spark a storm of debate, neuroscientist John Skoyles and awardwinning author Dorion Sagan introduce a controversial theory of the origins of human intelligence that may hold the answers to questions that have haunted scientists about mind, consciousness, and the evolutionary odyssey of humankind. It also introduces the revolutionary concept of "mindware"the human, evolutionary equivalent of computer softwareand describes how the evolution-accelerating symbol-using programs that make it up have empowered us with the unprecedented ability to take charge of our own evolutionary destiny.

Up From Dragons: The Evolution of Human Intelligence

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Skoyles, John

Psychology & Counseling

First appearing as a McGraw-Hill hardcover in 1990, and then, later that year as a Bantam paperback, Biospheres: the Metamorphosis of Planet Earth, was translated into French and Italian. Dorion Sagan's first sole-authored book, it was a meditation on the nature of biospheric life, presenting a Nietzschean ecology and arguing that Earth itself did indeed bear signal traits of a living organism. Long out of print, this speculative work on the nature and future of life on Earth is once again being made available.

Biospheres: Metamorphosis of the Planet Earth: Metamorphosis of Planet Earth (Arkana S.)

Religion & Spirituality

New Age & Spirituality

Penguin

Illuminates the crucial functions of the microbe, including cleaning the air, fertilizing soil, producing medicine, and manufacturing food.

The Garden of Microbial Delights: A Practical Guide to the Subvisible World

Harcourt

Scientists, theologians, and philosophers have all sought to answer the questions of why we are here and where we are going. Finding this natural basis of life has proved elusive, but in the eloquent and creative Into the Cool, Eric D. Schneider and Dorion Sagan look for answers in a surprising place: the second law of thermodynamics. This second law refers to energy's inevitable tendency to change from being concentrated in one place to becoming spread out over time. In this scientific tour de force, Schneider and Sagan show how the second law is behind evolution, ecology,economics, and even life's origin. Working from the precept that "nature abhors a gradient," Into the Cool details how complex systems emerge, enlarge, and reproduce in a world tending toward disorder. From hurricanes here to life on other worlds, from human evolution to the systems humans have created, this pervasive pull toward equilibrium governs life at its molecular base and at its peak in the elaborate structures of living complex systems. Schneider and Sagan organize their argument in a highly accessible manner, moving from descriptions of the basic physics behind energy flow to the organization of complex systems to the role of energy in life to the final section, which applies their concept of energy flow to politics, economics, and even human health. A book that needs to be grappled with by all those who wonder at the organizing principles of existence, Into the Cool will appeal to both humanists and scientists. If Charles Darwin shook the world by showing the common ancestry of all life, so Into the Cool has a similar power to disturb—and delight—by showing the common roots in energy flow of all complex, organized, and naturally functioning systems. “Whether one is considering the difference between heat and cold or between inflated prices and market values, Schneider and Sagan argue, we can apply insights from thermodynamics and entropy to understand how systems tend toward equilibrium. The result is an impressive work that ranges across disciplinary boundaries and draws from disparate literatures without blinking.”—Publishers Weekly

Into the Cool: Energy Flow, Thermodynamics, and Life

Schneider, Eric D.

University of Chicago Press

Scientists, theologians, and philosophers have all sought to answer the questions of why we are here and where we are going. Finding this natural basis of life has proved elusive, but in the eloquent and creative Into the Cool, Eric D. Schneider and Dorion Sagan look for answers in a surprising place: the second law of thermodynamics. This second law refers to energy's inevitable tendency to change from being concentrated in one place to becoming spread out over time. In this scientific tour de force, Schneider and Sagan show how the second law is behind evolution, ecology,economics, and even life's origin. Working from the precept that "nature abhors a gradient," Into the Cool details how complex systems emerge, enlarge, and reproduce in a world tending toward disorder. From hurricanes here to life on other worlds, from human evolution to the systems humans have created, this pervasive pull toward equilibrium governs life at its molecular base and at its peak in the elaborate structures of living complex systems. Schneider and Sagan organize their argument in a highly accessible manner, moving from descriptions of the basic physics behind energy flow to the organization of complex systems to the role of energy in life to the final section, which applies their concept of energy flow to politics, economics, and even human health. A book that needs to be grappled with by all those who wonder at the organizing principles of existence, Into the Cool will appeal to both humanists and scientists. If Charles Darwin shook the world by showing the common ancestry of all life, so Into the Cool has a similar power to disturb—and delight—by showing the common roots in energy flow of all complex, organized, and naturally functioning systems. 
“Whether one is considering the difference between heat and cold or between inflated prices and market values, Schneider and Sagan argue, we can apply insights from thermodynamics and entropy to understand how systems tend toward equilibrium. The result is an impressive work that ranges across disciplinary boundaries and draws from disparate literatures without blinking.”—Publishers Weekly

A fascinating and detailed examination of the evolution—and occasional devolution—of sexuality in microorganisms and more complex forms of life. Margulis and Sagan trace sex from its inauspicious beginnings in bacteria threatened by ultraviolet radiation to its intimate relation with the origin of mitotic division of nucleated cells. The origin of meiotic sex through cannibalism followed by centriole reproductive tardiness and the connection of cell symbiosis to sex and differentiation are explored. “The authors have not only given us a new and exiting scenario for the evolution of sex, but have also provided us with critical ways in which we can test their hypotheses. . . . This is a stimulating book that is sure to invoke criticism and discussion; I strongly recommend it.”—Symbiosis “The book is well organized and well written, leading the reader from one thought to another almost effortlessly. Background information is presented to aid those of us who are not experts in this field, and a glossary is appended. The book could be used at all levels of study, from interested undergraduates in general biology though postdoctoral students of genetics and evolution. I recommend this thought-provoking book to you for both your enjoyment and your enlightenment.”—Richard W. Cheney, Jr., Journal of College Science Teaching “This book, undoubtedly controversial, is a thoughtful and original contribution to an important aspect of cellular biology.”—John Langridge

Origins of Sex: Three Billion Years of Genetic Recombination (Bio-Origins Series)

Yale University Press

"Lynn Margulis is one of the most successful synthetic thinkers in modern biology. This collection of her work, enhanced by essays co-authored with Dorion Sagan, is a welcome introduction to the full breadth of her many contributions." EDWARD O. WILSON, AUTHOR OF THE DIVERSITY OF LIFE "An important contribution to the history of the 20th century. Read it and you will taste the flavor of real science." JAMES LOVELOCK, AUTHOR OF GAIA: A NEW LOOK AT LIFE ON EARTH "Truly inspirational and of fundamental importance. This thoughtful series of essays on some of the largest questions concerning the nature of life on earth deserves careful study."PETER RAVEN, MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN

Slanted Truths: Essays on Gaia, Symbiosis and Evolution

Politics & Social Sciences

Social Sciences

Copernicus

In this groundbreaking book, Lynn Margulis and Dorion Sagan present an answer to one of the enduring mysteries of evolution--the source of inherited variation that gives rise to new species. Random genetic mutation, long believed to be the main source of variation, is only a marginal factor. As the authors demonstrate in this book, the more important source of speciation, by far, is the acquisition of new genomes by symbiotic merger. The result of thirty years of delving into a vast, mostly arcane literature, this is the first book to go beyond--and reveal the severe limitations of--the "Modern Synthesis" that has dominated evolutionary biology for almost three generations. Lynn Margulis, whom E. O. Wilson called "one of the most successful synthetic thinkers in modern biology," and her co-author Dorion Sagan have written a comprehensive and scientifically supported presentation of a theory that directly challenges the assumptions we hold about the variety of the living world.

Acquiring Genomes: A Theory Of The Origins Of Species

Basic Books

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by SAGAN, DORION. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by SAGAN, DORION

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by SAGAN, DORION. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Microcosmos: Four Billion Years of Evolution from Our Microbial Ancestors

Biospheres: Metamorphosis of Planet Earth

Up From Dragons: The Evolution of Human Intelligence

Biospheres: Metamorphosis of the Planet Earth: Metamorphosis of Planet Earth (Arkana S.)

The Garden of Microbial Delights: A Practical Guide to the Subvisible World

Into the Cool: Energy Flow, Thermodynamics, and Life

Into the Cool: Energy Flow, Thermodynamics, and Life

Origins of Sex: Three Billion Years of Genetic Recombination (Bio-Origins Series)

Slanted Truths: Essays on Gaia, Symbiosis and Evolution

Acquiring Genomes: A Theory Of The Origins Of Species