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PZ Myers is a biologist and associate professor at the University of Minnesota, Morris.
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However incompatible the spirit of Jesus and armed force may be, and however unpleasant it may be to acknowledge the fact, as a matter of plain history the latter has often made it possible for the former to survive.
[Prof. Kenneth Scott Latourette, A History of the Expansion of Christianity (New York:Harper & Brothers, 1937) Vol. I, p.164]
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Category: Books
Posted on: June 3, 2008 3:14 PM, by PZ Myers
It's true — we're going to be promoting (or dissecting) select titles in the The ScienceBlogs Book Club, a new feature here. For our first effort, a few of us have read and are discussing Carl Zimmer's Microcosm — you should head over there and contribute. A book club session without any arguments is no fun at all.
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Comments
Funny that — I was just saying that science blogging needed a book club. How will the titles for this one be chosen?
Posted by: Blake Stacey | June 3, 2008 3:30 PM
I'm sure you will soon be discussing the most important science book of all. If you need a copy, call the Gideons...
Posted by: Ray M | June 3, 2008 3:40 PM
I'm too poor these days to buy any new books, and thus will have to wait for it to come to the library. Given this, reading the great reviews just makes me depressed.
The book club is a cool new feature, though.
Posted by: SC | June 3, 2008 3:41 PM
Posted by: Dustin | June 3, 2008 3:53 PM
Funny - I put a "/whine" tag at the end of my little expression of self-pity in my previous comment. Didn't realize it wouldn't come through. It would be nice if it actually worked, adding accompanying blues music or something...
Posted by: SC | June 3, 2008 3:57 PM
OT - Where the heck have w00+, Holbach and Cuttlefish gone?
Posted by: Patricia C. | June 3, 2008 4:12 PM
Patricia: I remember seeing boobies last week some time, so Woot hasn't been gone for too long...
Posted by: CButterb | June 3, 2008 5:21 PM
I got my copy from the library and it was depressingly easy--I was hoping for long line that would justify my buying a copy for myself. I can't talk about Zimmer's writing without sounding like I have a creepy stalkerish boy-crush on him, and I really don't, but his biology writing is just so damn good. Most of what I know about evolutionary biology I can trace to relatively few talnted writers, and Zimmer's right in there, so I am really excited about digging into Microcosm.
Posted by: Greg Peterson | June 3, 2008 6:55 PM
A book club session without any arguments is no fun at all.
Yes it is.
Posted by: Deacon Duncan | June 3, 2008 7:38 PM
(.)(.)
Posted by: w(o)(o)t | June 3, 2008 7:44 PM
Patricia C @ 6: Still here, reading the posts every day, and just taking a breather but without the loss of outrage at the insanities committed every day. And girding my spleen to enjoin the battle against the moronic crud infesting our rational sensibilities.
Thanks for the inquiry, as I am sure some of my comments are appreciated and needed to counteract the slime that habitually infests this blog.
Posted by: Holbach | June 3, 2008 9:19 PM
The ScienceBlogs Book club is a swell idea, and I definitely will own Microcosm, as I do of Carl Zimmer's other books. Also have Francois Jacob and Jacques Monod.How often do you hear the last two authors names, let alone what they have written? Even we are familiar with that insane crap book, the bible, as it is insinuated into our daily lives whether we like it or not, reminding the insane world that they have no need of a book club as all a moron wants to know is there for the further dementing of their ever decreasing reason. I just love the term, "biblical scholar".
Posted by: Holbach | June 3, 2008 9:57 PM
OT, and apologies if this has already been posted over here...
Just received in my e-mail today, from Secular Humanism Online News(letter):
Posted by: RglrLrkr | June 3, 2008 10:53 PM
[/lurk]Cuttlefish has gone to South East Europe, where the internet may be a bit spotty. At least that's what he says on his blog :) [lurk]
Posted by: Queequeg | June 4, 2008 12:02 AM
I wish SB would also do an evolution-oriented journal club.
My work, and that of the lab i'm in, is focused on the genomics of evolution... One of the great features of this blog is getting new perspectives on evolution.
Posted by: Jason | June 4, 2008 9:48 AM
Huzzah! *grin*
Posted by: Patricia C. | June 4, 2008 10:45 AM
Ordered book, just waiting for it to come now but because I'm a student I've gone with the free saver delivery so who knows if I'll manage to read it in time ;)
Posted by: eyeofhorus | June 4, 2008 10:56 AM
Patricia: I remember seeing boobies last week some time, so Woot hasn't been gone for too long...
Wow, I thought they were little eyes, peeking above something
(especially underlined, (.)(.))
I'll have to pick up the book, the library is only getting 2 copies and there are already 10 holds on them.
Posted by: Epinephrine | June 4, 2008 10:59 AM
(also missing Etha and brokenSoldier... and Scott H and Kristine and Bronze Dog and Zeno bet hey at least Blake still stops in from time to time!)
:-)
Posted by: Kseniya | June 4, 2008 11:00 AM
Oh no it isn't.
Posted by: Nick Gotts | June 4, 2008 11:01 AM
Re #20 - Well, someone had to!
Posted by: Nick Gotts | June 4, 2008 11:02 AM
(I don't think that was the real Woot)
Posted by: Kseniya | June 4, 2008 11:12 AM
@#19 Kseniya --
I'm working on final exams/papers/projects, so I'll probably be a bit scarce until next week. C'est la vie....
Posted by: Etha Williams | June 4, 2008 11:29 AM
O/T
Article on one of PZ's talks in Seattle now up on MSNBC in case it is something regular readers haven't yet run across!
http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/06/03/1101860.aspx
:)
Posted by: ctenotrish | June 4, 2008 11:33 AM
RE #22 - No, I agree - the style was all wrong.
Posted by: Nick Gotts | June 4, 2008 11:36 AM
(.)(.)
Posted by: wÒÓ† | June 4, 2008 11:42 AM
Look, I came in here for an argument!
Posted by: Bill Dauphin | June 4, 2008 11:43 AM
About the missing.... Summer Semester and all. Come on guys, how many of you actually teach at a university? Or maybe you don't & wouldn't know. They're either taking a break or off in the field and unavailable. Some will only have 9 mo. contracts too. Unfortunatley I'm a 12 monther.
Posted by: Barklikeadog | June 4, 2008 11:45 AM
To back up Barklikeadog: Come out, come out, wherever you are and let's do battle with the religious deranged!
Posted by: Holbach | June 4, 2008 12:54 PM
Re the missing: If something keeps you away from the keyboard for as little as a day or two, the sheer volume of accumulated comments can make it tough to jump in on ongoing threads. At least, it can if you care about sounding like you know what's going on.
Happily, I've never let such trivial quibbles constrain me! ;^)
Posted by: Bill Dauphin | June 4, 2008 1:22 PM
Posted by: Wicked Lad | June 4, 2008 1:27 PM
I attended a talk by Carl Simmer about this book last night at the Seattle Town Hall. It sounds very interesting. Even though I always walk into events like that saying I'm not going to buy another book, I ended up walking away with a signed copy.
Posted by: Aaron Boruff | June 4, 2008 1:31 PM
I too didn't know w00+ was boobies. I thought it/he/? was Homer peeping over the backyard fence. *grin*
Posted by: Patricia C. | June 4, 2008 1:38 PM
Posted by: Nick Gotts | June 4, 2008 1:42 PM
Oh for shame, Nick (@34)! You broke the chain: The next line should have been, "No it's not! It's just contradiction!"
Posted by: Bill Dauphin | June 4, 2008 1:58 PM
For those of you who don't know what the hell I was talking about (@35), check out this video (YouTube is blocked from my work computer, so I couldn't preview it, but I'm pretty sure it's the right clip):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teMlv3ripSM
Posted by: Bill Dauphin | June 4, 2008 2:01 PM
Oh, no it's not agreed. So there, Buster.
Posted by: Patricia C. | June 4, 2008 2:12 PM
Bill@34 - No it shouldn't!
Posted by: Nick Gotts | June 4, 2008 2:15 PM
Nick:
Well, I'm working from (distant, creaky) memory, and as I said, I was unable to review the evidence from my work computer.
Or perhaps you were engaging in "automatic gainsaying," eh? As you well know, "that's not an argument!"
;^)
Posted by: Bill Dauphin | June 4, 2008 2:44 PM
Bill Dauphin wrote:
I didn't think to look it up until after I wrote my response. Turns out, unfortunately, our train left the rails pretty much right at the start.
Posted by: Wicked Lad | June 4, 2008 3:44 PM
I too didn't know w00+ was boobies. I thought it/he/? was Homer peeping over the backyard fence. *grin*
Well, it suddenly makes more sense why the photo he linked to was a colony of boobies. I hadn't even thought about the type of bird beforehand.
Posted by: Epinephrine | June 5, 2008 8:37 AM
The book club is an excellent idea. I went down to the Strand last night and picked up a copy of "Microcosm." Might be a bit before I get to it though cause I've got quite a queue of books to read (stupid Strand and their discounted books).
Also, Carl Zimmer came and spoke to my journalism depart once about blogging. He's really into germs and such.
Posted by: astroande | June 5, 2008 1:31 PM