Cary Neeper's Blog: Reviewing World-changing Nonfiction, page 12

Cosmic Biology and astronaut.com

Louis Neal Irwin and Dirk Schulze-Makuch do a thorough job of reviewing the environments of the planets and their moons in our solar system. Are any of them friendly enough to harbor life? What kind of life? How many probably house internal oceans under a cap of ice? Those are the most likely candidates for microbes, maybe even swimmers or crawlers on three types of environment--an internal ice ceiling, an ocean floor over a warm core, and the internal ocean itself. The authors consider all the chemical ifs, ands and buts of such environments.

I'm most eager to see what the flybys that will pick up samples from the leaking moon Enceladus in 2030? Actually, it's spurting icy water and organics several hundred kilometers into space from its south pole. It there is an internal ocean there, it could be very interesting--and we won't even have to drill through kilometers of ice.
Meanwhile, come visit my blogs on astronaut.com. Here's the latest-- http://astronaut.com/whos-good-news-l...

The Hen House Takes On Mark Twain

Are Humans the Only Animal With A Passion For Revenge?

In my opinion, Mark Twain’s Third Horrendous Commendation of the Human Race as inferior to all other animals is Simply Wrong. Quotes cited below are from Mark Twain’s Letters From the Earth: Uncensored Writings, the letter entitled “The Damned Human Race, Section V. The Lowest Animal.”

In this ten-page article, Mark Twain (MT) lays out the evidence as he saw it at a terrible time in his life. Perhaps we should excuse him, but on this point I can’t agree. Personal experience with dolphins has told me that revenge is not unique to the human animal.

This is third in the Mark Twain blog series on my personal web site caryneeper.com dealing with Mark Twain's 13 reasons why humans are the lowliest of the animals.

That's why I recommended Frans DeWaal's "Uncovering Our Earliest Ancestor" as a good read for all my friends interested in Science, Non-fiction and Psychology.

Another must-read on steady state economics

See my review of Brian Czech's "Supply Shock: Economic Growth At the Crossroads and the Steady State Solution" here on Goodreads. The timing again was amazing. His book arrived just in time for me to reference it while doing in-depth editing of the third book in The Archives of Varok, which model the steady state in a fun alternate 21st century setting.
Thanks to ecologist Brian for learning so much about economics and sharing it.

Issues In The Webs of Varok

The 2 Book 2 Issues 2 Thoughtful Comments Contest deadline is June 20
on the stroke of Midnight. To enter you are invited to leave a comment here on my Goodreads' blog. Enjoy looking to a secure future. Cary Neeper.

Here are some questions related to the issues in The Webs of Varok:

Issue number 1: How can society ensure that "family" is defined legally to protect all persons and dependent beings included in the commitment? Are economic and emotional commitments enough for a legal definition? Tax benefits? Other benefits?

Issue number 2: The steady state economy of varok means minimal throughput (using just enough of everything that is acceptable and putting out the least amount of garbage possible).

What is the best way to get there, in order to ensure a pleasant standard of living for life on Earth for as long as possible? Are Conn's suggestions at the end of The Webs of Varok
enough?

Beautiful Ruins, A Model for Writers

Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter will serve as an example when I feel my writing has faded to pale vanilla. It seems redundant to review a book that has won so many awards, but, as a writer, I wanted to share what I found so valuable in his writing. Though the chapters jump decades and continents--back and forth, here and there--they are carefully titled and the story threads are linked tighter and tighter as you are carried deeper into the warp and weft of a very satisfying experience. Characters speak with distinct language in a variety of ways, and the story progresses with a variety of styles—through bits of plays, the first chapters of a failed memoir and a novel, and an enthusiastic movie pitch. Most helpful to me is the way Jess Walter weaves the characterizations and settings seamlessly into the action. Themes—like the price of fame and the cost of ego--are illustrated brilliantly in the characters’ interactions, without comment. The reader never loses a sense of experiencing the story and its setting. With fifteen years in the writing, itself a fascinating story, Walters’ agonizing effort has woven a beautiful and life-enhancing tapestry.

Reviewing The Art of Thank You by Connie Leas

Dear Connie:
I just finished reading your book The Art of Thank You cover to cover. Inspired, I immediately dashed off a few notes. Thank you! Not only for your in-depth summary of how useful appreciation can be in a variety of situations (and how our manners have tanked recently), but for the extraordinary quotes that served as memorable examples of effective thank-you-note writing. The time you invested in researching and in acquiring permission to use those quotes boggles my mind. Then you added a list of useful phrases for easy reference, a reminder list of when thank-yous are needed, and an index. I was going to give this book to a negligent granddaughter or to the one about to make her way into the world of professional behavior, but I think I’ll keep this one for reference and get copies for all four of them. Your publisher, Beyond Words Publishing, also describes a list of books I hope they read.
With admiration for your thorough work, Cary

New Review Gives Detailed Synopses

I just received notice from reviewer Frank Kaminski that he has reviewed both books of The Archives of Varok, including wonderful synopses I wish I could have written as well. It has appeared in three online sites.
Here are are few excerpts:
"...it is an involving, well-plotted story that does justice to both the hard science underpinning its interplanetary settings and the long evolutionary perspectives typical of the old scientific romances.
"...what a worthy revival it is, in both its continued timeliness and its intelligent, believable rendering of alien values and cultures.
"Its sequel, The Webs of Varok, was a long time in coming, but it's finally here waiting to be discovered by a new generation. ...the 38-year lapse between offerings has not dimmed Neeper’s storytelling ability nor dampened her ambition: the new novel is every bit as well made, poignant and entertaining as its predecessor.
"Three more Archives of Varok novels are in the works and are set to be released between now and the end of 2014. I look forward to seeing what additional insights their alien worlds have to contribute to the growing debate about our species’ predicament."
Here are the links: Reviews at variantperception.com and
http://www.resilience.org/stories/201...

Defining "Family"

Here's an issue that the books in “The Archives of Varok” address--how should we define a "family" and provide it legal rights and protection? Come join the comment contest until June 20—a set of books going to the most thoughtful ideas about two issues. The first issue is directly related to my blog, the Hen House theme of our responsibility to animals that we adopt, as well as humans to whom we commit.

My reviewer at the Los Alamos Daily Post asked the best question yet--could an extended family including aliens and humans really work? The mixed family of The Archives surely do have their problems, and though they’ve met them head-on in The Webs of Varok, there are more to come in the next volume, Conn: The Alien Effect, to be released early this summer.

I’d like to believe that we humans have matured to the point where we could appreciate the alienness of other beings. We’re doing much better now, since Temple Grandin shared her experiences with us in her book Animals In Translation, New York: Scribner, 2005. I agree that my birds do see things in WISIWIG mode. It takes them some time to learn, then to remember, that the gate is really open and that they need to go around the pen to see that it is. Scientist now are not hooted down when they seek to explore the emotional lives of animals.

The grin on DeeDee’s face expresses unmistakable delight when she greets me at the gate, ready to join us in the living room for the evening. So why not aliens? Surely they can also feel emotions, even if their DNA reflects a different code. Does their evolution have to be so different we can’t relate to it? If we connect, can’t we commit to mutual support and be family?

My experience studying biology suggests that our understanding of chemistry, complex systems and self-organizing selection makes it reasonable to expect that evolution on Earth is a sorting process that could occur anywhere conditions are right. Some elements, like carbon, get together more easily than others, are more stable, more capable of devising interesting strategies for survival.

This is not to say that we are not unique. Even as individuals we are unique, though the details of our existence, the chemistry and physics that define our lives, are universal—and downright awe inspiring in their complexity and precision. Makes one very thankful to be alive.

Join the conversation and win a set of books. Place a comment here.

Interested in the Future? Reviews of Three Must-read Books

The book by Herman Daly and John Cobb "For the Common Good" is a detailed analysis of steady state economics contrasted with classical economic theory with its infinite substitution and necessity for growth. Though this was updated in 1994, it is still an excellent critique of economics and steady state thinking.
For the latest summary go to steadystate.org and check out "Enough is Enough: Building A Sustainable Economy In A World Of Finite Resources" and the newsletter for CASSE (Center for the Advancement of Steady State Economy at steadystate.org)

In a more recent book "The Necessary Revolution" Peter Senge (author of "The Fifth Discipline"), tells encouraging stories about how large industries have turned around in their thinking. Using theories of how groups interact and paradigms change, Senge suggests practical ways of convincing businesses and other large groups to consider new options.

A must-read for my family is Donella Meadows "Thinking In Systems," the every-reader textbook I have been hoping to find. It is an easy read for anyone in any field of interest--critical for understanding complexity in every aspect of life and non-life. It does neglect the fun, unpredictable indicators of complex systems, like amplification and emergence, but those are treated in other books, also well written for non-scientists.

Celebrating a finalist selection for The Webs of Varok

Come join the event I am running until June 20. A two-book prize for the most thoughtful comments in my two blogs on two issues in The Webs of Varok: 1)Tandra's growing awareness and self-actualization and 2) the steady state as portrayed in The Webs, namely balancing regulation with consensus.
Blogs are here on Goodreads and on http://caryneeper.com/blog.htm
Go to the author's page on archivesofvarok.com to see the latest on Tandra's character development.
Here's the link http://bit.ly/Yfg6V6

Looking forward to hearing from you.