The Riot and the Dance: Foundational Biology

by Gordon Wilson

If you thought biology was the province of secular scientists, think again: The Riot and the Dance is biology like you've never seen it before. With over 130 original illustrations and several hundred figures total, this book is first and foremost an approachable and readable explanation of the basics of biology for high school or undergraduate students. But Gordon Wilson doesn't dumb down the concepts: Using analogies, anecdotes, and simple, personable language to teach key details about the bottom-line themes of biology, Dr. Wilson gives students handles to grasp the wonders of life on all levels.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Education

414 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Dr. Gordon Wilson is a Senior Fellow of Natural History at New Saint Andrews College in Moscow, Idaho, and the author of The Riot and the Dance, a biology textbook. He writes regularly for Answers in Genesis and has also taught biology at Liberty University and Lynchburg College. He and his wife Meredith have four children and a growing number of grandchildren.

Reviews

[Douglas Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't usually read biology textbooks (as in, never), but I read this one because my brother Gordon wrote it. Unlike other textbooks, the kind written by a committee of soulless engineers trying to write a phone book, the writing here has obvious personality. This is good and necessary because the author of the world being described has an out-of-control personality.

Get a load of this:

"Female Darwin frogs in South America lay eggs on the forest floor. When the babies hatch as tadpoles, the male gobbles them up and stores his kids in his vocal sac, where they continue to develop. Once they are fully developed froglets, they hop out of dad's mouth" (p. 343).

Not only does the Creator have an out-of-control personality, He frequently operates in very bad taste.

This book does not just display the staggering and infinite genius of the Creator, but it does so in ways that simply overwhelm. For unbelievers to look at this and see nothing more than the blind fumbling of chance is like listening to For Elise and hypothesizing that it must have been composed by a drunken chimpanzee banging on the piano in the study, with oven mitts on.

This book is highly recommended for anyone who wants to be awed by the Creator. If you have a biology course in your future somewhere, you need to get this book into it.

[Josiah Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best science textbooks that I have ever read. The conversational style that Dr. Wilson has chosen to take with his writing, paired with his spot-on analogies made for a fascinating read. A great refresher before college!

[D. Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a textbook that is not like other textbooks because it is fun. I have used this book as a help in teaching high school biology, I've referred to it during medical school (for his summaries of metabolic pathways), and I have read big chunks of it for pleasure and out of curiosity. Dr. Gordon Wilson is a very talented teacher and he does a wonderful job of illustrating the content of his book. I would buy the second edition as fast as photosynthesis.

[Tammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book as a summer pre-read to the school year and I will be putting it in the high school curriculum plan. Since I am curriculum coordinator for a Charlotte Mason private school and cannot stream the sciences, I am always searching for well-written books that are CM friendly. It is as close to a living book as a textbook can be. It is written by an author who knows this subject and has a passion for it. The text has personality because he includes personal anecdotes, little tricks that helps him remember (which is what I did as a student), and funny zingers.

His presentation of biology from an awe and wonder point of view presents creationism in a more endearing way. God created it all out of nothing. Therefore, as believers, we ought to read everything we can from his book of nature, which is a form of revelation. The diversity, beauty and ugly, super bizarre and ordinary, all have something to say to us about God's power and knowledge. He has a balanced view of stewardship as well.

He explains evolution and creationism because we do need to know different understanding of the facts when we communicate with people interested in science. We do not want to turn off evolutions from God because of a sledgehammer approach. He leaves the interpretation of time up to the reader and only mentions creationism and evolution at their most salient points. He avoids bogging down the material with endless debate.

I really like that many pictures are either hand-drawn or photographs. I believe our students will be encouraged to see something hand-drawn which is what we are encouraging them to do in their nature and science notebooks. The photographs can also be inspirational and I hope to encourage them to take photographs of things they will study in Part 2 while they are working through the material in Part 1.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Took me almost six months, but I enjoyed revisiting biology with this book.

[Rachel De Jong · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the rare textbook that may actually be fun to read. The author has a great sense of humor and his word pictures help to clarify the ideas being presented without dumbing things down. The first half of the book is definitely the hard part covering most of the cellular biology and biochemistry aspects while the second half is a survey of the different kingdoms. Do the labs, even if you modify them to include more YouTube and live specimens and fewer preserved specimens. They really help connect the content to real life. Chapters very greatly in length so definitely schedule by page count (including labs) rather than by chapter. Also you will need a separate course in health/ human Anatomy and Physiology as they are not included in this book. that could be a pro or a con depending on your needs.

[Kristin Runyon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent living biology textbook. It is sufficiently rigorous for high school without being arduous. It introduces Charlotte Mason students to a more traditional textbook style but the writing is narrative versus a list of factual data. I do wish there is more variety in the review, quiz and test questions. My favorite chapter might be the final one where Wilson truly puts a Christian’s role in science into perspective. While not typically a fan of Canon Press, this is one resource worth having.

[Eris Cardin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did it. I finished the book. And I think it was worth the read. Wilson manages to concisely and (soemtimes) clearly convey the fundamentals of biology. At times, I was entertained. At times, I was intrigued. At other times, I was annoyed by the complex metaphors and unhelpful (at least to me) diagrams. Through it all, however, I did appreciate his creationist perspective and his emphasis on giving glory to the Creator.

[Elaine Sumpter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful Biology textbook. It is easy to understand, interesting, and very informative!

[Thomas Carpenter · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s great. I just feel weird rating a textbook 4 stars.