Get a Grip on Ecology

by David Burnie

OK, ecology- rainforests, pollution, recycled paper, hippies hugging trees, ozone layer, all that stuff. Except that ecology is a far more complex and fascinating subject than a bland list of buzzwords suggest. Investigating all the complicated interactions between living things and their environment, ecologists are equally interested in the physical characteristics of the tiniest individual species, and the global impact of large-scale environmental changes. And by the end of Get a Grip on Ecology, you will be as well.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Ecology, Science Nature

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

David Andrew Burnie is an accomplished zoologist who was a nature reserve ranger before becoming a natural history author and editor. A prolific writer of many books, including several on dinosaurs, he has seen many of his titles win educational awards and science prizes. His titles for Kingfisher include Kingfisher Knowledge: Endangered Planet and The Kingfisher Illustrated Dinosaur Encyclopedia, which was nominated for the Aventis Prize for Science Books in 2002.

Reviews

[brooklenn leanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice basic overview of common topics and issues. A problem I had with it is their emphasis on overpopulation and fossil fuel as major ecological issues, yet they fail to cover the dangers and impact of growing animals for food and how environmentally unsustainable it is.

[leafeoned · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a first year ecology student, when I saw this book in a charity shop for £3 I knew I had to get it. Ultimately, I am a smidge disappointed but I DID enjoy reading this. This book provides a 2-4 page explanation of a plethora of ecological issues & subjects. My main issue with this is that it tended to be a small summary, without further context. It flip-flops too quickly in order to have good depth and understanding. Additionally, some of the descriptions feel quite amateurish? At times I felt as if things were being described as you would to a child.
This being said, I would say this is a decent book for people interested in ecology, particularly students. The short summaries of particular topics within this easygoing 189 page book is satisfactory for giving yourself refreshers on subjects, or even informing you of definitions/ vocabulary you weren’t aware of prior. So, if you’re someone who’s looking to get into ecology and is seeking a short, informative book which covers a majority of the field, i’d say GREAT! This is for you!
However, if you’re someone like myself, with prior knowledge on the subject and an understanding of the fundamentals of ecology, not so much. Probably should’ve guessed that from the whole ‘get a grip on ecology part’ though haha.

[Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aimed at kids but great for adults too, this primer focuses on the science of ecology and eschews the policy issues that are normally the focus of books on the topic. It also has fun cartoon illustrations, what more could you ask for?

[Kevin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Covers a lot of topics at a high level. Being such, it doesn't get into any real depth for any specific topic. Reads like a book for those with ADD. A bit too ADD for me though. Did not have many references. Kept with the major, agreed upon ideas in ecology from what I could tell.

[DELA · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book is good, i need some informations about ecology and this book give that i need