2023 - ‘70’s Immersion Reading Challenge

The Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher (#1) by Lewis Thomas (1974; 1884 ed.) 180 pages.

This book is not what I thought it was going to be about. I have basal cell melanoma on my nose that keeps popping up. I thought I could learn a thing or two. But, nope! It contains an assortment of short essays of the authors thoughts, opinions and ideas on lives of cells, their use and their purpose for existing in different species here on earth. You will need to keep a dictionary close by.

It is very reminiscent of Carl Sagan’s Cosmos (1980), except Thomas focuses more on earth; whereas, Sagan focuses on the universe. But, like Sagan, Thomas was a bit of a dreamer and rambled on and on about a lot of “what ifs”. What if we were to communicate with aliens in outer space? What if we had control over our own cells, telling them what to do instead of them telling us what to do? Rambling! This was a long, tedious and an absolute boring read.

Just so you know where this author stands on the issue of the formation of life, he states:

The uniformity of the earth’s life, more astonishing than its diversity, is accountable by the high probability that we arrived, originally, from some single cell, fertilized in a bolt of lightning as the earth cooled. (p. 3)

You will read a lot of his opinions stated as facts about evolution with no mention of God’s helping hand in the matter what-so-ever. That’s fine. As an adult, accept it or not.

But, why would I even need to know that he is a Democrat in this sort of book? As he is describing the life cycle of a slime mold cell, he writes:

At first they are single amebocytes swimming around, eating bacteria, aloof from each other, untouching, voting straight Republican. (p. 14) Hmm!

Really? But, if he wants to go there, then I get to put my two cents in too…just sayin'. ( )

Thomas has a feel for biology and is very good at sharing his thoughts. ( )

To ruminate. To talk at length but never to make the big conclusion. Each chapter had a title and I’d think, "oh good, this has promise" yet it seemed like in each instance it was if he was saying “ I know I’ve been talking about social organizations but here’s some biological terms I know.” And each chapter seemed to end with a summary akin to “and Bob’s your uncle!” ( )

While this book was shorter than I expected, it was still quite enjoyable. It is a collection of 29 essays that were originally presented in the New England Journal of Medicine. I was expecting a focus on cells or something of that nature, but I was wrong. It includes little ideas that are about cells, like how mitochondria are symbiotic with our cells. The book also contains a lot of musings on termites, ants, wasps, and other social insects. All in all, this book was quite well done. ( )

Lives of a Cell is a collection of 29 beautifully written essays on science. Although focused on biology, you'll find essays touching on etymology, cosmology and healthcare. That's a blessing for the layperson. The treatment of some topics feels dated. For instance, genetics is mentioned only briefly. On other topics, such as treatment of the elderly and palliative care, Thomas shows great foresight.

In addition, Thomas dispels myths and adds interesting anecdotes. Several stick in my mind. First, mitochondria in our cells have more in common with bacteria than other animals. Second, illness is often caused by bacteria themselves becoming infected or abnormal. Third, symbiosis is an arrangement as common as competition, and often more stable. Fourth, many insect species are social and have a critical mass beyond which they act as a single organism. There are many more nuggets which feed the layman's mind and expand horizons.

Given the collection's breadth of outlook, I recommend this for anyone interested in biology, nature or science generally. ( )