Books with author C. R. Williams

We may regard ourselves as the most advanced species on the planet, but have we really reached our optimum design? Isn't there always room for improvements? Before you answer, let noted evolutionary biologist George C. Williams remind you of both the exquisite adaptations and absurd maladaptations nature has bestowed upon us, the self-proclaimed ”pinnacle of evolution.”Picking up where Darwin left off, Williams combines philosophical perspective and scientific method to provide a foundation for the answers to some fascinating questions. He explains why our bodies have to deteriorate so disastrously with old age. He gives us logical reasons to explain why we crave foods like sugar and fat that have been proven time and again to be detrimental to our health. And Williams single-handedly deflates our Homo sapiens sapiens ego with such insights as: Our eyesight—it may seem superior, but not when compared to that of the invertebrate squid, whose eye has developed over time to prove more efficient than ours. And wouldn't it make more sense to have a third eye, located on the back of the head? We could have stereoscopic vision in front and rear-vision warning us of danger sneaking up behind. Rear-view mirrors would become a thing of the past. And why stop at three eyes?This fascinating new book is markedly different from all previous work on evolutionary biology. Using the pony fish and its luminescent abdomen as the perfect evolutionary mystery, Williams explores the intricacies of nature's designs. Rather than telling us how or why the pony fish got its light, Williams explains the functional reasons why the pony fish keeps its light. He also explains why our species keeps arbitrary or malfunctioned features like the reproductive and excretory systems' sharing of parts.George C. Williams, one of today's most qualified evolutionary biologists, has written an important, entertaining, and thought-provoking addition to a science that has captivated the world for almost 150 years.

"A joy to read ... the plot is full of breathtaking and often surprising beats and twists ... a grand story world in which readers can easily and enjoyably immerse themselves." - 2nd Draft Critique (Writer's Market)Jonathon Smith, a daring young Special Forces soldier, finds himself stranded on a strange new planet, the lone survivor of a disastrous rescue mission sent by the American president and NASA to find a lost colony of Earthlings.But Junesa is far from uninhabited, as had been believed; it is a populous world in a Dark Ages stage of development.Taken in by slaves who, led by the beautiful and fanatical Ahbbie, claim him as their long-awaited Rescuer ... Opposed by the brutal Junesan Empire ... Hunted by the sinister Night Horde ...Smith must somehow find his way to the people he was sent to save."THE LOST COLONY ... its mysteries are intriguing, its characters are endearing, its romance is sweet, and its adventure keeps us reading from page to page." - Rachel Starr Thomson, The Seventh World Trilogy

This book is an illustrated version of the original Bach by Charles Francis Abdy Williams. “John Sebastian Bach came of a large family of Thuringian musicians, whose members have been traced back to the first decade of the sixteenth century. The name frequently occurs in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries among the inhabitants of Arnstadt, Erfurt, Gräfenrode, Molsdorf, Rockhausen and other villages; and that it has not yet disappeared is shown by the fact that the Erfurt Directory for 1899 contains the addresses of no less than thirteen Bachs.”