Books with author D. P. Whitehead

I strive to connect a child’s passion to explore with the established landmarks of our great nation. The story is targeted for early readers and is written and illustrated in the same vein of classic P.D. Eastman stories with colorful illustrations and a powerful rhythm and rhyme.In the story, a moose that is dressed like an old fashioned astronaut travels around to various landmarks of the North America and explains why he likes to visit them. The story features such landmarks as The Great Lakes, The Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, and Mount Rushmore. Each page contains a colorful illustration of the space moose visiting the landmark. The story also features a steady and consistent rhyme that children will pull children into the story.

Parasite Power is a book about how parasites have influenced evolution. Natural selection, the engine that powers evolution, has been clearly described since 1859, when Charles Darwin published his master work The Origin of Species. But as we are coming to appreciate, our understanding of how animals actually evolve has been flawed from the very beginning. The picture painted by Darwinian scientists is off the mark because it has largely omitted the influence of parasites.This is unfortunate, because parasites play a very substantial role in the dramatic story of natural descent. Why? Because over half of the species on the face of the earth are parasites. And all the rest of the species are struggling to cope with their parasites. Either way, this source of influence cannot be ignored.A fuller appreciation of the influence of parasites has only begun to take shape within the past two or three decades. Most of the public has yet to hear the news. Nor has it fully impressed itself into the views of many life scientists. The goal of this book is to help foster awareness of the extent to which an arms race with our diseases has shaped the features we consider to be most characteristically human.In pursuit of this greater awareness this volume will focus on the connection between parasites and two very basic characteristics – sex and death. These are two of the most dramatic issues in human life. Their emotional impact is powerful. And what do parasites have to do with sex and death? Everything, as it turns out.We recognize the act of sex as the way to have babies. We accept sexual drive and attraction as potent forces shaping our personal identities, our intimate relationships, and our culture. Because we are so closely tied to our sexuality, we tend to accept it as a given. Not many of us are aware that scientists regard sexual reproduction as a true mystery. Historically they have been unable to fully explain the purpose of sex. Likewise aging, senescence, and dying are things we generally accept without question or examination. But why do we have to die? Is death truly inevitable, or are there ways to dodge or postpone it? Why do we have to “get old?” Do our energy, health, and mental clarity have to dwindle away to the vanishing point as we age? Do our bodies have to fall apart?The surprising truth is that both sex and death are inventions, weapons developed in the course of the arms race with our parasites. This volume addresses how these weapons were invented, and how they protect the animals that created them.Parasite Power is a book for readers who want answers to these questions. It tells a remarkable story. It is the true tale of a never-ending war – an arms race between host organisms (like us) and the parasites that exploit them.