Features
- Cover Type: Paperback with 398 pages
- Published by: Cambridge University Press September 26, 1986
- Written in: English
- ISBN 10 Number: 0521270871
- ISBN 13 Number: 978-0521270878
-
Book Dimensions:
9 x 6 x 1 inches
- Weighs: 1.3 pounds
Product Review
"an important contribution to the scienceblessed with elegant and lucid prosePractitioners always benefit from acquaintance with the history of their scienceMcIntosh's book is the ideal source." Roger Lewin, Science Books & Films real ecology from every fad and fancy that claims to be environmentally based while simultaneously urging ecologists to accept responsibility for providing guidance on managment of the environment from both theoretical and empirical bases. Roger Lewin, Science Books and Films
"This is a book of the history of ecology, written by an ecologist who loves history, or perhaps a historian who has an unusual understanding of ecology and its roots. I am convinced of the depth of his visionIf you have been wondering what has been going on in the broad field of ecology while you have been busy with more mundane problems, I can recommend this book to you." Botanical Society of America
"an important analysis of developing ecological thought and its applications to human problemsClearly, this great volume belongs in the "active section" of the personal library of all working ecologists." Ecology
Product Description
The Background of Ecology is a critical and up-to-date review of the origins and development of ecology, with emphasis on the major concepts and theories shared in the ecological traditions of plant and animal ecology, limnology, and oceanography. The work traces developments in each of these somewhat isolated areas and identifies, where possible, parallels or convergences among them. Dr McIntosh describes how ecology emerged as a science in the context of nineteenth-century natural histor
Reader ReviewsThis is no doubt a thorough account of the history of ecology, but in so being, it is confusing to read in several ways. I was looking for a book that covered the development of ideas in ecology, and how the field advanced to what it is today. It does cover these ideas, but they are difficult to extract from the text. Most of the text goes back and forth on this person or that person, this habitat or that, and does little to synthesize the progress of ecological concepts. Instead of following a general trend of progress in ecology, the author takes the reader through a maze with no clear direction. It is divided into different levels of ecology (e.g., populations, communities, ecosystems) but with transending themes (e.g., dynamics, theoretical, application) and habitat and taxonomy(terrestrial plant ecology, terrestrial animal ecology, limnology, oceanography) discussed separately. So much for general principles that pervade all taxonomic groups and habitats. It would have been much more clear if it followed one pattern (e.g., time periods, major ecologists, conception and development of major ideas) instead of jumping back and forth on different methods of tracking history. In the end I have read a lot of text with very little learned about the history of ecology. I still don't understand how different concepts developed through empirical and theoretical support and refinement, in many cases who originally conceived the concept, and what impact these concepts had on the field of ecology in retrospect. Nor is it clear which of the older literature is still worth reading because of its continued relevance. I must say though, that I enjoyed hearing about concepts being credited to a particular author even though they were addressed in earlier texts. But this gave me the feeling that little has progressed in ecology, and old ideas are just being rediscovered and credited to someone else. The field of ecology still needs a clear, logically organized history of ideas, scientists, literature, and progress because this book will fall short in accessibility for most.
Search for books at
