BEGIN:VCALENDAR PRODID;X-RICAL-TZSOURCE=TZINFO:-//com.denhaven2/NONSGML ri_cal gem//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN VERSION:2.0 BEGIN:VEVENT DESCRIPTION:Join us for spirited discourse in this new\, timely Natural History book discussion group. \; Together\, we will explore fou r important works which have had significant impact on contemporary thought within the sciences. Assistant Curator and Librarian Mark Sweberg will lead us in an examination of these informing and alway s interesting classics of non-fiction literature. \; Pre-regist ration for entire four book series is required\; please sign up asa p as space is limited\, and a minimum number of participants is req uired. Ages 18 and up.\nBooks to be discussed:\nThe Origin of Species b y Charles Darwin (April 7\, 2012)\nPerhaps the most readable and accessi ble of the great works of scientific imagination\, The Origin of Sp ecies sold out on the day it was published in 1859. \; Theologi ans quickly labeled Charles Darwin the most dangerous man in Englan d. \; Based largely on Darwin's experience as a naturalist whil e on a five-year voyage aboard H.M.S. Beagle\, The Origin of Specie s set forth a theory of evolution and natural selection that challe nged contemporary beliefs about divine providence and the immutabil ity of species. \; A landmark contribution to philosophical and scientific thought\, Darwin's book came to have far-reaching importa nce beyond the field of biology\, encompassing such fields as psych ology\, sociology\, law\, theology\, literature\, and other branches of intellectual endeavor.\nSilent Spring by Rachel Carson (May 12\, 2012)\nFew books have had as much impact on early twenty-first life as Rachel Carson's Silent Spring. \; Though an environmental consci ousness can be discerned in American culture as far back as the nin eteenth century\, environmentalism as it is known today has only be en around for fifty years\, and Carson's book is one of its primary sources. Her tirade against humankind's attempt to use technology to dominate nature wrenched environmentalism from its relatively na rrow\, conservationist groove and helped transition it into a sweep ing social movement that has since impacted almost every area of ev eryday life.\nGuns\, Germs\, and Steel by Jared Diamond (June 16\, 201 2)\nWinner of the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction\, Guns\, Germs\, an d Steel was also a national best-seller. \; At a time when othe r popular nonfiction topics centered on personal relationships and diets\, Jared Diamond caught the attention of the reading public wi th a fascinating account of more than 13\,000 years of human evolut ion and societal development. Diamond recounts how he became intriq ued when his New Guinean friend Yali asked\, "Why is it that you wh ite people developed so much cargo and brought it to New Guinea\, b ut we black people had little cargo of our own?" \; The cargo t hat Yali refers to is technology--tools as simple as axes\; accesso ries such as umbrellas\; and more complicated inventions such as co mputers. \; Diamond searched for an answer by examing millions of years of history\, mapping out the migrations of early humans. D iamond concludes that it is ultimately geography\, not biology or r ace as some other studies have tried to prove\, that produced the c ultural disparities his friend Yali had pointed out.\nThe Universe i n a Nutshell by Stephen Hawking (July 28\, 2012)\nStephen Hawking is tha t rare combination of scientist and celebrity whose writings take t he obscure and arcane workings of the universe and make them availa ble to general readers. Born exactly three undred years after the d eath of Galileo\, Hawking would eventually hold the Lucasian Profes sorship of Mathematics at Cambridge\, the same post once held by Si r Isaac Newton. \; In 1988\, Stephen Hawking published A Brief Hi story of Time. \; It was among the most successful popular books about science ever written. The Universe in a Nutshell is its sequ el. \; Always charming\, frequently funny\, and at times bewilder ing\, author Stephen Hawking's The Universe in a Nutshell describes a universe that sounds like a carnival fun house: nothing is reall y as it seems. URL:http://johnston.patch.com/events/museum-of-natural-history-and-planet arium-roger-williams-park-c466489e SUMMARY:Museum of Natural History and Planetarium\, Roger Williams Park LOCATION:1000 Elmwood Ave\, Providence\, RI 02907: 1000 Elmwood Ave\, Pro vidence\, RI END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR