As an ecologist, I knew little of Prof. Schmidt- Nielsen's research. However, I was impressed by three aspects of his autobiography:

1. He showed that research in the field or the lab can be a real adventure.

2. His approach to research was a strong combination of observation and humane experiment- ation.

3. He is a scientist who can write clearly, with no reliance on jargon used only by scientists in his profession.

This is a book I recommend to scientists, budding scientists, and anyone curious about the way scientists live and love!

Schmidt-Nielsen's book, "The Camel's Nose..." is a history of science in the 20th C., a textbook on physiology, and a personal journal. From the first page I was as fascinated with his research subjects as he was! It was refreshing to learn of a time when personal curiosity and professional work were not at odds with each other, but worked to create the best possible research and a happy life. Schmidt-Nielsen believes that scientific literature should not be convoluted, and his memoirs follow this rule. I highly recommend this book to anyone who still has their childhood curiosity about how non-human animals work! A science degree is not necessary to be totally enthralled by his work and life.

There are many people in the world who don't realize that Animal Physiology is the most intensely interesting thing that anybody could ever study. This book will make sure that you are not one of those people.

This is one of the best, if not the best, introduction to the understanding of environmental physiology. Schmidt-Nielsen takes the stance that the adaptation of animals to their environment profoundly decides the nature of their physiology and behavior. Steve Popkes, Boston, MA

As an undergraduate, I used this book during my first animal physiology course. I found the book to be very dry and uninteresting. The material in the book was easy to read, perhaps too basic. I felt that at times there were gaps in the explanations.

Covers a wealth of topics in a readable style with a well-organized format. Various sections deal with different largely independant subjects (Oxygen, Food & Energy, Temperature, & Water). Animals have found a plethora of different solutions for the many problems facing them, and while not ever one is covered, most of them are. The treatment of the osmoregulation was great (one of the reasons I got the book), as were the sections on the biomechanics of the animal world. I particularly liked the sections on bouancy control in marine animals, as well as the comparisions through the book on living in air verses water (very well done). The final part covers movement, information, & integration, and tries to pack a lot of material into perhaps too small a volume, but that's my only problem. And realisticly you have to stop writing a book somewhere, or you end up with a multi-volume set; Knut Schmidt-Nielson has done an excellent job of providing the basics at an advanced undergraduate level while making it interesting enough for almost anyone.

Animal physiology might be understood as a study which lead to our understanding on how animal strugle to survive in their particular environment and for its existence. The book try to explain the concept in such a way that even students with very limited understanding on physic and chemistry could grasp the main ideas. This is very useful for the student and also for the teacher.

November 1, 1999 edy -

Scaling covers both the various ways in which the size & shape of animals change, as well as the reasons or rationals behind such scaling laws. The book does a great job of presenting the data in an understandable format (and a lot of data as well!), but there were times I felt a little confused as to the physical reasons behind these scalings (perhaps because not all the details are known). For the most part however the explainations were clear, and for the statistics of scaling in the animals world I can think of no comparable text. Some of the subjects are scaling of eggs, running & jumping, & bone strength, but the most detailed sections (one of the strengths of the book) deal with the metabolism of animals; why a man's heart must beat faster than an elephants and slower than a hummingbirds, for instance. It's not a light read, and if all you want is physiology try his other book "Animal Physiology" (textbook) or Vogel's "Life's Devices" (more of a popular press book, but suitable as a teaching text).

Schmidt-Nielsen's "Scaling: why is animal size so important" is a readable introduction to the influence of size on physiology (and vice versa). As noted in a previous review, the chapter describing structural engineering is relatively weak, but the chapters discussing allometric concepts, metabolism, thermoregulation, and physiological time are excellent. Other chapters address respiration and circulation.

Unfortunately, Schmidt-Nielsen glosses over the ecological ramifications of the physiological mechanisms described in this book. For the ecologically oriented, I recommend Calder's "Size, function, and life history."

All in all, an eye-opener and a heck of a lot more fun to read than most technical works.