Steven Vogel

An entertaining and informative book that explores how living things contend with nonbiological reality. Life on Earth is subject to the pull of gravity, the properties of air and water, and the behaviour of diffusing molecules, yet such physical factors are constraints that drive evolution and offer untold opportunities to creatures of all sizes. In this lively introduction to the...

Why do you switch from walking to running at a specific speed? Why do tall trees rarely blow over in high winds? And why does a spore ejected into air at seventy miles per hour travel only a fraction of an inch? Comparative Biomechanics is the first and only textbook that takes a comprehensive look at the mechanical aspects of...