Abstract

What distinguishes living from non-living entities, says De Loof (zoology, Leuven U., Belgium) is the ability to solve problems, and that is accomplished by communicating compartments. He outlines a definition, properties, and hierarchical organization of those compartments. His goal is to familiarize biologists with the principles of communication, and students of the humanities with principles of biology. With some help, he himself translated the 1996 Wat is Leven from Dutch. Distributed in the US by Coronet Books. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR.