By Nature's Design: An Exploratorium Book (Exploratorium Book Series)

Chaos theory may be all the rage in the mathematical world, but most people like at least some measure of order in their lives, whether through daily routines or tested methods of getting something done. Writer Pat Murphy and photographer William Neill appeal to our quest for patterns with this book, based on a major exhibit at San Francisco's Exploratorium. Together they puzzle out how pebbles form clusters on the beach, how an ear of corn grows, how mountains and clouds form and how spiders make their webs: how, in short, nature sees to it that things happen in much the same way again and again. The science is simple ("the sleeping cat curls into a ball because this shape offers the least surface area"), and the photographs are both splendid and informative, making this a fine gift for budding young naturalists.