from the Plantae, along with the single-celled organisms, the fungi, and the molds. The various aquatic plants had always been viewed as quite inferior and primitive compared to the higher plants. While green algae were considered a probable direct ancestor of these higher green plants, and therefore sometimes kept in with the Plantae, the brown and red algae were very early viewed as something different, and classified accordingly. As biological understanding and classification systems became more advanced, additional kingdoms eventually emerged, and lower taxonomic groupings became tighter and more defined. The last few decades have seen a new flurry of classification debate, as a whole new field of molecular investigation has produced new perspectives that have threatened (and in some cases entirely revolutionized) longstanding views of the reigningRead full description of the books:

Vivid, hilarious, and compelling, this eagerly awaited book takes its place among the travel classics. It is a thrilling tale of adventure, a comic masterpiece, and an evocative portrait of a medieval land marooned in the modern world.

Eight and a half centuries ago, under Genghis Khan, the Mongols burst forth from Central Asia in a series of spectacular conquests that took them from the Danube to the Yellow Sea. Their empire was seen as the final triumph of the nomadic "barbarians."

In this remarkable book Stanley Stewart sets off on a pilgrimage across the old empire, from Istanbul to the distant homeland of the Mongol hordes. The heart of his odyssey is a thousand-mile ride, traveling by horse, through trackless land. On a journey