Today I read the essays The Dance Of the Frogs by Loren Eiseley. It’s part of the collection of his essays in The Star Thrower, a compilation that I’m reading right now. It’s a really interesting book that I’ve enjoyed reading so far, and I’ve already reviewed some of the other essays in The Star Thrower, namely The Bird and the Machine, How Flowers Changed the World, and The Fire Apes. The Dance Of the Frogs is written in a different style than most of his other works, though, which combine a personal story with a historical story. This one is simply one story that borders on the fantastical, alluding to a gigantic frog king and something religious in a scientific book. I still enjoyed reading it, though, an interesting account of what happened to one researcher. I’m not sure if it’s true and actually doubt it, but it made for entertaining reading that still taught me something about how hard it is to be religious while also a scientist. A story on Native American culture mixed with a story from Eiseley’s life, which incorporates an entirely different story of another person’s life, The Dance Of the Frogs is a complex but informative and entertaining essay. I highly recommend that anyone interested in religion, science, or simply a fan of this author’s works read it. I would rate it a 9/10.
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