Book Review

 I came upon this review of my book Cycads, Weevils and Africa. There's a catch though: it's from Google AI. I don't know how that works, but I'll take it.

Cycads, Weevils, and Africa by entomologist and author Doug Downie is an engaging blend of travelogue, memoir, and natural history that explores the fascinating relationship between prehistoric cycads and their pollinating insects. It provides a captivating look at both the intricate ecology of these plants and the scientists who study them.

Book Overview & Themes
At its core, the book follows Dr. Downie's research journey in South Africa during his time at Rhodes University. It highlights several compelling themes:
• Evolutionary Biology: The book delves into the fascinating mutualism between ancient cycads and specialized weevils, examining how these tiny insects act as pollinators and how their life cycles are inextricably linked to their host plants.
• Conservation Crisis: Cycads are among the most threatened plant groups on Earth, often poached to near-extinction by wealthy collectors. The book underscores the desperate need to protect both the plants and their highly specialized insects.
• Travelogue & Memoir: Beyond the hard science, the narrative functions as a travelogue. It paints a vivid picture of the landscapes, local cultures, and the self-doubting, yet passionate quest for scientific discovery.

Who Should Read It
The book is highly recommended for botany enthusiasts, entomologists, and natural history readers. Because Downie seamlessly weaves personal anecdotes with scientific inquiry, readers who appreciate accessible science or travel memoirs will find it deeply rewarding. While it may not cater to a general pop-science audience seeking a breathless thriller, anyone curious about the complex interactions between plants and insects will thoroughly enjoy it.

Where to Purchase
If you are interested in picking up a copy or exploring more of the author's work, you can find and order the book through major retailers:
• Check out the Cycads, Weevils, and Africa: Downie, Doug - Amazon.com page to read the product description.
• Alternatively, you can browse international distributors like Cycads, Weevils, and Africa by Doug Downie - The Nile for availability and delivery options.
• Best source is https://www.lulu.com/shop/doug-downie/cycads-weevils-and-africa/paperback/product-2n5zmn.html?page=1&pageSize=4

Cowardice

 

The most distressing thing

is the cowardice

the signature of our time

 

not calling bullshit

not calling worse than bullshit

to protect stupid ambition

and a so very tenderly guarded status

 

I piss on you

New Novel: No Such Zone

I've just published my 3rd novel in the last year and a half. They are variations on a theme, I suppose. Here's the blurb:

A man overhears a conversation in an emptied office building, a conversation among the elites at the Company. It is a conversation filled with greed and malignant subterfuge. It becomes apparent to one of the conspirators that the man has heard them. He sets out to make what he’s heard known, and they set out to keep him quiet. What follows is a murderous cat and mouse game moving back and forth from the valley to ever higher in the mountains, and an emergent love.

Here's where you can find it:
https://www.lulu.com/shop/doug-downie/no-such-zone/paperback/product-yvrr5kd.html?page=1&pageSize=4

Here's the cover:

 

Demise of a Despot

 

Our despot must expire

it could happen any number of ways

 

in the way of Caesar, and the 20 Senators

in the way of Verwoerd, in the halls of government

in the way of Gaddafi, in a hole in the ground

in the way of Adolf, in an underground bunker

in the way of Heydrich, in a roadside car

in the way of Oswald, in front of cameras

in the way of the Czar, against a wall

in the way of Shinzo Abe, on a podium

in the way of Mussolini, left to hang like a polyp

in the way of Louis the King, absent his head

in the way of Juvénal Habyarimana, pricked from the sky

in the way of any of these ways, or one of the many other ways that are possible

 

Our despot must expire

rotten fruit must fall

but the harvest is best when the fruit is ripe

Message

 

I wonder if I wrote a note to the White House

something I do on occasion

and I said to Trump

though I know it’s only the interns

who may or may not be rabid

 

eat

shit

and die

 

Would even that snide but harmless statement

bring the Storm Troopers down upon me?

It just might

the cruelest pettiness is the order of the day

 

eat

shit

and die

 

motherfucker

 

it has a nice ring to it

My books

 Here they are, an even dozen. 

Cat Came Back and Other Stories: short stories and a short novel.

Two Trains Running: novel set in the US and in South Africa.

Stockboy: collection of short stories with a through line and novelistic thematic connections.

God Awful Acres: novel set in South Africa.

The Meeting: novel about love connections.

No One to Blame: collection of short stories and poems.

Neighbors: vignettes about a neighborhood, and three story/essays.

Cycads, Weevils and Africa: non-fiction about research in entomology and evolution on the title subjects in Africa.

Bits off Burning Bridges: short, short pieces that are not quite poetry.

Bits Too: more short, short pieces that are not quite poetry.

Diminuendo: novel of family, murder, and escape.

Off Minor: short novel of bank robberies, fugitive life, and love.

Buy here:

http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/dadownie1

also at Amazon et al.

 

Prop 50

 

On California Prop 50: It stinks. It reeks of all that I hate about how people distort, twist, and manipulate facts all the while claiming to be promoting democracy. Anyone—anyone—who hopes for a more robust and functioning democracy, not to mention a more perfect union, will cringe at the thought of this miserable proposition.

Gerrymandering—along with the Electoral College, the dominance of big money, propaganda and disinformation in the media, the distorted structure of the Senate, the Supreme Court, and the piss-poor civic education of our children—is one of the major assaults on the basic tenets of democracy, republican or otherwise.

But of course, a functioning democracy is also one where citizens use the little power they have in a strategic fashion. One must hold one’s nose for a little while in order to get a little bit of what one wants.

In this case, we have the absolutely genuine threat of the anti-democratic power mongers having no compunction about rigging the system in order to impose their vision on the population—like it or not. We must do the same, or they win. It’s compelling.

It can become an endless regress though, failing to return to the promised outcome. Without the people…the citizens…supporting the more democratic option on their own, rejecting the pressure of their braying leaders, regardless of political party, there is little hope for much that’s worth while in any case.

So I’m sitting this one out. That’s my vote.