You are hereEvolution: The Triumph of an IdeaNew York: HarperCollins, 2001. 384 pages. Carl Zimmer, a well established science writer, presents a wonderful companion piece to the new PBS Evolution series by the same name. It presents a broad overview of evolution, and how it relates to other scientific fields like genetics, geology, and medicine. This is a beautifully done book with clear and accessible writing and illustrations throughout. The Evolution Explosion: How Humans Cause Rapid Evolutionary ChangeNew York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2002. 288 pages. A critical look at the intersection of evolution and high-tech modern life. Evolution is not only the slow process that ruled the rise and fall of the dinosaurs over hundreds of millions of years. It also happens quickly — so quickly and frequently that it changes how all of us live our lives: drugs fail because diseases evolve; insects overcome the most powerful pesticides; HIV and tuberculosis develop resistance to the newest drugs in a few months. This is evolution with teeth. EvolutionSunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates, 2005. 603 pages. From the publisher: "Evolution is a readily recognized descendant of the author's previous textbook, Evolutionary Biology. However, it is much shorter and is exclusively directed toward an undergraduate audience. Teachers and students will find the list of important concepts and terms in each chapter a helpful guide, and will appreciate the radically different dynamic figures and lively photographs. The content of all chapters has been updated, and material has been reorganized into new chapters such as 'Conflict and Cooperation' and 'How To Be Fit.' ... Microbial Evolution: Gene Establishment, Survival, and ExchangeWashington, DC: Libri, 2004. 374 pages. Published by the American Society for Microbiology in 2004, Microbial Evolution is a state-of-the-art compilation on the evolution of bacteria, containing twenty-two essays under four broad rubrics: intracellular mechanisms for generating diversity, intercellular mechanisms for gene movement, mechanisms for gene establishment and survival, and mechanisms for detecting genetic diversity. Power, Sex, Suicide: Mitochondria and the Meaning of LifeNew York: Oxford University Press, 2006. 354 pages. From the publisher: "Power, Sex, Suicide, Complexity, Individuality, Fertility, Prehistory, Ageing, Death. These universal themes are all linked by mitochondria — the tiny structures located inside our cells — miniature powerhouses that use oxygen to generate power. ... Once considered menial slaves, mere workhorses for complex cells with nuclei, their significance is now undergoing a radical revision. Mitochondria are now seen as the key ingredient that made complex life possible at all. ... Frogs, Flies, and DandelionsOxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. 254 pages. In Frogs, Flies, and Dandelions, Menno Schilthuizen provides a lively and accessible introduction to contemporary controversies over modes of speciation, arguing in the process for the validity of sympatric speciation (a position taken by Darwin himself, but widely rejected nowadays). Reviewing the book in RNCSE (2003 Jan/Feb; 23 [1]: 37-8), John Wilkins wrote, "The arguments are presented in this book with as much attention to detail — and to both the biology and the personalities — as any book I have even seen. The Beak of the FinchNew York: Vintage Books, 1994. 352 pages. From the publisher: "On a desert island in the heart of the Galápagos archipelago, where Darwin received his first inklings of the theory of evolution, two scientists, Peter and Rosemary Grant, have spent twenty years proving that Darwin did not know the strength of his own theory. Endless Forms Most BeautifulNew York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2006. 350 pages. One of the principal architects of evolutionary developmental biology ("evo devo"), Sean B. Carroll is the ideal guide — informed, chatty, and witty — to what's often described as "the third revolution" in evolutionary biology. The reviewer for American Scientist wrote, "Carroll has brilliantly achieved what he set out to do ... Evo devo is fundamental to understanding the biological world we live in, including ourselves. Science, Evolution, and CreationismWashington, DC: National Academies Press, 2007. 88 pages. Designed to give the public a comprehensive and up-to-date picture of the current scientific understanding of evolution and its importance in the science classroom, Science, Evolution, and Creationism is twice as long as the second edition (published in 1999 as Science and Creationism), and teems with new examples of the predictive power and practical importance of evolution. The Variety of LifeOxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. 704 pages. "[A]n eye for classification is a constant reminder that nothing on this planet is as homely as it seems — there are several thousand million years of evolutionary drama behind everything that moves and breathes," Colin Tudge explains in The Variety of Life, which provides both a primer on systematics and (in the words of the book's subtitle) a survey and a celebration of all the creatures that have ever lived. Pages
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Voices for Evolution Staff Publications  by Eugenie C. Scott  edited by Eugenie C. Scott and Glenn Branch  by Peter M. J. Hess and Paul L. Allen |
