"The emerging sciences of complexity begin to suggest," Kauffman writes, "that the order [of the biological world] is not at all accidental, that vast veins of spontaneous order lie at hand. Laws of complexity spontaneously generate much of the order of the natural world. ... Such veins of spontaneous order have not been entirely unknown, yet they are just beginning to emerge as powerful new clues to the origins and evolution of life." Stephen Jay Gould wrote, "Kauffman has done more than anyone else to supply the key missing piece of the propensity for self-organization that can join the random and the deterministic forces of evolution into a satisfactory theory of life's order."

Like the finches of the Galápagos, the cichlids of Lake Victoria have descended from a recent common ancestor, and radiated, spectacularly, across the range of available ecological niches. In Darwin's Dreampond, Tijs Goldschmidt not only explains the evolution and the ecology of the Lake Victoria cichlids, but also engagingly relates his adventures and misadventures as a researcher in the field. Mark Ridley comments, "The biological story itself is fascinating, and Mr Goldschmidt tells it well. But the genius of his book lies in the way he has combined the science with travel writing. He interleaves the two in a highly readable way, so that his Tanzanian experiences lighten the science."

A major contribution to a synthesis of development and evolution, Developmental Plasticity and Evolution, in the words of the reviewer for Evolution & Development, "comprehensively explores the mechanisms and implications of developmental plasticity to numerous aspects of both micro- and macroevolution ... West-Eberhard seamlessly shifts between a broad mastery of the classical literature and up-to-date modern science. ... Every reader will find their own ideas altered and expanded by at least some of the examples and arguments representing the lifetime gestalt of this exemplary scientist." Mary Jane West-Eberhard is a staff scientist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.

Reviewing Encyclopedia of Evolution for RNCSE, Tim M Berra wrote, "It is not often that one reads an encyclopedia from cover to cover, but this task was more enjoyable than onerous. ... Rice's coverage is broad, interesting, relevant, and informative. If you want examples of Convergent Evolution or a primer on Cladistics, Coevolution, or Creationism, this is a good place to begin. Reading this book would be excellent preparation for graduate school general exams. It can serve as a ready reference for science journalists, teachers, school board members, and the intelligent layperson." The author, a member of NCSE, teaches at Southeastern Oklahoma State University.

The publisher writes, "This volume presents the newest research findings on speciation bringing readers up to date on species concepts, modes of speciation, and the nature of reproductive barriers. It also discusses the forces that drive divergence of populations, the genetic control of reproductive isolation, and the role played by hybrid zones and hybridization in speciation." After a historical introduction, there are essays on five themes: species concepts; geography, ecology, and population structure; reproductive barriers; hybrid zones and speciation; and "perspectives" — including a personal memoir by Guy Bush, a champion of sympatric speciation, to whom the book is dedicated.

Randy Moore and Janice Moore's Evolution 101 aims, in the words of its publisher, to provide "readers — whether students new to the field or just interested members of the lay public — with the essential ideas of evolution using a minimum of jargon and mathematics." It succeeds marvelously. The reviewer for NSTA Recommends writes, "Seldom is a book so well written and so well researched that it ought to be required reading for every thinking person," adding, "Not only should every high school, community, and university library have a copy of Evolution 101 but every science teacher in the country should as well."

A wonderful documentary, beautifully rendered on DVD, highlighting many key areas of evolution, including its history, modern theory, and its implications. Evolution also features many NCSE supporters and staff members. A must for individuals, students, teachers and professors alike!

A wonderful documentary highlighting many key areas of evolution, including its history, modern theory, and its implications. Evolution also features many NCSE supporters and staff members. A must for individuals, students, teachers and professors alike!

Intended as a supplement to Teaching about Evolution and the Nature of Science, Evolution in Hawaii focuses on the Hawaiian islands as laboratories of evolution in the wild. Included is a speciation exercise in which, as the preface describes it, "Using real genetic data from 18 species of Drosophila flies in Hawaii, students draw evolutionary trees depicting the relationships of the species and investigate the link between speciation and the ages of the Hawaiian islands. By letting students explore the mechanisms involved in the origin of species, the teaching exercise demonstrates how descent from a common ancestor can produce organisms with widely varying characteristics."

This lavishly illustrated college-level textbook is excellent especially for teachers, or anyone who wants an understandable introduction to the wide variety of topics that make up evolution, from biochemical genetics to ecology.

Now in its second edition, Evolution is described by its publisher as "a comprehensive treatment of contemporary evolutionary biology that is directed toward an undergraduate audience. It addresses major themes — including the history of evolution, evolutionary processes, adaptation, and evolution as an explanatory framework — at levels of biological organization ranging from genomes to ecological communities. Throughout, the text emphasizes the interplay between theory and empirical tests of hypotheses, thus acquainting students with the process of science. Teachers and students will find the list of important concepts and terms in each chapter a helpful guide, and will appreciate the dynamic figures and lively photographs."

"Animals diverge from common ancestry through changes in their DNA, but what are the genes that control morphology?" That is the question that From DNA to Diversity seeks to investigate by synthesizing evolutionary biology with genetics and embryology. "With almost poetic ease, the authors tell a highly complex story without distorting its scientific substance. The story lines starts from the large scale features of the history of life, goes through the levels of biological hierarchy all the way to the details of gene regulation and emerges with a deeper understanding of biological diversity," writes Günther Wagner: "In Sean Carroll developmental evolution has found its Darwin."

With more than 400 stunning illustrations including color photographs and diagrams that genuinely clarify the text, this book tells the story of life and lucidly explains evolutionary principles — no misconceptions allowed. Fascinating insets illustrate concepts like mutation and adaptation with phenomena ranging from the sickle-cell gene to the rattlesnake's heat sensors. Foreword by Roger Lewin. Ages 12–grandparent.

From the publisher: "Students and the general public are frequently confronted with contradictory and confusing claims about the people, ideas, and artifacts that were essential in the development of the science of evolution. Where can they find accurate and understandable information on these important concepts? Icons of Evolution comprises twenty-four in-depth essays on the most famous ideas, artifacts, people and places of evolutionary biology. Dinosaurs, Neanderthals, Charles Darwin, peppered moths, carbon dating, the fossil record, and more, are explained by some of the most respected scientists, historians, and philosophers of evolution in the world."

The editors of Keywords in Evolutionary Biology commissioned leading biologists, historians of biology, and philosophers of science to explain in detail a host of concepts central to evolutionary biology, from adaptation to unit of selection. The book includes essays by Richard Dawkins, Stephen Jay Gould, Daniel J Kevles, Motoo Kimura, Philip Kitcher, Michael Ruse, Elliott Sober, Mary Jane West-Eberhard, and David Sloan Wilson. Ernst Mayr exclaimed, "What a splendid idea to have a critical discussion by established experts of the key words used in recent controversies in evolutionary biology. This helps the understanding of these controversies enormously."

This facsimile of the first edition of Darwin's epochal work is supplemented with a useful introduction by the great evolutionary biologist Ernst Mayr. "When we go back to the Origin, we want the version that stirred up the Western world", Mayr explains. "The first edition represents Darwin in his most revolutionary spirit and this is the edition that stands as so great a monument in man's intellectual history." The publisher, Harvard University Press, proudly — and correctly — says, "For modern reading and for reference, it is the standard edition of Darwin's greatest work."

Speciation is again at the forefront of evolutionary research, and Jerry A. Coyne and H. Allen Orr's Speciation is a unified, critical, and up-to-date account of the scientific research relevant to the origin of species. Reviewing the book in RNCSE (2005 May-Aug; 25 [3-4]: 40-41), Norman A Johnson wrote, "Jerry Coyne and Allen Orr, who have alone and together made several seminal discoveries in speciation, have written a magisterial, comprehensive volume ... Had Coyne and Orr just published their annotated bibliography, that would be a great service for professional evolutionary biologists and their students. But they do so much more!"

In Symbiotic Planet, a book in the Science Masters series of popularizations, Lynn Margulis argues that symbiosis is crucial to the emergence of evolutionary novelty, from the eukaryotic cell to, controversially, the planet itself. ("Gaia is just symbiosis as seen from space," as one of her students offered.) Kirkus Reviews writes, "This is vintage Margulis — personal, autobiographical, passionate, argumentative, at times over the top, but full of ideas — at least some of which, in the past, have proved to be right." A Supporter of NCSE, Margulis is Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Geosciences at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

The Book of Life, now in its second edition, provides nothing less than it promises in its title: a detailed account of the history of life on earth over the last four billion years. J John Seposki Jr, Michael Benton, Christine Janis, Christopher Stringer, and Peter Andrews, under the general editorship of NCSE Supporter Stephen Jay Gould, are responsible for the thoroughly understandable text; the vivid and compelling illustrations are the work of John Barber, Marianne Collins, Ely Kish, Akio Marishima, and Jean-Paul Tibbles. Palaeontologia Electronica's reviewer wrote, "There is much of interest here for the professional, and a wealth to be discovered for the interested general reader."

Reviewing The Greatest Show on Earth for RNCSE, Douglas Theobald wrote, "Dawkins outlines the goal for his latest tome in the introduction: 'Evolution is a fact, and this book will demonstrate it. No reputable scientist disputes it, and no unbiased reader will close the book doubting it.' That ostentatious declaration sets the bar high, but by the final flowery chapter, after over 400 pages of dramatic evidence, it is apparent that the author has successfully cleared the hurdle." Dawkins's books also include The Selfish Gene and The Blind Watchmaker.

In the preface to The Making of the Fittest, Sean B. Carroll writes, "With DNA science penetrating so many facets of everyday life, it is again time for a new departure and to seek facts of a new kind. My goal in this book is to present a body of new facts about evolution gathered from DNA evidence. ... The body of new evidence I will describe in this book clinches the case for biological evolution as the basis for life's diversity, beyond any reasonable doubt." "With fervor and clarity, Carroll amasses a glut of facts to refute the twisted logic of the anti-Darwinist camp," applauded the reviewer for Discover.

A monumental reference work, with over 1300 pages in two volumes, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Evolution presents the essentials of evolutionary biology in 370 original articles written by leading experts, accompanied with hundreds of tables, charts, graphs, maps, and other illustrations, as well as bibliographies, cross-references, and an index. The reviewer for Trends in Ecology & Evolution concluded, "Throughout the diverse contributions, a strong case could be made that the authors are among the best that could have been chosen to describe their respective fields. ... In short, this will be an excellent reference work for those in any field of evolution."

The Story of Life, based on the eminent zoologist Richard Southwood's lectures to first-year students at Oxford University, manages to review the history of life, from its earliest beginnings to the present day — and it even offers a glimpse into the future. It is generously illustrated with line drawings and maps, too! "This remarkable book succeeds, within less than 300 pages, in summarizing everything essential about all living creatures for more than three billion years. If you are looking for one convenient, reliable, highly readable reference to replace your whole library, this is it," writes Jared Diamond.

From the publisher: "In this concise, accessible, 'myth-buster's handbook,' educators Cameron M Smith and Charles Sullivan clearly dispel the ten most common myths about evolution, which continue to mislead average Americans. Using a refreshing, jargon-free style, they set the record straight on claims that evolution is 'just a theory,' that Darwinian explanations of life undercut morality, that Intelligent Design is a legitimate alternative to conventional science, that humans come from chimpanzees, and six other popular but erroneous notions. Smith and Sullivan's reader-friendly, solidly researched text will serve as an important tool, both for teachers and laypersons seeking accurate information about evolution."

Reviewing The Tree of Life for RNCSE, Kevin Padian wrote, "The Tree of Life is a terrific compendium of the conclusions of thirty years of research and standardization by thousands of scientists around the globe. It is clearly written, logically organized, and beautifully illustrated. In short, it is one-stop shopping for anyone with questions about where a given group of organisms fits on the tree of life, what characteristics put it there, and how we know all this. ... This book deserves wide distribution and use in libraries and classrooms, as well as among professionals and students of biology."