uncle_onion

My book club is pushing a book at the moment called "Evolution, a triumph of an idea" by Carl Zimmer. Has anyone read it. I am a new comer to this after being a Xtian for so long.Can anyone recommend another book that is good for newbies?

UO

Oolon Colluphid

I’ve only seen the one review so far, in New Scientist. <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/opinion/opbooks.jsp?id=ns232811" target="_blank">Here is the review.</a> Zimmer’s book seems as good a place as any to start, so go for it. But there’s plenty of books already in paperback that would do just as well; if you really want to understand the power of natural selection, you can still do no better than Dawkins’s <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0393315703/internetinfidelsA/" target="_blank">The Blind Watchmaker</a>. And if you want to look at evolution as compared to creation, try Miller’s <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0060930497/internetinfidelsA/" target="_blank">Finding Darwin’s God </a>
and/or Futuyma’s <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/039470679X/internetinfidelsA/" target="_blank">Science on Trial.</a>

Hope that helps.

Cheers, Oolon

PS Sorry Uncle, those are US links... I'll leave 'em as that for general consumption, but <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk" target="_blank">www.amazon.co.uk</a> should have them rather cheaper .

HRG

Dawkins' "Blind Watchmaker" and "River out of Eden" are still classics as introductions into evolutionary biology.

Robert Pennock's "Tower of Babel" is an excellent exposition of the scientific philosophical arguments against creationism and ID.

Regards,
HRG.

tronvillain

Darwin's Dangerous Idea is quite good.

cricket

I have read a different book by zimmer; his writing style doesn't thrill me as much as others. I am more thrilled with Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors by Sagan/Druyan and, as mentioned, Dawkins' The Blind Watchmaker.

Automaton

Whilst we're veering off topic, I'd like to mention that Julian Huxley's Evolution is still a captivating presentation of the modern synthesis and such things as speciation.

Oolon Colluphid

I agree, in fact I think it's brilliant. But I'd suggest it's a bit too hard going for "newbies": it assumes too much already... at least, it lost me in places at first One to move on to after the basics... but not to be missed once you have them sorted.

Come to think of it, River Out of Eden is a better place to start for those not all that used to reading sciencey books. You can pick a secondhand copy up for about a fiver including postage through <a href="http://www.abebooks.com" target="_blank">www.abebooks.com</a> (Uncle, click on the search tab at the top, and turn the 'all bookshops' to 'UK' )

Oolon

[ February 04, 2002: Message edited by: Oolon Colluphid ]</p>

tronvillain

Oolon Colluphid:
You may be right - perhaps I have trouble imagining what it's like to be a "newbie." Have you read any of Dennett's other stuff? I'm reading Brainstorms: Essays on Designing Minds at the moment.

Oolon Colluphid

Erm... both Kinds of Minds and Conciousness Explained are sitting in the huge pile beside my bed... (I'm alternating between Fortey's Trilobite!, Futuyma's Evolutionary Biology and Gilbert's Developmental Biology at the moment -- no wonder I get to sleep so quickly )

I've dipped into KoM, and it seems very good, typical of the excellent Science Masters series in being simplified but not dumbed down. I've heard varying things about CE: mostly highly regarded, but I think arch-skeptic Martin Gardner said it explained everything except consciousness!

Cheers, Oolon

Ergaster

That one is the companion book to the PBS "Evolution" series, and has been quite highly recommended (both the book and the series). It expands on the seven episodes of the series, so I imagine it is quite accessible (I bought it last week, because I discovered that someone had failed to take the 50%-off Christmas sticker off one of them--Mwahahaha!!! I haven't read it yet, though. It's in the to-read pile with Dennett's book, which I got from the local library for a buck, a couple of Dawkins' books, a copy of Darwin's "Voyage of the Beagle", and some paleoanthro books all picked up at cut-rate prices. I love used-book stores!!)

As far as other books: Darwin's Ghost by Steve Jones is excellent. It is basically Darwin's Origin of Species updated, following Darwin's original chapter organization and titling, but with up-to-date examples and evidence. I think it is the place to start for an intro.

The reference to Richard Fortey's Trilobite! reminded me just how fine a book his Life: A Natural History of the First Four Billion Years of Life on Earth (I believe it is called Life: An Unauthorized Biography in the UK) is, largely because Fortey himself is such an excellent writer. Many scientists-turned-popular-authors are not, unfortunately....