Pharyngula::An updated book list for evolutionists

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Tuesday, December 06, 2005

An updated book list for evolutionists

PZ Myers • 57 Comments (last page)

A few disclaimers: I do get kickbacks from affiliate programs when you purchase books after clicking through those links. If you'd rather not fund a perfidious atheist's book addiction, just look up the titles at your preferred source—I don't mind. This list is not a thinly-veiled attempt to get readers to buy me presents, either; I've read all these, so please don't try to order them for me. Get them for a creationist instead, they need them more.

Just in time for Christmas! A while back, I presented a book list for evolutionists. Now I've updated it, adding a few recommendations and adding links so you can choose your favorite book vendor. Celebrate the birth of your favorite deity, the astronomical alignment of your choice, or any other traditional historical excuse for a midwinter party by passing along the gift of knowledge.

For the kids:

The Evolution Book ^{(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)}. Sara Stein. A fine book, but not for the lightweight science kid: this one tries to cover just about everything encyclopedically, so give it to the truly dedicated bookworm.

Life on Earth: The Story of Evolution^{(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)}. Steve Jenkins. Another encyclopedic illustrated summary of evolutionary history for the younger set.

Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs^{(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)}. David Norman. Not really intended for kids, but packed with full-color illustrations and detailed descriptions of many dinosaur groups. My kids would spend hours leafing through this one; it's the dinosaur book I wish I'd had as a 12 year old.

Our Family Tree: An Evolution Story^{(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)}. Lisa Westburg Peters. Excellent, simple summary of evolutionary history, for the K-3rd grade set.

The Tree of Life : Charles Darwin^{(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)}. Peter Sis. Nice picture book biography of Darwin for the kids.

From the Beginning: The Story of Human Evolution^{(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)}. David Peters. An older book that may be hard to get, but worth it for the wall-to-wall drawings of the organisms scattered along the human lineage, from single-celled prokaryote to modern humans.

For the grown-up layman:

Endless Forms Most Beautiful: The New Science of Evo Devo and the Making of the Animal Kingdom^{(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)}. Sean Carroll. A phenomenal book; if there's one book you should pick up for an introduction to evo-devo, this is the one.

Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters^{(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)}. Matt Ridley. Orac says, "It's a downright poetic look at each of the 23 chromosomes and what sorts of biological and disease processes genes from each of them are involved in, along with a nice dollop of evolution of the genome."

Finding Darwin's God: A Scientist's Search for Common Ground Between God and Evolution^{(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)}. Kenneth Miller. Danny Boy says, "A Christian debunks creationism and shows how evolution can be compatible with Christianity."

Charles Darwin: Voyaging^{(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)} and Charles Darwin : The Power of Place^{(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)}. Janet Browne. This is the best biography of Darwin out there.

Science As a Way of Knowing: The Foundations of Modern Biology^{(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)}. John A. Moore. This is part history book, part philosophy of science book; if you know someone who doesn't understand the scientific method, this one will straighten him out.

The Darwin Wars^{(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)}. Andrew Brown. Much as we aspire to the pure search for knowledge, scientists can be testy and political and vicious, too—this is a study of the sociology of evolutionary biology.

Evolution: The Triumph of an Idea^{(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)}. Carl Zimmer. If you want a general survey of the history and ideas of evolutionary biology that isn't written like a textbook, this is the one you want.

At the Water's Edge: Fish With Fingers, Whales With Legs, and How Life Came Ashore but Then Went Back to Sea^{(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)}. Carl Zimmer. The focus in this one is on macroevolution of tetrapods and cetaceans. Excellently written, with a very thorough overview of the evidence.

Trilobite: Eyewitness to Evolution^{(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)}. Richard Fortey. Everything you need to know about the basics of trilobytes, with a chatty and often amusing introduction to the world of paleontologists.

The Beak of the Finch: A Story of Evolution in Our Time^{(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)}. Jonathan Weiner. A Pulitzer-winning account of the work of Peter and Rosemary Grant in documenting the evolutionary changes occurring in Darwin's finches in the Galapagos right now.

Taking Wing: Archaeopteryx and the evolution of bird flight^{(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)}. Pat Shipman. Chris Clarke says, "an excellent and readable treatment of current thinking at printing on bird evolution and the evolution of that instance of powered flight."

The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe Without Design^{(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)}. Richard Dawkins. Mrs Tilton says, "both as a general explanation of evolution and as a particular refutation of what has come to be known as intelligent design."

The Ancestor's Tale : A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Evolution^{(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)}. Richard Dawkins. A step-by-step account of human evolution, working backwards through time.

What Evolution Is^{(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)}. Ernst Mayr. A survey of the theory by an opinionated master.

Evolutionary Biology^{(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)}. Douglas J. Futuyma. If you don't mind reading a textbook, this is one of the best and most popular texts on the subject.

An Introduction to Biological Evolution^{(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)}. Kenneth Kardong. Another textbook, but less weighty and less expensive then Futuyma's; a book I'd use in a freshman non-majors course.

For the more advanced/specialized reader:

From So Simple a Beginning: Darwin's Four Great Books (Voyage of the H.M.S. Beagle, The Origin of Species, The Descent of Man, The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals) ^{(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)}. Charles Darwin, Edward O. Wilson (Editor). I've read these books, but I don't own this edition…so this is one I'll be hinting to my wife might make a nice present. It collects the four in one volume, with introductions by Wilson, so if every you've wanted these seminal works for your bookshelf, here they are in an inexpensive edition.

On Growth and Form^{(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)}. D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson. I'm afraid no developmental biologist can list important books without mentioning this one.

From DNA to Diversity: Molecular Genetics and the Evolution of Animal Design^{(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)}. Sean B. Carroll, Jennifer K. Grenier, Scott D. Weatherbee. Like it says…molecular genetics, evolution, developmental biology. A good textbook describing the new cutting edge of evolutionary biology.

Shaking the Tree : Readings from Nature in the History of Life^{(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)}. Henry Gee. GirlScientist says, "This is a collection of scientific papers that were influential in the field for one reason or another." (I don't think she intended that her recommendation come out sounding so tepid.)

Extinction: Bad Genes or Bad Luck?^{(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)}. David M. Raup. A little statistics, a lot of paleontology, a good introduction to how we try to puzzle out what the world was like from a sparse data set.

The Structure of Evolutionary Theory^{(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)}. Stephen J. Gould. Massive. Indulgently written. But full of interesting ideas.

Developmental Plasticity and Evolution^{(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)}. Mary Jane West-Eberhard. Also massive. If you're already comfortable with the conventional perspective on evolutionary theory, though, this one twists it around and comes at it from the point of view of a developmental biologist.

Biased Embryos and Evolution^{(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)}. Wallace Arthur. A slim and readable book about evo-devo.

The Triple Helix: Gene, Organism, and Environment^{(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)}. Richard Lewontin. A slender book that lucidly summarizes the non-reductionist position on modern biology; it's a call for greater breadth in science.

The Shape of Life : Genes, Development, and the Evolution of Animal Form^{(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)}. Rudy Raff. Hardcore evo-devo. A little out of date, but very influential.

For the anti-creationist:

Creationism's Trojan Horse: The Wedge of Intelligent Design^{(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)}. Barbara Carroll Forrest, Paul R. Gross. The best summary of the sneaky political strategy of the creationists of the Discovery Institute.

Unintelligent Design^{(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)}. Mark Perakh. Nice, blunt dissection of the pseudo-science of creationism.

Why Intelligent Design Fails: A Scientific Critique of the New Creationism^{(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)}. Matt Young, Taner Edis, eds. A team-takedown of Intelligent Design's bad science.

Republican War on Science^{(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)}. Chris Mooney. Here's my review; all you need to know about the current political attack on science.

The Counter-Creationism Handbook^{(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)}. Mark Isaak. Here's a brief review, but it's enough to say that this is an indispensable tool for dismissing creationist arguments.

The Triumph of Evolution^{(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)}. Niles Eldredge. Chris Clarke says, "useful and inspiring, both as a survey of evolutionary thought and a clarion call against creationism."

Denying Evolution: Creationism, Scientism, and the Nature of Science^{(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)}. Massimo Pigliucci. Michael Feldgarden says, "It definitely falls into the category of "anti-creationist" and "specialized reader." I don't know if it's a little too complex for the lay reader (I don't think so). It's an excellent and well-written rebuttal of creationism and definition of science and the scientific method as it relates to evolutionary biology."

The Creationists^{(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)}. Ronald Numbers. Sean Foley says, "For an overview of the growth and role of the creationist movement in America."

Defending Evolution : A guide to the creation/evolution controversy ^{(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)}. Brian J. Alters, Sandra Alters. An excellent guidebook on how to handle creationism in the classroom, specifically for biology teachers.

I'll also add that Coturnix has a book list, too, and if you want a more specialized list, Mike has a list of books just for birders.

Just in case your favorite evolutionist has already read everything in the list, here's another possibility: bones! Here are a couple of sources of bones, fossils, and casts:

These kinds of lists can go on forever. Please do mention any other possibilities in the comments, and maybe they'll make it into the next edition.

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Comments:

#52534: Neil — 12/06 at 07:57 PM
I mentioned this one the last time we did this list, but no harm in repetition: "Life: An Unauthorized Biography" by Richard Fortey is a good read.

#52535: PZ Myers — 12/06 at 08:01 PM
Yeah, I should also mention that one bias in the list is that it only contains books I've actually read. Maybe I'm going to put that one on this year's xmas list, too.

PZ Myers
Division of Science and Math
University of Minnesota, Morris

#52536: coturnix — 12/06 at 08:02 PM
I have also reviewed Biased Embryos and Evolution, if anyone is interested.

I guess I need to take a look at that book list of mine - it's been a year after all, and see if I need to revise it, take some, add some, provide links...

#52537: — 12/06 at 08:07 PM
I have some:
Dead Men Do tell Tales by William Maples and Michael Browning
The Neandertals: Of Skeletons Scientists and Scandal by Trinkaus and Shipman
The Wisdom of the Bones: In Search of Human Origins by Walker and Shipman
Both are can be read by those who don't know much about Paleoanthropology.
More advanced:
Reconstructing Human Origins, 2nd ed, by Glenn Conroy
Paleoanthropology, 2nd ed, by Milford Wolpoff
The Human Bone Manual by Tim White and Pieter Arend Folkens

#52539: — 12/06 at 08:15 PM
Well, acttually one more that Wilkin's was hawing at his blog awhile back:
Frogs, Flies and Dandelions: The Making of Species, by Menno Schilthuizen. An interesting and well written account of what species are and how they form.
Dang, I should probably do my own list...instead of hogging this thread.

#52540: — 12/06 at 08:28 PM
I would heartily recommend Pennock's "Tower of Babel" in the anti-creationist section.

#52541: — 12/06 at 08:29 PM
That's what it was called -- "Our Family Tree."

I'll be getting that for my soon-to-be 6-year-old niece, along with a crapload of American Girls stuff.

#52542: coturnix — 12/06 at 08:34 PM
I saw the 4 Darwin's books edited by Wilson sitting side-by-side with a similar collection edited by Watson. Wilson's looks so much nicer and, I hear, his intro is much better, too. I doubt I will buy it, though. No money. And I already have multiple editions/printings of all four.

Has anyone read Vermeij's newest? I am quite interested in a trustworthy review before I splurge on it.

When is John Wilkins' book coming out?

I would also add The Evolution of Female Orgasm by Elizabeth Lloyd.

Funny, this must have been ten years ago or so... I was reading Raup's Exctinctions. One day I went to see a real YEC creationist give a "lecture" (he happened to be Botany Department Head at the time and super-popular with students - Yikes!). As they tend to do, there was quite a lot of quote-mining, e.g., slides with excerpts from Gould, etc. Suddenly, he put up a slide with a quote from Raup. I remember I was able at that very moment to say, from memory, the NEXT two sentences following the quote - sentences that, of course, demolished the sreationist argument. I was too young and shy to speak up. After all, I was surrounded by about 200 Christians who particpated in group prayer before the talk.

#52543: Jeremy — 12/06 at 08:36 PM
I'm surprised that you don't include Philip Kitcher's "Abusing Science: The Case Against Creationism" in your list of Anti-creationist books. Although it is a bit old (1982) it still stands up as an excellent rebuttal of creationist claims.

#52545: Mike P — 12/06 at 08:46 PM
I just finished reading Endless Forms Most Beautiful and I was fascinated. I am a physicist who has not spent much time thinking about biology. I last studied it in high school, 30 years ago. I was throughly impressed by the progress that has been made in developmental biology. The understanding that the same genes are used for many functions during development looks like a stunning breakthrough. I have been recommending the book to all of my friends.

#52546: Ron Sullivan — 12/06 at 08:50 PM
Another fun fossil source.

#52552: Jonathan Badger — 12/06 at 09:28 PM
I second the recommendation for Endless Forms Most Beautiful and I'm an evolutionary microbial genomicist, so it's not like I just like it because it deals with my research (which it doesn't -- not that I'm accusing PZ of supporting it for any such reason, of course). It just is really well written and interesting,

However, the author (Sean Carroll) *was* one of my professors at Wisconsin when I was a wee undergrad -- amusingly one of the clearest memories I have of him was his recommendation of Judd's The Eighth Day of Creation, actually, despite the dopey title, a good book about the history of early molecular biology.

#52553: sculptorsam — 12/06 at 09:30 PM
Mmmmmm.... bones!

#52555: — 12/06 at 09:34 PM
Robert Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (also available online):

http://www.virtualschool.edu/mon/Quality/PirsigZen/

The book contains probably one of the most clear writings about what scientific method. He also talks about the fight against universities and about the meaning of a university. Quite a view. The book is also very entertaining as a light reading. Just cracks me every time.

In a philosophical POV Prisigs Metaphysics of Quality is quite interesting.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Pirsig

Definitelly recommended.

- vince

#52556: — 12/06 at 09:37 PM
Hmh... When will I learn not to send before reading the message, even how short. Grr...

- vince

#52557: coturnix — 12/06 at 09:41 PM
OT, but exciting: New species of mammal disovered in Borneo?! Watch the video.

#52559: John Wilkins — 12/06 at 09:50 PM
When is John Wilkins' book coming out?

Who knows? The press is reviewing it now and will tell me if it needs further work in January. If not, there's an outside chance it will get published early.

#52561: coturnix — 12/06 at 09:58 PM
So, too late for the Holiday season. I'm sure you'll make us all know when it's out so we can order our copies....

#52562: — 12/06 at 10:09 PM
One more: Cassell's Atlas of Evolution. Douglas Dixon, Ian Jenkins, Richard Moody, Andrey Zhuravlev.

#52563: — 12/06 at 10:14 PM
An excellent book on 19th century natural history and one of Darwin's contemporaries is Adrian Desmond's biography of Thomas Huxley (Huxley:From Devil's Disciple to Evolution's High Priest). Huxley was the one who spearheaded the movement to define scientists as a professional class - in other words, any one could aspire to be one through education and training. Natural history (and science) would no longer be restricted to the moneyed gentleman.
Darwin and the Barnacle by Rebecca Stott is an interesting look at the details of one of Darwin's major scientific projects.

#52564: — 12/06 at 10:17 PM
Has anyone read Elaine Morgan's books on the Aquatic Ape Theory? The Descent of Woman, The Aquatic Ape, The Scars of Evolution, etc. They're very readable (not to heavy for a non-biologist like me)and I found her arguments for an aquatic phase in human evolution compelling.

#52570: Jim Harrison — 12/06 at 10:54 PM
For the Love of Insects by Thomas Eisner. The biology is fascinating but the book is also autobiographical--a life in science.

And if you're really into entomology and have deep pockets Grimaldi and Engels Evoluton of the Insects is a magnificent and highly readable tome.

#52575: — 12/06 at 11:14 PM
Thanks! "Our Family Tree" goes into my daughter's Holiday loot bag.

#52576: wolfangel — 12/06 at 11:23 PM
Why do you hate your neighbours to the north?

I will put in a good word for Evolution by Zimmer, which at least partially convinced my sceptical/likes to annoy me father.

#52577: — 12/06 at 11:30 PM
I'll second Andy's recommendation for Tower of Babel. Other additions:

Bones, Stones, and Molecules by David Cameron and Colin Groves. A solid overview of the Out-of-Africa vs. Multiregional Continuity debate over human origins. (Spoiler alert: Multiregionalism loses.)

Darwinism Comes to America by Ronald Numbers. Good historical treatment of early American religious responses to Darwin's theory. Also has a section on misconceptions about the Scopes trial.

Ontogeny and Phylogeny by Stephen Jay Gould.

Intelligent Design Creationism and its Critics edited by Robert Pennock. Collection of essays by the usual suspects. A solid, useful reference volume.

Two that I have on my nightstand but haven't gotten to yet:
Hunt for the Dawn Monkey by Chris Beard (primate origins) and The Ape in the Tree by Alan Walker and Pat Shipman (intellectual and natural history of the Miocene ape Proconsul).

Hope PZ's list prompts everyone to have a Merry War on Christmas.