by Greg Mayer
I frequently teach evolutionary biology in the spring semester, but for various reasons I will not be teaching it this coming spring. A few days ago, a student who wanted to take the course, but now couldn’t, asked what he could read in lieu of taking it. We discussed some suggestions, and then I sent him a copy of a chapter on “The evidence for evolution” that I’d written for The Princeton Guide to Evolution, edited by my friend and colleague Jon Losos. The point was not for him to read the chapter (although there’s nothing wrong with doing that!), but rather to send him the list of “Further Reading” that closed the chapter. The Guide is intended for students, and for scientists reading outside their specialties, so the recommended readings are not at a highly technical level, but can be edifying for any curious and interested reader. We were limited to ten, and here’s what I chose.
Young, D. 2007. The Discovery of Evolution. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Though last alphabetically, I list this one first, because it is a truly excellent book that is not well enough known (though I’m trying!) Ostensibly a history of evolutionary biology, it serves as a text for evolutionary biology itself, because it introduces and explicates not just the ideas and historical figures, but the evidence on which the major discoveries of evolutionary biology are based. It is intended for a general audience, and richly illustrated.
Carroll, R. 2009. The Rise of Amphibians: 365 Million Years of Evolution. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press. This book, by the dean of North American paleontology, is a bit more technical, and includes accounts of the origins of vertebrates and reptiles, as well as of the origin of amphibians.
Coyne, J. A. 2009. Why Evolution Is True. New York: Viking Penguin. ’nuff said.
Dawkins, R. 2009. The Greatest Show on Earth. New York: Free Press. Another account of the evidence for evolution for a general audience, by another person we all know.
Futuyma, D. J. 2013. Evolution. 3rd ed. Sunderland, MA: Sinauer. This is the leading undergraduate textbook of evolutionary biology, and is a good read for biology majors. It would require a bit more effort from a general reader, but it’s chock full of good stuff and worth the effort. Doug’s 1997 Evolutionary Biology (Sinauer) is more of a graduate level text, and, though a bit dated in spots, is more comprehensive and still quite worthwhile.
Grant, P. R., and Grant, B. R. 2008. How and Why Species Multiply: The Radiation of Darwin’s Finches. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. The Grants have published a number of more technical books on their groundbreaking work in the Galapagos on Darwin’s finches, but this volume provides a more accessible overview of the detailed evolutionary studies they and their associates have conducted over four decades, including several episodes of closely observed evolutionary changes. They have recently published a more technical but still readable account, including several more years of field work, in 40 Years of Evolution (2014, Princeton University Press).
Mayr, E. 2001. What Evolution Is. New York: Basic Books. A summary of the evidence for evolution and its causes by the man Jerry has rightly called the “Darwin of the 20th century.”
Prothero, D. R. 2007. Evolution: What the Fossils Say and Why It Matters. New York: Columbia University Press. Intended for a general audience, this richly illustrated account of the fossil record emphasizes transitions between major groups, and is a great resource for understanding the broad outlines of evolutionary history and how we know how it happened.
Shubin, N. 2008. Your Inner Fish. New York: Pantheon Books. Another book by someone we all know, this is a popular account of the discovery of the fish-amphibian transitional form Tiktaalik, and of the traces of common ancestry in the anatomy and genes of vertebrates and other animals.
My tenth book was Darwin’s Origin of Species, but since almost every chapter could have cited it, and chapters before mine already had done so, it was left out. But I can add it back in here for WEIT readers.
Darwin, C. 1859. On the Origin of Species. London: John Murray. The modern reprinting which I read and usually cite from is the Harvard University Press reprint of 1964, with an introduction by Ernst Mayr. Although I have heard that some find Darwin’s “Victorian” style offputting (what do they want?– he was a Victorian), I find it quite readable, and still remarkably cogent and astute.
I can also add in here for WEIT readers the Princeton Guide, for which I prepared the original list. It has dozens of chapters by a top selection of evolutionary biologists (present company excluded!).
Losos, J.B., ed. 2014. The Princeton Guide to Evolution. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.
I would also add in a second evolution textbook, coauthored by the accomplished science writer Carl Zimmer, and by the scion of a distinguished biological family, Doug Emlen.
Zimmer, C., and D.J. Emlen. 2016. Evolution: Making Sense of Life. 2nd ed. Greenwood Village, Colorado: Roberts. Well written and well illustrated; at a slightly lower level than Futuyma (Z&E is sort of for sophomores, Futuyma for seniors; juniors could go either way). A great book for someone teaching an evolution course– very clear and well structured, with a variety of useful teaching aids.
Several years ago, Jerry prepared a list of the five books about evolution for general readers that he would pick. I did not consult Jerry’s list when I prepared mine for the Princeton Guide, so the comparison is of interest. The only one on both lists is Prothero. Jerry also chose the Origin (which would have been on my list if it had not already been recommended in the Guide); Dawkins’ Blind Watchmaker, which I too highly recommend; Janet Browne’s two volume biography of Darwin, which I again highly prize and recommend as well (although if you’ve only one history book to read, read Young’s Discovery of Evolution); and two books by Steven Jay Gould: an essay collection, and The Mismeasure of Man (they let Jerry pick 6 books). In comparing our lists, do recall the differences in the audiences for our lists– Jerry’s intended audience being nonscientist readers, mine being a bit of a hybrid, but leaning toward science students.
In teaching our undergraduate evolution classes, Jerry and I have both, at least at times, used Futuyma’s textbook and the Origin as our required readings. Although he and I have consulted occasionally on our teaching of evolution, I believe we arrived at our choices of books independently.
NOTE: The Princeton books (Losos, the Grants) are on a 30% off sale till November 15th– buy now!
