Favorite Books about Evolution: November 2022

Submitted by AutoModerator t3_z3i5f3 in books

Welcome readers,

Today is Evolution Day which celebrates the day of the original publishing of On the Origin of Species (which can be downloaded for free here). To celebrate, we're discussing our favorite books about evolution!

If you'd like to read our previous weekly discussions of fiction and nonfiction please visit the suggested reading section of our wiki.

Thank you and enjoy!

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turok2 t1_ixm04a3 wrote

Richard Dawkins has written many detailed, accessible books about this topic, but if I had to pick one, it would be The Ancestor's Tale.

It follows human evolution backwards through time, telling "tales" of various other animals as they join us at different milestones on the journey.

It gave me an appreciation for my place in the grand family tree of life, and is packed with interesting anecdotes about how various features might have evolved.

It would be a great first Richard Dawkins book.

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okiegirl22 t1_ixm1u8z wrote

The Blind Watchmaker by Richard Dawkins is super interesting and accessible. Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin is also a good one.

Right now I’m also reading The Selfish Gene by Dawkins and it’s good so far. It presents a gene-centered view of evolution that’s very interesting.

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Reddcross t1_ixm6uns wrote

I'm a huge fan of "Darwin's Unfinished Symphony", explores gene-culture co-evolution.

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Brianmobile t1_ixmwxb1 wrote

Why Evolution Is True by Jerry A. Coyne. Came in handy as a good start into the subject when I was deconverting from creationist programming.

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Jack-Campin t1_ixn40gb wrote

Ernst Mayr, Populations, Species and Evolution.

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madvoid t1_ixn8dnw wrote

Just to add another Dawkins book, The Selfish Gene is incredible

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porcelainwax t1_ixnmoys wrote

Darwin’s Dangerous Idea - Daniel C. Dennett

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Ihrenglass t1_ixnnx00 wrote

I have a few I liked Darwin and an Emergence of Evolutionary Theories of Mind and Behavior by Richard J Roberts from a history of Science perspective.

For some more technical biology books Randomness in Evolution by John Tyler Bonner was interesting and Chance and Necessity by Jacques Monod.

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antiquemule t1_ixnvitp wrote

"The Beak of the Finch: A Story of Evolution in Our Time" by Jonathan Weiner.

Describes how evolution was actually documented occurring. What's more it was among Darwin's finches on the Galapagos islands. A heroic tale of quantitative biology.

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ahkna t1_ixnzpv3 wrote

Bitch: The Female of the Species by Lucy Cooke

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timtamsforbreakfast t1_ixo30p2 wrote

I enjoyed Almost Like A Whale by Steve Jones. It is a retelling of On The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin, updated with modern science. It is a fun and easy read. However since it was published in 1999 the science is probably out of date now.

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TheXrasengan t1_ixo6kh0 wrote

A lot of good recommendations here, but I'll throw in a curveball and recommend Signature in the Cell by Stephen Meyer.

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InnerReflection5610 t1_ixoedvr wrote

Stephen Baxter wrote a very cool sci-fi book called Evolution.

It’s a fun view of the history of life on Earth from distant past into the far, post-homo sapiens future. Storytelling style similar to Michener.

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BeautyHound t1_ixpcnl5 wrote

The Malay Archipelago by co-inventor of theory of evolution Alfred Russel-Wallace.

Part evolutionary theory, part anthropology, part travel dairy of a fascinating man.

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demilitarizdsm t1_ixpopaq wrote

Hard to say its main topic but Consilience by EO Wilson makes a fine argument for caring about evolution as it pertains to making sense of evolutionary psychology + connections between other disciplines. Up until that point, to my uni student mind, 'classic' Psychologology just seemed fascinating yet unhinged. It really influenced how I saw evolution.

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