Evolution
Last updated: September 25, 2024
We have a wide range of interviews on Evolution and related issues. Jerry Coyne, professor of evolutionary biology at Chicago University, chooses his best books on the subject. First up, unsurprisingly, is On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin. He also chooses a biography of the great man, Charles Darwin Voyaging by Janet Browne. Other choices are The Blind Watchmaker by Richard Dawkins, The Mismeasure of Man by Stephen Jay Gould and Evolution: What the Fossils say and Why it Matters by Donald Prothero.
John Henrich looks at cultural evolution and selects, among others The Cultural Origins of Human Cognition by Michael Tomasello and The Creation of Inequality: How Our Prehistoric Ancestors Set the State for Monarchy, Slavery and Empire by Joyce Marcus and Kent Flannery. Paul Seabright discusses Evolution and Human Cooperation. Among his choices are A Cooperative Species: Human Reciprocity and its Evolution by Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis and Hierarchy in the Forest: the Evolution of Egalitarian Behaviour by Christopher Boehm. Helen Guldburg looks at Man and Ape, also choosing The Cultural Origins of Human Cognition by Michael Tomasello, as well as The Prehistory of the Mind: the Cognitive Origins of Art and Science by Stephen Mithen, and The Cradle of Thought: Exploring the Origins of Thinking by Peter Hobson.
Sean B Carroll chooses his best biology books. Carl Zimmer, blogger and author, discusses the strangeness of life and Paul Falkowski, professor of business and natural resources at Rutgers University chooses his best books on microbes.
Tim White looks at pre-history, Adam Maloof at Earth history, while Beth Shapiro discusses extinction and de-extinction. Caspar Henderson chooses his best books for growing up in the Athropocene.
The best books on Evolution, recommended by Jerry Coyne
Evolutionary biologist Jerry Coyne tells us why Darwin is still essential reading and sifts the vast amount of more recent writing on evolution for books that are both inspiring to scientists and accessible to general readers. He picks the best books on evolution.
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1
The Selfish Gene
by Richard Dawkins -
2
Not by Genes Alone: How Culture Transformed Human Evolution
by Peter J. Richerson & Robert Boyd -
3
Guns, Germs and Steel
by Jared Diamond -
4
The Creation of Inequality: How Our Prehistoric Ancestors Set the Stage for Monarchy, Slavery, and Empire
by Joyce Marcus & Kent Flannery -
5
The Cultural Origins of Human Cognition
by Michael Tomasello
The best books on Cultural Evolution, recommended by Joseph Henrich
The best books on Cultural Evolution, recommended by Joseph Henrich
What role did culture play in human evolution? Why did human brains get so big so quickly? When and why did inequality first emerge in human society? Harvard professor and author Joe Henrich picks some of the best books for understanding ‘cultural evolution.’
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1
The Eighth Day of Creation: Makers of the Revolution in Biology
by Horace Freeland Judson -
2
Darwin: The Life of a Tormented Evolutionist
by Adrian Desmond & James Moore -
3
The Man Who Found the Missing Link
by Pat Shipman -
4
The Statue Within: An Autobiography
by Francois Jacob -
5
The Song of the Dodo
by David Quammen
The Best Biology Books, recommended by Sean B Carroll
The Best Biology Books, recommended by Sean B Carroll
What do molecules in a cell have in common with lions in the Serengeti? They all follow rules, says scientist and author Sean B Carroll. He chooses the best books on biology, from the death of the dodo to the discovery of DNA.
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1
Micrographia: The Complete Facsimile of the First Printing of 1665
by Robert Hooke -
2
Life on a Young Planet: The First Three Billion Years of Evolution on Earth
by Andrew H Knoll -
3
The Genesis of Germs
by Alan L. Gillen -
4
Plankton: Wonders of the Drifting World
by Christian Sardet -
5
Microcosmos: Four Billion Years of Microbial Evolution
by Dorion Sagan & Lynn Margulis
The best books on Microbes, recommended by Paul Falkowski
The best books on Microbes, recommended by Paul Falkowski
Without them, plants and animals wouldn’t exist and even the Earth’s geology would be different. Paul Falkowski recommends the best books on microbes.
The best books on Extinction and De-Extinction, recommended by Beth Shapiro
Evolutionary biologist Beth Shapiro tells us why it’s impossible to clone a mammoth, and why we might want to. She guides us through five inspiring books to get us thinking about extinction and the role genetics could potentially play in maintaining biodiversity.
The Best Books for Growing up in the Anthropocene, recommended by Caspar Henderson
Welcome to life in the Anthropocene, a new epoch in the history of life where the impact of humanity on the Earth system is so great, we need a new term for it. Author and journalist Caspar Henderson offers a rich reading list to help ourselves and our children grow up in the Anthropocene.
The best books on Man and Ape, recommended by Helene Guldberg
It’s fashionable today to liken humans to animals but the developmental psychologist says it’s more interesting to study the ways in which we’re remarkably different from other creatures
The best books on The Strangeness of Life, recommended by Carl Zimmer
The science writer and award-winning blogger Carl Zimmer discusses the strangeness of life, from viruses to manipulative flatworms
The best books on Evolution and Human Cooperation, recommended by Paul Seabright
Think of Darwinian natural selection and you may think of selfish or competitive behaviour, but this is far from the whole story, says economist Paul Seabright.
The best books on Prehistory, recommended by Tim White
Paleoanthropologist Tim White tells us about his work investigating the origins of homo sapiens and explains what a 4.4 million-year-old skeleton he found in Africa tells us about our common past.
