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Title: Evolution : The Triumph of an Idea by Carl Zimmer ISBN: 0-06-095850-2 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 08 October, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $22.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.4 (42 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A Definitive Guide to Evolution for lay men
Comment: Carl Zimmer wrote a solid account of evolution in the book "Evolution: The Triumph of an Idea". The text is accessible to practically all ages. Serious lay men and people with no knowledge of evolution may find the book rewarding and entertaining. Zimmer begins with an elegant life story of Darwin - his family, his voyage on HMS Beagle, his friendship and discussions with other naturalists, publication of Origin of Species and other details. I was particularly interested in how Darwin's theory and ideas were debated at the time. As the book explains, Darwin earned many loyal friends (Thomas Huxley) and bitter enemies (Sir Richard Owen) after publishing his work. Also, Zimmer provides some information on carbon dating and emphasizes its importance as a method and introduces Lord Kelvin and Marie Curie to his readers as well. When Zimmer moves on to discuss genetics and heredity he rightly introduces Gregor Medel. Readers should pay special attention to the evolutionary tree of whales that show a divergence of species that are actual intermediate forms.
Due to the compactness of the text I understand that Zimmer was writing under deep constraint, however, I was surprised by the fact that Zimmer only briefly mentions trilobites that surpassed 300 million years of existence during Paleozoic Era and the dinosaurs (150 million years during Mesozoic Era). At times Zimmer presents only one theory when it is known that several theories exist that confirm to the available evidence suggesting there is some favoritism going on. Graphs and illustrations seem to be up to date and are well picked but I wish he included more of these. Visual information is just as valuable as verbal.
Zimmer describes several theories that try to account for mass extinctions (90% of species 250 million years ago, the demise of dinosaurs 65 million years ago, and other 4 mass extinctions): volcanism and cataclysmic asteroid collisions with earth. Zimmer attributes the mammalian rise to dominance to the mass extinction that happened 65 million years ago. He explains that mammals were no bigger than present day shrews at the time dinosaurs ruled. Only after the extinction could the mammals grow in size unconstrained. Zimmer predicts that future extinctions may be possible but this time it is Homo sapiens that are causing it. He explains that humanity has already left a deep mark on environment through carbon dioxide emissions and deforestation. According to him, we are frustrating the evolution of other plants and animals. If this is thrown out of whack the consequences may be catastrophic.
Later on, Carl writes about sexual selection and sexual/asexual reproduction. He explains evolutionary advantage sexually-reproducing animals have over those that reproduce asexually. For describing sexual selection and female choice Zimmer uses old established example of peacock's tail.
As we approach Part 4 we are headed into evolution of hominids. I was rewarded by the reconstructions of hominids: Australopithecus afarensis and Homo ergaster. Here Zimmer dwells into the theory of mind, human migrations, hominid interaction, and emergence of modern human behavior, symbolic thinking, and other areas. He gives some clues as to why Neanderthals went extinct about 27,000 years ago. Homo neanderthalensis did not seem to interbreed with Homo sapiens. They left no progeny. Zimmer is clearly a proponent of a theory of sudden emergence of human behavior that arose, according to some anthropologist, as early as 50,000 years ago and led to the use of jewelry, cave paintings and other forms of symbolic expression. I personally sway toward the theory that suggests that modern human behavior arose gradually in Africa without taking any sudden leaps. Recent archeological findings of shell beads dated to about 75,000 years ago and other digs may be suggesting that modern human behavior has existed way before Africans began expanding into Europe in several migration waves.
The last chapter deals with the idea of God. Zimmer walks his readers through history of American education and its battle with Darwinism. He explains that Darwinism has historically been abused and used to justify xenophobia, violence, and eugenic polices in Europe. This type of Darwinism was dubbed "Social Darwinism" and left a deep gash on the reputation of Darwinism as a healthy science. Additionally, if you are interested about Intelligent Design movement and Earth Creationists then you will definitely like this chapter.
Zimmer finishes off his book splendidly. He portrays Darwin's own battle with his religiosity. Darwin's transformation from a devoted Christian to an agnostic was gradual. Deaths of his loved ones left deep marks on his mentality. At the end Darwin himself succumbed to his illness and passed away in solitude and peace.
Rating: 5
Summary: Superb and thorough
Comment: Evolution the Triumph of an Idea is a superbly written synthesis of the theory of evolution and its history. The author, Carl Zimmer, is a science journalist rather than a professional anthropologist, geologist or historian, which means that the book is eminently readable. It is also well researched with an extensive bibliography for each chapter. While it is clearly enough framed for the average reader without a background in the subject, it also presents enough new information to keep the serious student of the topic interested as well.
Although the volume was intended to accompany a PBS series on evolution, it would make an excellent source text for a high school or college survey course on the subject, as it covers the theory, the data supporting it, the newer thoughts on human evolution, the issues of ecology and conservation, and the character of science. It even touches upon the issue of God and science.
As an overview, Part 1 covers the autobiographical history of Darwin and the metamorphosis of his theory and the intellectual and emotional environment into which it was introduced. Part 2 introduces the actual theory and how the web of life has come to exist as it does. It also discusses the impact of human activity on the natural world and what the likely outcome will be if we persist in pursuing our present behavior with respect to the environment. Part 3 describes the coevolution of species and its impacts on relationships such as those in agriculture: natural plants, bioengineered plants, and insect and microbial pests. It also discusses the probable origin of some of the human diseases, the use and abuse of antibiotics, and the rise of antibiotic resistant superbugs and AIDES. Part 4 contains some of the most pertinent information in that it points out the risks of dropping the subject of evolution from the core curricula of the nation's high schools.
In his defense of evolution, Zimmer points out that it is not simply a theory of biology that is at stake, but the scientific method itself. Some of my favorite quotes from Part 4 are: 1) "The scientific method does not claim that events can have only natural causes but that the only causes that we can understand scientifically are natural ones. As powerful as the scientific method may be, it must be mute about things beyond its scope. Supernatural forces are, by definition, above the laws of nature, and thus beyond the scope of science (p. 332)." And 2) "When microbiologists study an outbreak of resistant tuberculosis, they do not research the possibility that it is an act of God. When astrophysicists try to figure out the sequence of events by which a primordial cloud condensed into our solar system, they do not simply draw a big box between the hazy cloud and the well-formed planets and write inside it, 'Here a miracle happened.' When meteorologists fail to predict the path of a hurricane, they do not claim that God's will pushed it off course (p. 333)." And finally 3) "Science cannot simply cede the unknown in nature to the divine. If it did, there would be no science at all. As University of Chicago geneticist Jerry Coyne puts it, 'If the history of science shows us anything, it is that we get nowhere by labeling our ignorance 'God''(p. 333)."
As we get closer and closer to bringing about a total collapse of the environment of which we are an integral part, it behooves us to come to a clearer understanding of how our biosphere came to exist, how the various parts of it interrelate, and how our tinkering with it can have disastrous consequences. The teaching and learning of evolutionary theory is an important part of that understanding. This book helps further that goal.
Rating: 5
Summary: As interesting as evolution itself
Comment: Wow, I have to say this is the first book I read of Carl Zimmer, he really impress me. The book is graphically wonderful, it has lots of pictures and some sketches that support the text. You can almost read it as a textbook, but this one is much more interesting. The way Zimmer states the plot (which of course is history, not fiction) and how he explains the current states of affairs (considering herbicides, plaguicides, genetic modified food, etc.) and its impact in ecology is that of a first class novelist. He covers almost every aspect of evolution you can imagine, so he cleverly responds (almost telepathically) to the interior questions nurtured while reading the text. Superb, I love this book.
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