Evolution
The Jesuit and the Skull: Teilhard de Chardin,
Evolution, and the Search for Peking Man by Amir Aczel
In the 1920s, an urbane French paleoarchaeologist traveled the world, making discoveries crucial to confirming the fact of human evolution. Meanwhile, his philosophical and theological writings bridged gaps between science and religion with creativity and intellectual integrity seldom equaled and never bettered. And, because he was also strikingly handsome and unusually considerate, women were drawn to him. Were that the rough extent of the story, it might make a terrifically good yarn. But how about this: Pierre Teilhard de Chardin was also a Jesuit priest, relentlessly loyal to his church and his order. They repaid his loyalty by prohibiting him from publishing his most important works during his lifetime (the church still suppresses his work) and by sending him to exile in the most remote locales they could dream up -- where he did some of his most world-changing work.
*Also available, unabridged, on Audio CD and mp3 CD
The Jesuit and the Skull ... published October 4, 2007 by Riverhead Hardcover
The First Word: The Search for the Origins of Language
by Christine Kenneally
How did human language originate and evolve? Do other species use language? If so, are might their linguistic capacities be evolving? A generation ago, even asking such questions exposed scientists to ridicule from many of their colleagues. Leading linguistic theorist Noam Chomsky and his disciples (and many others) have long insisted that speech is a uniquely human capacity. Kenneally shows, however, that researchers grounded in disciplines as diverse as biology, neuroscience, genetics and psychology have -- especially in the last generation -- produced compelling evidence to the contrary. The author introduces some of the leading scientists and linguists (among whom are Steven Pinker, Sue Savage-Rumbaugh and Philip Lieberman) involved in investigating (or scorning) such questions, and she reviews recent findings. Kenneally devotes much of her work to setting forth examples of non-human animals -- including monkeys, bonobos, dolphins, elephants, and seals -- using language and language-like behaviors.
The First Word ... published July 19, 2007 by Viking Adult
The Making of the Fittest: DNA and the
Ultimate Forensic Record of Evolution by Sean B. Carroll
Endless Forms Most Beautiful author Sean Carroll offers a layperson-friendly look at the ironclad DNA evidence of evolution, with the help of many fascinating, species-specific illustrations of some of the latest findings in the field of genetics. This is rich, readable natural history -- although what the author calls "afterdinner conversation" is polemical. Says Carroll,
Understanding and accepting evolution is a matter of adhering to the scientific process, which has delivered enormous advances in agriculture, medicine, and technology. Just as the science of DNA has permeated our daily lives in forensic analysis, paternity testing, and the diagnosis and treatment of disease, so, too, should its meaning for our understanding the real history of our life and species. ... [ ¶ ] The tangible record of evolution in DNA is overwhelming, and cannot be argued away. Those who have continued to oppose evolution in the face of the evidence cannot be allowed ... to silence or ignore science in order to accommodate their disbelief. [ ¶ ] When the scientific process is abandoned, the lesson throughout history is failure or outright disaster in human affairs.
*Also available, unabridged, on Audio CD
The Making of the Fittest ... published October 9, 2006 by W. W. Norton
Why Darwin Matters by Michael Shermer
For years polls have shown that Americans overwhelmingly -- by a 5-to-1 ratio -- do not believe in evolution. That bothers Michael Shermer, a recovering born-again Christian who founded The Skeptics Society and who edits Skeptics magazine. He's been publicly debating creationists for years. Here he argues that Intelligent Design is not science nor even honest religion. Why does Darwin matter? Says Shermer,
Darwin matters not only because his theory changed the world and reconfigured our position in nature, but because he launched a new and profound understanding of biology and science that has served future generations. Of the three intellectual giants of that epoch -- Darwin, Marx, and Freud -- only Darwin is still relevant for the simple reason that his theory was right, and the scientific evidence continues to support and refine it. In the memorable observation by geneticist Theodosius Dobzhansky, "Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution."
Why Darwin Matters ... published August 8, 2006 by Times Books
The Reluctant Mr. Darwin: An Intimate Portrait of Charles Darwin
And the Making of His Theory of Evolution by David Quammen
No unread author since Marx has more unsettled the world than Darwin. And for those unlikely to tackle The Origin of Species any time soon, Quammen offers an accessible explanation of what Darwin had to say that was so earth shaking. There's no shortage of Darwin biographies, so Quammen judiciously skips the first 27 years of Darwin's life. He picks up the tale after the five-year voyage of the Beagle, and zeroes in on the processes by which Darwin arrived at, stewed about and finally -- after more than 20 years -- publicized his revolutionary conclusions. Because Darwin understood the implications of natural selection (including its refutation of primitive religious ideas that still sustain much of humanity), Quammen shows, he was deeply reluctant to publish. He was finally prompted to do so largely by the possibility that fellow naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace was on the verge of going public and receiving credit Darwin deserved.
*Also available, unabridged, on Audio CD
The Reluctant Mr. Darwin ... published July 31, 2006 by W. W. Norton
Intelligent Thought: Science versus
The Intelligent Design Movement edited by John Brockman
Science impresario to the world John Brockman strikes again, just 10 weeks after his superb What We Believe But Cannot Prove. This time 16 of the world's most renowned intellects pummel "Intelligent Design" (ID) until all that's left is a greasy spot in the shape of the Virgin Mary. Brockman's Edge.org offers synopses; a few favorites: "We don't have an intelligent designer (ID), we have a bungling consistent evolver (BCE). Or maybe an adaptive changer (AC). In fact, what we have in the most economical interpretation is, of course, evolution," remarks physicist Lisa Randall.
Psychologist Steven Pinker says, "An evolutionary understanding of the human condition, far from being incompatible with a moral sense, can explain why we have one."
And this: "Rather than removing meaning from life, an evolutionary perspective can and should fill us with a sense of wonder at the rich sequence of natural systems that gave us birth and continues to sustain us," from paleontologist Scott Sampson.
Intelligent Thought ... published May 9, 2006 by Vintage
Before the Dawn:
Recovering the Lost History of Our Ancestors by Nicholas Wade
A veteran New York Times reporter (who's also written for Nature and Science) discusses some of the last few years' developments in paleoanthropology. Wade shows, for example, how variations in the genome prove that all contemporary humans are descended from about 5,000 individuals who lived roughly 50,000 years ago. Among the wide variety of related matters that Wade addresses are the emergence of skin color, the development of speech, and the evolutionary success of continuously growing scalp hair. He also presents some clear and direct evidence that human evolution has never stopped; that it's taking place even now. No less than E.O. Wilson called this "by far the best book I have ever read on humanity's deep history." Dave Davies interviewed Wade on NPR's Fresh Air.
*Also available, unabridged, on Audio CD or mp3 CD
Before the Dawn ... published April 20, 2006 by Penguin
The First Human:
The Race to Discover Our Earliest Ancestors by Ann Gibbons
A veteran staff writer for the prestigious journal Science looks at some of the world's most renowned paleontologists' efforts, since the discovery of Lucy, to find an even earlier "first human." It turns out that Lucy, at 4.4 million years, may have been a mere girl; much older truly human ancestors could go back millions of years further. Focusing on the efforts of four international teams, led by
Tim White,
Michel Brunet,
Brigitte Senut & Martin Pickford, and
Meave Leakey, Gibbons illuminates the current science related to the search for Lucy's grandmother while also providing vivid depictions of some of the personalities and melodramas that they generate in what we see to be an especially contentious, high-profile, and in many respects high-stakes branch of science.
*Also available, unabridged, on Audio CD or mp3 CD
The First Human ... published April 18, 2006 by Doubleday
The Singing Neanderthals by Steven Mithen
Could it be that we're hardwired to communicate via music -- and that our childhood acquisition of language actually helps rob us of our innate musicality? An archaeologist who heads of the School of Human and Environmental Science at the University of Reading thinks music has played more important roles in human development than previously believed. Neanderthal communication may have depended on music.
Says Mithen, "[W]e can only explain the human propensity to make and listen to music by recognising that it has been encoded into the human genome during the evolutionary history of our species." He supports that thesis in some ingenious (though not necessarily original) ways, including a consideration the physical structure of the Neanderthal voice box; an exploration of the sing-songy, infant-directed speech known to nearly all cultures; and a meditation on the effect of upright walking on our species' rhythmicity. Mithen's academic style can be a bit technical, but his work's generally accessible and thought provoking.
The Singing Neanderthals ... published March 31, 2006 by Harvard University Press
Pilgrim on the Great Bird Continent by Lyanda Lynn Haupt
How did the not-terribly-impressive 22-year-old Charles Darwin who first boarded the Beagle in 1831 become, arguably, the greatest naturalist in history? What was it that changed him during the nearly five-year voyage? A Seattle birder and acclaimed writer uses Darwin's neglected Ornithological Notes and others of his overlooked works to help he see her subject with fresh eyes. Says Haupt,
In excavating Darwin's transformation I want to go back -- back to his diary as it was written day by day, back to the notes he traced as he watched orange birds scream from tropical trees, back to his first thoughts as he confronted unfamiliar places and creatures. In these lesser-known works of more immediacy -- the diary, the correspondence, the specimen notes, the unruly scribbles in his tiny pocket notebooks -- there are moments that have fallen through the cracks of Darwin's more colorful adventures as they have been recorded by both his biographers and himself.
This lyrical and meditative work is somewhat reminiscent of Annie Dillard's Pulitzer- prizewinning Pilgrim at Tinker Creek.
Pilgrim on the Great Bird Continent ... pub'd March 7, 2006; Little, Brown and Company
Darwin: Discovering the Tree of Life by Niles Eldredge
Getting a jump on the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth in 1809, the American Museum of Natural History is featuring a major Darwin exhibit. This companion book thereto stands on its own with ease and grace. Eldredge's work is an endlessly fascinating, comfortable-to-read, and handsomely illustrated look at the processes by which Darwin reached his momentous conclusions.
Eldredge, who's been with the museum since 1969, has long been an outspoken champion of the credible evolutionary science that's been under attack by creationists since the mid-19th century. Accordingly, while he offers dependable (if brief and basic) biographical information on Darwin, his focus is on the development of the Darwinian ideas that have so fundamentally shaped the ways in which rational human beings understand their world -- despite the profound irrationality of those who have demonized Darwin for threatening their medieval cosmologies. At the end of his final chapter -- which addresses that demonization directly -- Eldredge concludes, "Would that all of us were as courageous as Charles Robert Darwin."
Darwin: Discovering the Tree of Life ... published November 14, 2005 by W. W. Norton
From So Simple a Beginning: Darwin's Four Great Books
by Charles Darwin; edited by Edward O. Wilson
In one 1,700-page leviathan, Darwin's four great works: Voyage of the H.M.S. Beagle, The Origin of Species, The Descent of Man, and The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals. The first time they've been so collected, this edition's of the highest quality. Says E.O. Wilson, editor of the volume and provider of six fine essays tying the works together,
Great scientific discoveries are like sunrises. They illuminate first the steeples of the unknown, then its dark hollows. Such expansive influence has been enjoyed by the scientific writings of Charles Darwin. For over 150 years his books, the four most influential of which are reprinted here for the first time as a bound set, have spread light on the living world and the human condition. They have not lost their freshness: more than any other work in history's scientific canon, they are both timeless and persistently inspirational.
From So Simple a Beginning ... published November 7, 2005 by W. W. Norton
Twilight of the Mammoths by Paul S. Martin
A veteran geo-scientist thinks "virtually all extinctions of wild animals in the last 50,000 years are anthropogenic; that is, caused by humans." The Overkill Hypothesis, he acknowledges, is controversial, but it has a growing number of adherents. Martin maintains that most references to "wild America" are inadequate; they should include recently extinct species, taking into account 50 millennia of human overkill. Says he,
North America lost mastodons, gomphotheres, and four species of mammoths; ground sloths, a glyptodont, and giant armadillos; giant beavers and giant peccaries; stag moose and dwarf antelopes; brush oxen and woodland musk oxen; native camels and horses; short-faced bears, dire wolves, saber-toothed and dirk-toothed cats, and an American subspecies of the king of beasts, the lion. After the extinctions, the mean body mass of North American mammals was the lowest it had been in 30 million years.
While he stops short of advocating restoration of ancient mammals via DNA cloning, he does argue plausibly that the re-introduction of wild elephants to North America might be a good idea. Martin writes charmingly, and he's deft at sparking one's imagination of what's been lost -- and what might be re-gained.
Twilight of the Mammoths ... pub'd November 7, 2005 by University of California Press
The Talking Ape by Robbins Burling
A distinguished anthropologist and linguist tackles what he readily concedes to be a speculative endeavor: understanding how it was that humans developed their capacity for language. To arrive at some plausible answers, Burling works from what he calls "two reasonably solid anchor points": (1) "our closest primate cousins, the chimpanzees and bonobos"; and (2) "stones and bones" -- the fossil record.
Most intriguing, perhaps, of the conclusions he draws is that it's not speech per se, but the ability to comprehend speech that evolution has favored. Ya gotta love the implications of that one: Nature wants us to practice keeping our mouths shut, our ears and minds open, and to develop our abilities to play well with others. Could those be our truest "family values"? Burling puts it somewhat more tactfully:
[T]he most important advantages given to our Paleolithic forebears by intricate forms of language were more social than technical, and language still shapes every moment and every detail of all our social relationships. Even our vocabulary shows the importance of language in social life.
The book drags just a tad now and again, but the reflection Burling provokes rewards the reader's tenacity.
The Talking Ape ... published November 1, 2005 by Oxford University Press, USA
Our Inner Ape by Frans De Waal
Human brutality often mirrors that of chimpanzees, but one of the world's leading primatologists shows that our behaviors also reflect those of the bonobo, a more peaceful -- and erotic -- ape. De Waal's well-spun anecdotes about our biological cousins are fascinating and fun in their own rights, but his incisive and highly original observations of human apeness make this work something special. Says he,
Apes are so like us that they're known as "anthropoids," from the Latin for "humanlike." To have to close relations with strikingly different societies is extraordinarily instructive. The power-hungry and brutal champ contrasts with the peace-loving and erotic bonobo -- a kind of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Our own nature is an uneasy marriage of the two. Our dark side is painfully obvious: an estimated 160 million people in the 20th century alone lost their lives to war, genocide, and political oppression -- all due to the human capacity for brutality.
Our Inner Ape ... first published October 6, 2005 by Riverhead Hardcover
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