Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie

Book on evolution?

Options
  • 04-08-2008 10:32pm
    #1
    quarryman
    Registered Users Posts: 7,496 ✭✭✭


    Can anyone recommend a good book for a beginner?
    Tagged:


Comments

  • Options
    #2
    MrPudding
    Registered Users Posts: 9,788 ✭✭✭MrPudding


    The selfish gene.

    MrP


  • Options
    #3
    Zillah
    Registered Users Posts: 17,371 ✭✭✭✭Zillah


    MrPudding wrote: »
    The selfish gene.

    What he said.


  • Options
    #4
    AtomicHorror
    Registered Users Posts: 5,888 ✭✭✭AtomicHorror


    Not a book, but Wikipedia's Introduction to Evolution article is a nice place to start. Follow up some of the attached articles and you'll know about as much as most scientists do on the matter :D

    The Selfish Gene is good, as far as I can tell from having just started it. I would imagine that some prior knowledge of biology/evolution might be desirable for reading it, but Dawkins has a rep for being very accessible.


  • Options
    #5
    limerick_woody
    Registered Users Posts: 190 ✭✭limerick_woody


    If you want to understand it, go with Dawkins' climbing Mount Improbable - i loved it.


  • Options
    #6
    Daftendirekt
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,312 ✭✭✭Daftendirekt


    Another plug for Dawkin's The Selfish Gene. Can't recommend it enough. You'll never see things the same way again, and it's very accessible, even if you're a complete beginner to the subject.


  • Advertisement
  • Options
    #7
    Flamed Diving
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,609 ✭✭✭Flamed Diving


    Start with The Blind Watchmaker, then move onto The Selfish Gene. TBW does a better job of explaining the process at a macro level, which is what you need.


  • Options
    #8
    branie
    Registered Users Posts: 1,429 ✭✭✭branie


    You could also try "The Origin of Species" by Charles Darwin, the most famous book on the subject.


  • Options
    #9
    AtomicHorror
    Registered Users Posts: 5,888 ✭✭✭AtomicHorror


    branie wrote: »
    You could also try "The Origin of Species" by Charles Darwin, the most famous book on the subject.

    Not a great place to start really, since it no longer accurately reflects the modern synthesis. Definitely worth a look later on.


  • Options
    #10
    quarryman
    Registered Users Posts: 7,496 ✭✭✭quarryman


    thanks for the suggestions, another one i spotted on amazon was The Blind Watchmaker. Anyone read it?

    its between:
    The Blind Watchmaker
    The God Delusion
    The Selfish Gene

    someone decide for me.


  • Options
    #11
    aidan24326
    Registered Users Posts: 5,925 ✭✭✭aidan24326


    quarryman wrote: »
    thanks for the suggestions, another one i spotted on amazon was The Blind Watchmaker. Anyone read it?

    its between:
    The Blind Watchmaker
    The God Delusion
    The Selfish Gene

    someone decide for me.

    The God Delusion? That's not a book on evolution! But worth a read all the same. Go with The Blind Watchmaker for starters.


  • Advertisement
  • Options
    #12
    MrPudding
    Registered Users Posts: 9,788 ✭✭✭MrPudding


    Flamed Diving wrote: »
    Start with The Blind Watchmaker, then move onto The Selfish Gene. TBW does a better job of explaining the process at a macro level, which is what you need.
    Good point actually. I read selfish gene first, but with hindsight the blind watch maker would be a better starter.

    MrP


  • Options
    #13
    quarryman
    Registered Users Posts: 7,496 ✭✭✭quarryman


    The blind watchmaker it is so.

    thanks guys!


  • Options
    #14
    Galvasean
    Registered Users Posts: 30,746 ✭✭✭✭Galvasean


    Am I too late?
    I would recommend Darwin's Gift To Science And Religion by Francisco J. Ayala. Much more accessible to a beginner than Dawkins' books (great as they are).


Advertisement