Book on evolution?

quarryman

Can anyone recommend a good book for a beginner?

MrPudding

The selfish gene.

MrP

Zillah

MrPudding wrote: »

The selfish gene.

What he said.

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

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.

limerick_woody

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

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.

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.

branie

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

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.

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.

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.

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

quarryman

The blind watchmaker it is so.

thanks guys!

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).