dawkins - the selfish gene

alcomoholic

hi i recently wanted to read into evolutionary biology and purchased the origin of species, the selfish gene and the blind watchmaker.

i started the origin of species but after a few pages it just didnt seem like a very enjoyable read. it seemed really cluttered and muddled and just wasnt very enjoyable.

then i started the selfish gene.

however im nearly at the end of it and the book seems to be dawkins ideology of evolution/theory of how evolution occurs at the very basic genetic level, almost like he's explaining natural selection rather than explaining the chronological changes in 'survival machines' as a result of the process of evolution.

however i think i was more looking into something that would take me through the evolutionary chronological process from 'primeval soup' right up to homosapian.

something along the lines that would explain the process of

basic amino acids in primeval soup -> fish -> crocodile -> dinosaur -> monkey -> human or whatever the process is.

is there any such book?

thanks

Tree

I'd highly recommend Life Ascending by Nick Lane. It's brilliant, have a nose at it next time you're in your local bookshop. Covers a lot of primordial soup stuff, I think it won the Royal Society's pop sci book prize last year.

Ronanc1

While i haven't read "life ascending" I have read Nick lane's other books;

Oxygen: The molecule that made the world and
Power, Sex, Suicide: Mitochondria and the Meaning of Life

Both are excellent and very indepth and i would say gel nicely with Life ascending particularly "Oxygen" which deals with early earth conditions etc

EvoGen

It's important to realize that evolution by natural selection is inherently non-directional, so that the sequence of events you mention:

"basic amino acids in primeval soup -> fish -> crocodile -> dinosaur -> monkey -> human or whatever the process is."

has really very little to do with how evolution works. If you want to learn about how evolution works, or what the evidence for it is, then both of the books you mention are quite good for this (as far as popular science books go), and I would also suggest Jerry Coyne's "Why evolution is true", and Dawkins' "the greatest show on earth".

Nevertheless if you're looking for a book that will take you on a tour through the chronological process, I would highly recommend Richard Dawkins' book, "The Ancestor's Tale", which does essentially this. In order to avoid giving the (erroneous) idea that evolution is direction and that humans are the pinnacle, Dawkins starts off with humans, and then tours backwards through time, stopping at common ancestors along the way, until reaching the start of life. He of course describes principles of how evolution works along the way.

http://www.amazon.com/Ancestors-Tale-Pilgrimage-Dawn-Evolution/dp/0618005838

lockman

+1 on Dawkins, Lane etc.

A new publication, "The Origin of our species" by a Dr Chris Stringer, is getting some very good reviews online:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Origin-Our-Species-Chris-Stringer/dp/1846141400/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1313429503&sr=1-1

I've ordered this and will post when i have it read.

Might i also suggest another recent work, "The Music of Life (Biology Beyond Genes)" by Denis Noble, is a very thought-provoking read, and rigorously challenges the gene-centric view of Dawkins et al. Am about halfway through this work, and i have to say it is challenging some of my core beliefs (molecular biologist by trade). It gives a different, systems biology, approach to evolution. Well worth a read to get an alternate viewpoint.

aggresso

alcomoholic wrote: »

hi i recently wanted to read into evolutionary biology and purchased the origin of species, the selfish gene and the blind watchmaker.

i started the origin of species but after a few pages it just didnt seem like a very enjoyable read. it seemed really cluttered and muddled and just wasnt very enjoyable.

then i started the selfish gene.

however im nearly at the end of it and the book seems to be dawkins ideology of evolution/theory of how evolution occurs at the very basic genetic level, almost like he's explaining natural selection rather than explaining the chronological changes in 'survival machines' as a result of the process of evolution.

however i think i was more looking into something that would take me through the evolutionary chronological process from 'primeval soup' right up to homosapian.

something along the lines that would explain the process of

basic amino acids in primeval soup -> fish -> crocodile -> dinosaur -> monkey -> human or whatever the process is.

is there any such book?

thanks

There's one by Dawkins that does what you want backwards:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ancestor%27s_Tale

IamtheWalrus

I learned about evolution by natural selection from here. Blew me away.

http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/evolution/evolution.htm