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    Evolution: The Remarkable History of a Scientific Theory
    Evolution: The Remarkable History of a Scientific Theory
    Evolution: The Remarkable History of a Scientific Theory
    Audiobook9 hours

    Evolution: The Remarkable History of a Scientific Theory

    Written by Edward J. Larson

    Narrated by John McDonough

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    Edward J. Larson is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and eminent science historian. This marvelously readable, yet sumptuously erudite work traces the development of the scientific theory of evolution. From Darwin's essential trip to the GalApagos, to the most contemporary studies in sociobiology, this work takes listeners both into the field and laboratories of the world's greatest evolutionary scientists, and shows how the theory of evolution has itself evolved.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateFeb 11, 2008
    ISBN9781436112222
    Evolution: The Remarkable History of a Scientific Theory
    Author

    Edward J. Larson

    Edward J. Larson is the author of seven books and the recipient of the 1998 Pulitzer Prize in History for his book Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion. His other books include Evolution: The Remarkable History of a Scientific Theory; Evolution's Workshop; God and Science on the Galapagos Islands; and Trial and Error: The American Controversy Over Creation and Evolution. Larson has also written over one hundred articles, most of which address topics of law, science, or politics from an historical perspective, which have appeared in such varied journals as The Atlantic, Nature, Scientific American, The Nation, The Wilson Quarterly, and Virginia Law Review. He is a professor of history and law at Pepperdine University and lives in Georgia and California.

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    Reviews for Evolution

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    • 4/5
      The author traces the history of evolutionary theory from the earliest era through Darwin to the present (about 2005). He covers the various "evolution wars" that have occurred throughout the 20th century in America, and details a few of the key players. In a rare moment in science writing, he gets the outcome of the Scopes trial totally right, not marking it as a victory for science, but noting that evolution pretty much disappeared from textbooks until the 1960s. The book doesn't talk much about the evidence for evolution; it merely touches on that, more interested in the historical trajectory of the theory. A very good introduction to the history of science (well, at least one small area of science).
    • 4/5
      This book has a Modern Library logo on it and is part of a series named The Modern Library Chronicles. I used the very handy LT series feature and checked some of the other books in the series. There are thirty-two titles that cover the history of everything from communism to the company. While reading the book ( I also listened to an audio edition) I realized that I have another book by this author, Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate over Science and Religion which is a very good book. He covers the same topic in this book.I enjoyed this book immensely. It is well written and for me very informative. This book taught me a lot about what I don't know about evolution. When the author started writing about statistical models he got over my head very fast. For the large part the author builds his story using the personalities and contributions of a group of men who over time have created present evolutionary theory. The author does an excellent job of narrating an ongoing conversation between men all over the world about this idea beginning in the late 18th Century. Each person has a different wrinkle on how to understand and explain the development of the different organisms that have inhabited the planet. Always present are those who would deny that evolution exists based upon their religious beliefs.I was fascinated by the role of Darwin's finches in the whole development of the theory of evolution. They are a group of species of finches that live on the Galapagos islands. A primary distinguishing feature of the different species are their beaks. Some have big squat beaks and some have smaller pointed beaks. The different beaks are adapted for eating different types of seeds. These species all developed from one species of finches that moved to the Galapagos and mutated into the different species that Darwin found. In modern times there has been intensive field work done on these birds to try to understand the process of species differentiation.In the present day field naturalists find that geographic isolation is very important for the development of new species. The geneticists talk about isolated gene pools.Many of the scientific ideas that make up the story of this theory originate in one individual. The author's full life portrayals of these men and the effects of their personalities on their ideas was fascinating. The genius Watson who with Crick discovered DNA is a molecular biologist. He is also a rather mean minded person who has no use for the ideas of field naturalists. This narrows the scope of his ideas.The author has an excellent section on the culture wars. The development of scientific creationism has made the battle for the schools a present day problem. The end of the 20th century saw a resurgence of the groups opposed to evolution. I know in my state the Chief Judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals was the head of a group that opposed the teaching of evolution. The author also mentions eugenics, the dark side of evolution.This is just a smattering of what is covered in the book. It is chock full of interesting people and interesting ideas. The well crafted writing makes it a pleasure to read. I think I will seriously look at some of the other titles in the series. If you have an interest in this topic and are not an expert I recommend this book.