Related Tags

While its opponents may sneer that "it's just a theory", evolution has transcended that label to take its place as one of the most important "ideas" in human history. Science journalist Carl Zimmer explores its history and future in Evolution: the Triumph of an Idea, companion piece to the epic US Public Broadcast Service series of the same name. Lavishly illustrated with photos of our distant cousins, anatomical diagrams and timelines, the book is as beautiful as it is enlightening. While those closely following the field will find little more here than a well-written summary of the state of the art in 2001, readers who have watched the evolutionary debates from a distance will quickly catch up with the details of the main arguments.

Zimmer's text is fresh and expansive, explaining both the minutiae of comparative anatomy and the grand scale of geological time with equal verve and clarity. Following the trend of turn-of-the-century evolution writers, he is careful to respect the religious beliefs of creationists while firmly insisting that the scientific evidence against them is too compelling to ignore. Touching on biology, philosophy, theology, politics, and nearly every other field of human thought, Evolution: the Triumph of an Idea will inspire its readers with the elegance and importance of Darwin's simple theory. --Rob Lightner [via]