Evolution: The Triumph of an Idea

This is certainly without a doubt another great book by Carl Zimmer. This is the second book I have read of his; I also read The Water's Edge which is another fantastic book on evolution.He starts off with a history of Charles Darwin and his eventual production of Origin of Species. Darwin introduced the world to the concept of evolution as a bona fide science. Continuing on, in the chapter on deep time, Zimmer explains just how old the earth is and how long life has existed here providing many details to support the estimates. For example, we can use the carbon 13 to carbon 12 ratios to determine if carbon was organic or we can use zircons and trapped uranium to measure age. Today we have many examples of evolution right in front of us. Lake Victoria and cichlid evolution in Africa, how B cells evolve to fight antigens in our bodies, experiments done with guppies in Trinidad, experiments involving the evolution of RNA, and the transfer of genes between bacteria. In fact, chloroplasts and our own mitochondria are believed to have evolved from a symbiotic relationship with bacteria.Life as we know it today was made possible by something Zimmer calls the accidental tool kit. This involves something called Hox genes acting like master control switches operating on other genes. Zimmer notes that it was only after this tool kit was complete, could the Cambrian explosion take place. Gene duplication is also prominent in the continuing evolutionary process. It is due to this explosion of gene duplication that our ancestors were able to develop more complex body plans. In this regard, I really found the discussion of the lancelet (a small slender translucent marine animal) and how the vertebrate eye was built on the basic lancelet design intriguing. He concludes this section with a brief discussion of cetacean evolution.In the next section, we are introduced to some major extinction events, such as the Permian-Triassic extinction and the extinction at the end of the Cretaceous period, which wiped out the dinosaurs. It is interesting to note that millions of species can be wiped out in one of these extinctions, yet the types of life that come after are often profoundly different. The rise of the mammals after the dinosaurs were gone is a good example. Today, we are faced with another kind of extinction, according to Zimmer - that caused by humans. This can come about through outright slaughter of the species, habitat destruction, or the introduction of invasive species.Coevolution is another topic discussed. Coevolution can produce mutual friendships or easily turn species into "finely tuned enemies." For an example of the latter we have the rough-skinned newt and the red-sided garter snake - "enemies". An example of the former would be leaf-cutter ants and fungus - "friends." We then segue into a discussion of disease in the age of evolutionary medicine - parasites, HIV, and the Black Death. This section concludes with a chapter on the evolution of sex.In the final section, Zimmer covers the evolution of the hominin line leading to humans. We learn about the development of the brain, human behavior, and something called "theory of mind," which involves the capacity to understand that others have a mind like one's self. He discusses the Cultural Revolution that occurred about 50,000 years ago, the Neandertal, genetics and the importance of DNA. He closes the book on the subject of creationism and religion, ending with some thoughts of Darwin on the subject.We have seen the introduction of a profound idea by Charles Darwin triumph into a marvelous understanding of the origin of life here on earth, and Carl Zimmer does a brilliant job of presenting this vital information for our benefit.

Evolution: The Triumph of an Idea by Carl ZimmerA thorough, well researched book that is broken out into four parts: Part One - Slow Victory: Darwin and the Rise of Darwinism, Part Two - Creation and Destruction, Part Three -Evolution's Dance, and Part Four - Humanity's Place in Evolution and: Evolution's Place In Humanity.Positives:1. Accessible, well written book with an extensive bibliography.2. Provides a lot more historical references than any other book I have read on the topic. It includes an excellent biography on the life of Darwin and how he came about the theory of evolution and his personal struggles to disclose his findings to the public.3. Interesting history on the physics of how we determined the antiquity of Earth. Not to mention the order in which new life-forms appeared on Earth, and their actual dates in history.4. A lot of interesting information regarding evolution: "A population of birds can evolve into its own species if it gets cut off from its neighbors". You will find out why.5. The historical impact of germs...Napoleon found out the hard way.6. Nothing like mutations to get evolution going. The genetic tool kit is explained in detail.7. The origin of whales is one of the most interesting examples of evolution. And BTW a whale is no more a fish than a bat is a bird.8. Everything you wanted to know about extinction and then some.9. Interesting topics of the arms race between man versus bug, disease (great stuff on AIDS) and the evolution of sex.10. My favorite chapters have to do with human evolution. Fascinating stuff and worth the price of the book (Kindle). Plenty of monkey business. It's the kind of stuff I go ape over.Negatives:1. Less technical than other books on this topic.2. The advancements of science is such that it is outdated in certain parts: genetics, and major recent findings (Tiktaalik comes to mind). That's what I get for waiting for the Kindle version.3. It's an investment of time, a lot is covered.4. Too politically correct if you ask me. Let loose a little Mr. Zimmer.In summary, a solid book on evolution that focuses on the history of the idea and how it succeeds to this day. I'm in awe of Darwin, science owes so much to his theory. Entire scientific fields are only possible with the understanding of evolution.Recommendations: Why Evolution is True" by Jerry Coyne, "The Greatest Show On Earth" by Richard Dawkins, "Your Inner Fish" by Neil B. Shubin, "What Evolution Is" by Ernst Mayr and "The Making of the Fittest" by Sean B. Carroll.

I liked the structure of the book. I was interested in the historical aspects of Darwin's theory development and the author delivered them excellently. The only reason for the four stars is that it contains too many details about the evolution of different spieces that are more relevant for the experts on the field and not for the general public (in my opinion of course).

Must read, written beautifully.Also recommend to read his book "tangled bank" if you are interested in learning evolution.

Although this book is, scientifically-speaking, quite old now, and I’m sure aspects have been updated by more recent discoveries, it still is worth a read. It clearly explains the principles of evolution as described by Darwin and then makes the case for how the ‘idea’ has proven to be accurate. I particularly like the references to how evolution is very much in action today with the impact of climate change. The original audience was clearly US readers and was written to accompany an 8 part series on US public broadcasting. It’s also clear to me that the intention, to a great extent, is to educate the significant minority of people in the USA who are (a) deniers of evolution, and (b) deniers of climate change. Highly recommended for anyone wanting to probe evolution in some depth, but not wishing to read an academic tome.

Evolution: The triumph of an Idea by Carl Zimmer serves as a wonderful introduction to Darwins's Theory of Evolution. It's a well-written book that really shows the full impact of the idea.What I liked:- It's very accessible: Carl Zimmer manages to explain complex scientific concepts in a way that's easy to understand. His writing style is entertaining and never dry- It contains a very readable biography of Darwin, how he came up with his theory of evolution and how the public reacted to his idea.- The sheer amount of information and different topics is amazing: evolution, genes, mutations, how these things were discovered, Social Darwinism, and even geology- I highly enjoyed the final chapters in Creationism and Intelligent Design, although Carl Zimmer wrote in a way that was maybe a bit too politically correctWhat I didn't like:My only criticism is not even the author’s fault: In places it’s a bit outdated. This is not surprising as it was first published in 2001. I read Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin earlier this year and couldn’t stop thinking about Tiktaalik, which wasn’t mentioned in Carl Zimmer’s Evolution.Overall I would highly recommend this book. It’s informative, accessible and a very enjoyable read. If you’re interested in the Theory of Evolution, Darwin and scientific progress after his death, Carl Zimmer’s Evolution might be the right book for you

Clear, provides summaries and links to detailed evidence and discusses controversies such as sociobiology, racism, social Darwinism and teaching of evolution (controversial in the USA). The discussion of convolution makes it very clear why !miss of species can trigger collapse.