Animals and Evolution Books

McGrew's work has (perhaps predictably) not had the effect on social science that it deserves. He challenges the usual belief that human culture is unique in ALL respects by showing that variations in chimp tool kits are comparable to variations in human tool assemblages. A thoughtful, well-researched, and interesting study

This was the required textbook for a class on Animal Intelligence at the University of Kansas. Contained various examples from a broad range of animal intelligence. Illustrated quite well how little we know about intelligence.

Thomson's collection of essays on natural science (from "American Scientist") are contemplative, and conversational, cerebral without being difficult, and concerned with ideas, philosophy and language.

Organized in three sections, "The Uses of Diversity," "On Being a Scientist" and "The Future of Evolution," the collection takes a broad perspective.

In the title essay he extrapolates from the pair of loons on his summer lake to the character of a place where loons live, their dwindling numbers and what that could mean to humans, practically and aesthetically. On a drive from Kennedy airport, he muses on our attitude toward land. Two other essays explore the perspectives of earlier scientists.

In the second section he captures the thrill of discovering how sharks swim and dissects the polarizing effect of "reductionism," the practice of ignoring outside influences in scientific disciplines.

Reflections on evolution lead him to explore matters as apparently diverse as the origin of tetrapods and the link between Newton and Darwin.

Thomson offers ruminations rather than anecdotes, he looks at where we've been as well as where we're going and worries about how we're getting there.

It doesn't matter whether you are interested in the feeding habits and needs of parrots or partridges, this book has it all and in an easily comprehensible format. Plenty of tables and charts to help you understand the latest information from someone who really knows their stuff. I couldn't put it down!

This is a great book; it offers an outstanding intro to cladistics, or phylogenetic systematics. I knew this was a great book before I even got it. At the 2003 annual meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, some prominent paleontologists pointed out that this book may be downloaded legally for free (!) at the following address:

http://www.nhm.ku.edu/cc.html

Why is it free? Because the folks at KU know how intellectually valuable this document is, not to mention how difficult it may be to come by.

This isn't a permanent offer; the link will only be valid until the Second Edition is published. So if you'd like to check it out, act now!

Karen Patkau's CREATURES YESTERDAY AND TODAY offers a companion to CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL but stands alone as a survey of animals which disappeared in prehistoric times. Maps, time lines, history and first-person animal descriptions make for lively reading about prehistoric animals.

Crocodile is a delightfully informative and entertaining non-fiction novel. Tracing back the history of the crocodilian for thousands of years, and returning to describe how humans have effected these wonderful animals, you will not be able to put it down.
From Chapter 1, the reader is taken aboard the H.M.S Beegle, to make first contact with the Australian Salt Water Crocodile, leaping from the water to snap bats from the air. From there on, we learn of the myths and legends surrounding the crocodile, the biological phenomenons of the crocodile, and all sorts of other fascinating information, all wrapped up in around 288 pages.

Though very informative, Crocodile is unique amongst its kind, as it is not just a book of different kinds of crocodilian and their different identifying features. Crocodile is a novel, that goes in-depth to lots of interesting information, historical facts and real life interviews, without ever taking on that common, twenty page, wrote learned, uninformative fact book.

All in all, an astounding book, can't wait for the next one. Hats off to Lynne Kelly!

I'm sure that most people know who Charles Darwin was. For those who don't know who was, or don't know to much about him, I'll sum up who he was in six words: the father of modern evolutionary thought. Not much more really needs to be said, but for the sake of those who don't know, I'll elaborate (with the help of wikipedia) just a bit.

"He was a prolific author, and even without publication of his works on evolution would have had a considerable reputation as the author of The Voyage of the Beagle, as a geologist who had published extensively on South America and had solved the puzzle of the formation of coral atolls, and as a biologist who had published the definitive work on barnacles. While The Origin of Species dominates perceptions of his work, The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex and The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals had considerable impact, and his books on plants including The Power of Movement in Plants were innovative studies of great importance, as was his final work on The Formation of Vegetable Mould Through the Action of Worms." (Balfour 1882, Van Wyhe 2006)

For those who aren't so familiar with his works, I'll give you a very brief synopsis of each one published in this one volume edition, which is taken from the inside flaps of the book.

In "The Voyage of the Beagle" (1839), a young Darwin travels to the Galapagos Islands, where the diversity of finches and iguanas leads him to hypothosize that living organisms changes over time.

"The Origin of Species" (1859), Darwin's most clebrated work, states that natural selection - the theory of survival of the fittest - resulted in the wide variety of life on earth.

"The Descent of Man" (1871)argues that there is considerable evidence that humans are part of the animal kingdom and have been created according to the same natural laws that produced all other life on earth.

To further his thesis of humans as part of the natural world, Darwin published "The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals" (1872). In this work he argued that facial expressions in humans are complez forms of communication performed by intricate musculature that is the result of evolutionary processes.

In 1876, after years of insults and praise over his theories about the world, Charles Darwin took stock of his own life and wrote, "Autobiography of Charles Darwin".

Overall, this volume is packed with information - it's a must have for anyone. Whether you are a Darwin scholar, a lover of science, or just a normal layman interested in science/Darwin/evolution/etc., this is the book for you. Remember, Darwin did not write these books for scientists only. He wrote them for the normal layman as well!

Also, the print is very nice, which enhances the read!

A definite A+!!!!!

This is a great book even if you don't use the program, but I use the program all the time with my research. It makes sense of a complicated system. I highly recommend it if you're studying molecular evolution!

The title of this volume is an understatement: this book has necesary information for anyone who would understand the basis of butterfly classification, identification, and speciation. Check the table of contents. The contributions are of the highest level. See especially the annex.