One Long Argument: Charles Darwin and the Genesis of Modern Evolutionary Thought (Questions of Science)

Good introduction to history of evoultion from Darwin's time to present date with the major academic controversies.

The title "One Long Arguement", it is a reference to part of Darwin's introductory description to The Origin of Species (appearing within Origin itself). This book is not about arguing with Creationists (Thank God ;). I suspect the above reviewers were misled to the point that they felt rating stars must be subtracted. Don't be fooled by title bashers. This is an excellent history and theory primer for the novice and a nice knowledge gap filler for those well-read in the science of evolution and biology.

Creationists have claimed that geology has conspired to support evolution. This book just shows how ridiculous that claim really is. Geologists tossed out the idea of "Flood Geology" long before Darwin arrived on the scene. The idea of an old Earth was developed independently of Darwin. Also interesting is that Darwin was well respected among his fellow scientists, even though they did not initially accept his idea of evolution. His work on the Beagle was considered important, and it alone was sufficent to establish Darwin's scientific reputation. He was already famous (in his day) before his landmark work. Many scientists in Darwin's time were old earth creationists. In time, many of them were persuaded by the mass of evidence that Darwin had collected, although it would be a long time before natural selection was accepted as the mechanism. So, it is possible to not accept natural evolution and still accept the idea of common descent. Creationists try to argue that evolution is a package deal, that if one idea is out of place or not quite right, then the whole thing should be tossed out. This notion is just wrong, and reading this book will help the reader understand why. In general, creationists exploit the public's poor understanding of the scientific method. While one fact can be enough to completely toss out a theory, what often happens is that old theories get revised to accomdate the new facts. Successful, powerful theories (like Darwins) tend to evolve.

This is definitely THE book to give friends, students and even enemies who are interested in the theory of Evolution by Natural Selection. Ernst Mayr, one of the foremost architects of our understanding of the ecological nature of evolution draws on his immense scholarship to bring us a highly readable text on the many facets of Darwinism. I have given this book to graduate and undergraduate students, we have fought over it in seminars, and in general it holds a premier place in the library pf anyone with a genuine interest in understanding one of the key elements of modern biology.

If you aren't a biologist, but want to understand modern theories of biological orgins, this is the book to read.