- Hardcover: 192 pages
- Publisher: W&N (14 Mar 2002)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0297607413
- ISBN-13: 978-0297607410
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 15.6 x 3.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,298,224 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Amazon.co.uk Review
Why does evolution give rise to distinct species? Is evolution progressive? In What Evolution Is Ernst Mayr organises his text around commonly asked questions and points of difficulty, making this a resource to refer to, as well as to read. Those who find evolution endlessly engaging, or who find themselves engaged in endless argument with the creationists and nay-sayers among us, would do well to equip themselves with Mayr's well-organised armoury of sense, clarity and detail.
Mayr himself is a colourful figure: born in Germany in 1904, he embarked in 1928 on the first bird survey to New Guinea--an adventure that exposed him to tropical diseases, near-drowning in an overturned canoe and some very violent tribal politics. It is a shame, in some ways, that Mayr eschews such promising biographical material, stretching as it does across the entire development and refinement of Darwinian theory in the modern period. But we must respect the fact that Mayr is a teacher, not a writer: and his account of how evolution actually works is a tremendous resource for the interested lay reader.
What Evolution Is is not the best introduction to Darwinian theory on the market. That role is better fulfilled by Daniel Dennett with his (at times rather Mosaical) Darwin's Dangerous Idea; or (more flashily, and controversially) by Stephen Jay Gould. Those already entranced by the magic of evolution, however, should definitely knuckle down to Mayr's account of Darwinian theory: its proofs, its details and its implications.--Simon Ings
Review
A review appeared in the Observer and further reviews are expected in New Sci
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Ernst Mayr was one of the leading evolutionary biologists of the last century. He lived to be a hundred years old and was well into his nineties when he wrote this book, showing that his brain was as sharp as ever.
It is a wide-ranging book which succinctly covers all the key issues relating to evolution, but I would particularly like to draw attention to two aspects of Mayr's approach.
Firstly, he shows that Darwinian evolutionary theory actually consists of several distinct strands. For example, after the publication of Darwin's "On the Origin of Species", the idea of the common descent of all living creatures ("the tree of life") became widely accepted relatively quickly, whereas the mechanism of evolutionary change - natural selection - took much longer to gain widespread support, even amongst scientists.
Similarly, Mayr shows that evolution over time within one species and the branching off of a new species from an existing one (speciation) are two distinct but related processes. (Mayr himself played a central role in developing a fuller understanding of the speciation process.)
The second important aspect of Mayr's approach is his criticism of the fact that "most treatments of evolution are written in a reductionist manner in which all evolutionary phenomena are reduced to the level of the gene". This is directed against those like Richard Dawkins who see the gene as being the target of natural selection. Mayr shows that natural selection cannot "see" individual genes and that it is the organism as a whole which is the target of selection. It is the organism that lives or dies and succeeds or fails in reproducing, not the individual gene.
This last point has been reinforced by the fact that we now know that one gene can affect several different parts of an organism or its behaviour, and that several genes often interact with each other to produce one characteristic.
I strongly recommend this book. But I must point out that, although it is largely very clearly written, a few parts are quite difficult, especially for anyone who is new to evolutionary theory. For that reason I would recommend Jerry Coyne's book, "Why Evolution Is True" as a companion volume for newcomers.
Phil Webster.
It is a wide-ranging book which succinctly covers all the key issues relating to evolution, but I would particularly like to draw attention to two aspects of Mayr's approach.
Firstly, he shows that Darwinian evolutionary theory actually consists of several distinct strands. For example, after the publication of Darwin's "On the Origin of Species", the idea of the common descent of all living creatures ("the tree of life") became widely accepted relatively quickly, whereas the mechanism of evolutionary change - natural selection - took much longer to gain widespread support, even amongst scientists.
Similarly, Mayr shows that evolution over time within one species and the branching off of a new species from an existing one (speciation) are two distinct but related processes. (Mayr himself played a central role in developing a fuller understanding of the speciation process.)
The second important aspect of Mayr's approach is his criticism of the fact that "most treatments of evolution are written in a reductionist manner in which all evolutionary phenomena are reduced to the level of the gene". This is directed against those like Richard Dawkins who see the gene as being the target of natural selection. Mayr shows that natural selection cannot "see" individual genes and that it is the organism as a whole which is the target of selection. It is the organism that lives or dies and succeeds or fails in reproducing, not the individual gene.
This last point has been reinforced by the fact that we now know that one gene can affect several different parts of an organism or its behaviour, and that several genes often interact with each other to produce one characteristic.
I strongly recommend this book. But I must point out that, although it is largely very clearly written, a few parts are quite difficult, especially for anyone who is new to evolutionary theory. For that reason I would recommend Jerry Coyne's book, "Why Evolution Is True" as a companion volume for newcomers.
Phil Webster.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
1 review
Very in-depth, a little too much for the novice
27 Mar 2007
Format:Paperback
I thought this was a great book for someone who's already in the field of evolutionary biology or even physical anthropology. It's a bit too much to pick up without knowing anything about evolutionary theory, and although it's supposed to be for a layman, he relies on quite a lot of technical talk. Otherwise, this is an excellent resource for anyone who wants to know about many of the scientific discoveries in evolution, and it will bring the reader up to speed on the current state of the science. Ernst Mayr is an unparalleled authority, and well worth reading.
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