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Chapter 3 (especially p. 65-66) contains some information on Creationism which should have been omitted. Including a treatment of this issue, in an otherwise scholarly textbook, seems strange. I don't imagine that any Medical textbooks would feature a section on witchdoctors or quackery.
Several of the areas that were added or expanded from the first edition need further expansion to make the book more comprehensive and balanced. These include more human examples (including a thorough discussion of homo sapien ancestry) and much more information on the fossil record--one chapter, of under twenty pages, on the topic isn't sufficient. It is too apparent that a biologist--rather than a paleontologist--is the author. Likewise, examples from the animal kingdom are used far more than the plant kingdom. The detail provided in Part 2 may be too cumbersome and technical for most readers. College-level genetic students should find the material covered in this section useful though.
Following each chapter, Ridley includes a "Further Reading" section which is excellent. The papers and books referenced are annotated so readers can pursue just those areas that best fit their needs and reading level (technical vs. general). References include 25 pages (in double column format) of works--most from the 1980s and 1990s.
Although not aimed specifically at a general audience, much of this textbook will be appreciated by most people. Even those wishing not to read such a lengthy discourse on the subject will find it to be a valuable reference and resource.
Included with the textbook is a fairly well done CD-ROM which features virtual experiments you can try yourself using evolutionary directional selection, genetic drift, gene frequency, mutational load, and sexual reproduction. Don't like the results you receive in your virtual world? Play God and try again. The CD-ROM also includes a fairly comprehensive timeline of the history of life on earth which includes animations, examples, and pictures galore. Twenty 'classic' texts on evolution are bundled with the package too. These include works by Carson, Darwin, Ehrlich, Gould, Kimura, Wright, and others. The texts can be printed. (It would be nice if in a future edition they could be read and searched online too.) Finally, a lengthy glossary is included in the software which clearly describes the terms used in the book. This glossary, too, features images for illustration and clarification.
From Booknews:
An unusually interesting introductory (but by no means unsophisticated) textbook in modern evolutionary biology. For each
topic, the account begins at an introductory level and moves on to the cutting edge of modern research.
From the Publisher:
The theory of evolution is, by far, the most important theory in
biology. The first edition of Evolution represented one of the
most important new texts for the undergraduate market in recent
years. Readable and stimulating, yet well-balanced and in-depth,
the text provided the "breath of fresh air" that was missing from
other texts on the subject.
Mark Ridley's Evolution CD-ROM features all the topics covered in his best-selling textbook Evolution - significantly enhanced by video clips, animations, virtual experiments, colour photographs and more! Designed to be used for both browsing and self instruction, the CD contains a mini encyclopedia, a selection of classic papers and 23 interactive tutorials that follow the chapter headings in the book.
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