Re: Survey of Evolutionary Theory Text

> I'm wondering if anyone could recommend a current college-level text
> that could serve as a primer on the current state of evolutionary
> theory?  Thanks.

It is very difficult to find a text that covers the full breadth of
evolutionary theory and evidence. Below are two excellent and
accessible books that give a good perspective on two aspects of
evolution -- evolutionary processes in living populations and the
fossil record of major adaptive shifts.
        Weiner, Jonathan, 1994, The Beak of the Finch, Vintage Books.  An
excellent and very entertaining account of the many years of research
on the evolution of the finches of the Galapagos Islands, as well as
other examples of detailed field work on the evolution of living animal
populations.  Gives some feelng for the extraordinary amount of
detailed work required to test evolutionary hypotheses in the field,
and the tremendous dedication of the scientists involved.
        Zimmer, Carl, 1998, At the Water's Edge, Touchstone.  An thorough and
interesting account of some of the most exciting fossil discoveries of
the past decade -- the walking whales and the first tetrapods.  Shows
examples of fossil transitions between classes.

Keith

Keith B. Miller
Research Assistant Professor
Dept of Geology, Kansas State University
Manhattan, KS 66506-3201
785-532-2250
http://www-personal.ksu.edu/~kbmill/
Received on Fri Jan 6 23:40:05 2006