The Essential Darwin

Beginning with brief essays which place Darwin's revolutionary thought against the backdrop of previous evolutionary theories, this book also includes excerpts from Darwin's most important published works

Science & Math

RIDLEY, MARK

Biological Sciences

HarperCollins, Publishers

Ridley identifies the key problems with Darwin's theory and looks at some of the answers that have been offered, giving the rival merits of the different theories. He also shows that recent controversial ideas, said to spell the death of Darwinism, are not as revolutionary as they seem, and that Darwinism is flexible enough to withstand reappraisal and adaptation.

The Problems of Evolution

Oxford University Press

This book sets out to do for evolution what Bertrand Russell's The Problems of Philosophy did for that subject. Its authors is a leading evolutionary biologist, and unlike many popular books on evolution, it isn't written to prove a particular theory. Instead it reviews the key problems and the main answers to them, in a balanced account which is also authoritative. It will be an invaluable guide to all students of biology, but the clarity of the arguments and the level of writing make it an excellent introduction for general readers as well. Among the concepts and controversies discussed are the nature of heredity, evolution, natural selection, and the existences of species.

Evolution

This anthology contains extracts from more than 60 scientific papers, by authors such as Stephen Jay Gould, Richard Dawkins, Francis Crick and Jacques Monod. It starts with Charles Darwin, but concentrates on modern research, including genomics. The extracts are organized in sections, enabling the reader to sample a range of views on each topic, and have been chosen for their readability as well as their scientific importance.

Evolution (Oxford Readers)

Why isn't life all simple - simple replicating molecules or simple single cells? Why are there multimillion-celled, long-lived monsters like us, built from tens of thousands of cooperating genes? The existence of complex life is one of the great mysteries of evolution, for complexity is neither inevitable nor necessary. As Mark Ridley shows in this important and thought-provoking book, two major biological hurdles had to be overcome to allow living complexity to evolve. Complex life is constructed from more genes than simple life. But as gene numbers increase, so too do the number of copying errors - it is easier to make a mistake copying the Bible than copying an advertising slogan. Similarly, natural selection encourages gene selfishness, and genes could easily evolve to subvert complex life forms. In retracing the history of life on our planet - from the initial wobbly replicating molecules, through microbes, worms and flies and ultimately to humans - Ridley reveals how life has evolved as a series of steps to deal with error and coerce genes to cooperate within each body. It is a process he likens to the guiding hand of a benign demon enforcing Mendel's fundamental laws of inheritance.

Mendel's Demon: Gene Justice and the Complexity of Life

Religion & Spirituality

New Age & Spirituality

Weidenfeld Nicolson Ltd

Intent on letting the reader experience the pleasure and intellectual stimulation in reading classic authors, the How to Read series will facilitate and enrich your understanding of texts vital to the canon. Charles Darwin’s permanent legacy is his broad, abstract theories of evolution and natural selection, theories that he tested against an astonishing array of natural history evidence in his writing. Mark Ridley uses a question-and-answer approach to explain how Darwin carefully tackled problems, and shows here how the reader can understand Darwin’s arguments by first working out which question Darwin had implicitly set himself to answer. Ridley concentrates on understanding Darwin’s most important books, On the Origin of Species and The Descent of Man, but he also examines a sample from one of Darwin’s other works on the emotions, as one representative from Darwin’s lesser-known works that ranged from flower pollination to coral reefs, from animal domestication to landscaping by earthworms.

How to Read Darwin

Reference

W.W.Norton&Company

Evolution and Classification: The Reformation of Cladism

Longman Sc & Tech

Animal Behaviour: A Concise Introduction

Blackwell Science Inc.

Advances in evolutionary biology have been made from an array of disciplines - molecular biology, quantitative genetics, population biology, behavioural ecology, phylogenetics, developmental biology and palaeobiology. This book presents an account of evolution, giving insight into the ways in which science progresses. The development of ideas is discussed alongside the studies in which these ideas are tested. Divided into four parts, the book considers microevolution, adaptation, the origins of diversity and macroevolution. Aimed at second- and third-year undergraduate students of evolutionary biology, the text uses statements as headings to reinforces main points.

Blackwell

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Books by RIDLEY, MARK

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by RIDLEY, MARK. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Essential Darwin

The Essential Darwin

The Problems of Evolution

The Problems of Evolution

Evolution (Oxford Readers)

Mendel's Demon: Gene Justice and the Complexity of Life

How to Read Darwin

Evolution and Classification: The Reformation of Cladism

Animal Behaviour: A Concise Introduction

Evolution