Summer Reading: Update to Required Reading

We're about half-way through summer, and maybe you are looking for something to read. I have intended to post a required reading list for evolution to add to the others on the sidebar for a long time, but have not because (i) I am lazy and (ii) I lent out one of the books and didn't get it back for a longgggg time. Maybe you've already read these books. But if you haven't they contain some of the clearest explanations of the evidence for evolution that I know of. As a bonus, it's been long enough since their publication that you can probably find them in your local library.

Why Evolution is True, by Jerry Coyne - This is the single best book on the evidence for evolution that I have seen. In 225 pages Coyne simply and clearly explains what evolution is, how it operates, and describes many of the evidences for it. Reading this book is like attending a class by a great teacher. If you read nothing else, this is the book to read.

The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution, by Richard Dawkins - This book was published soon after Coyne's book and makes references to it, so I recommend reading Coyne's book first. Both treat some of the same themes, but this book is complementary and has some material not covered in Coyne's book. It is worth reading in its own right, and I think of it as a companion volume. If Coyne's book is like attending a class, this book is like having the professor to your house for a more intimate discussion in your living room.

Both Dawkins and Coyne are famous for their vocal atheism. However, you won't find strident criticism of religion in these books. It would be impossible for these books not to discuss some religious beliefs because they provide contrasting ideas--still widely held--that bear on interpretation of the evidence. But as Dawkins put it, "This is a book about the positive evidence that evolution is a fact. It is not intended as an anti-religious book. I've done that, it's another T-shirt, this is not the place to wear it again [p. 6]."

Relics of Eden: The Powerful Evidence of Evolution in Human DNA, by Daniel J. Fairbanks - I am not aware of another popular book that tackles the evidence for evolution found in DNA as in detail as this one. Fairbanks is a geneticist formerly at Brigham Young University and now at Utah Valley University. (For my summary of the book, see here.) The purpose of the book is is "to present just a fraction, but a very compelling fraction, of the DNA-based evidence of evolution. I have chosen to focus on human evolution because some people are willing to accept the idea that other species have evolved but draw the line with humans, usually for religious reasons."

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