|
In What Evolution Is, Ernst Mayr, the biologist largely
responsible for shaping the modern synthesis of genetic and evolutionary theory,
presents a spirited defense of Darwinian explanations of biology and an elegant
primer on evolution for the general reader. In simple, accessible prose, Mayr
explains contemporary models of evolution for those who accept evolutionary thinking
but do not know exactly how it works, and those who accept evolution but are not
sure the Darwinian explanation is correct. As the latest word on the state of
evolutionary biology, What Evolution Is will be invaluable even to those
who, as Mayr writes "simply want to know more about the current paradigm
of evolutionary science if for no other reason than to be better able to argue
against it." With rare clarity, Mayr poses the questions
at the heart of evolution -- What is the evidence for evolution on earth? What
is the origin and role of organic diversity? -- and describes in refreshingly
nontechnical language how the search for answers has over the years revealed solutions
to the most challenging problems posed by evolutionary theory. He confronts the
reductionist approach that tries to reduce all evolutionary phenomena to the level
of the gene, showing how evolution must focus on the two critical units: the individual
and populations. In a provocative final section, Mayr considers how our improved
understanding of evolution has affected the viewpoints and values of modern man. Ernst
Mayr has been hailed as "one of the great shining figures of evolutionary
biology" (John Maynard Smith) and "the Darwin of the 20th century"
(New York Times). He is Professor Emeritus in the Museum of Comparative
Zoology at Harvard University. He began his career studying the evolution of Pacific
Island birds in the early 90s and served as Curator of the Whitney-Rothschild
Collection at the American Museum of Natural History in New York for more than
twenty years. He is the author of over a dozen books, including This Is Biology
(1997), The Growth of Biological Thought (1982) and two classics in the
field, Systematics and the Origins of Species (1942) and Animal Species
and Evolution (1963). He lives in the Boston area. |
