What do you think?
Rate this book
Evolution For Dummies
Today, most colleges and universities offer evolutionary study as part of their biology curriculums. Evolution For Dummies will track a class in which evolution is taught and give an objective scientific view of the subject. This balanced guide explores the history and future of evolution, explaining the concepts and science behind it, offering case studies that support it, and comparing evolution with rival theories of creation, such as intelligent design. It also will identify the signs of evolution in the world around us and explain how this theory affects our everyday lives and the future to come.
387 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 24, 2008
19 people are currently reading
440 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
September 30, 2011
Evolution for Dummies by Greg Krukonis and Tracy Barr
"Evolution for Dummies" is the surprisingly very thorough and accessible book about evolution. This 362-page book is broken out in four major parts: Part I: What Evolution Is; Part II. How Evolution Works, Part III. What Evolution Does, and Part IV. The Part of Tens.
Positives:
1. A well written, accessible yet thorough account of what evolution is and how it works.
2. A very informative, educational book that concentrates on the science and not on the "so-called" controversy and even with a touch of humor.
3. An ambitious book that covers so much territory and does so very well.
4. Having read a number of books on evolution (see my reviews) I was pleasantly surprised to learn so much from this one.
5. The Dummies series is known for its great and familiar format. A number of very good illustrations and comprehensive charts that add value.
6. Does an excellent job of explaining basic terms of evolution and by doing so really helped me digest better what I've learned from other better known books.
7. Genetics for the rest of us.
8. The difference between micro and macro evolution.
9. Natural selection in its entire splendor.
10. What survival of the fittest truly is.
11. The impact of chance.
12. So much wisdom throughout this book, who knew? "Many people think that the key to protecting endangered species is to conserve the maximum number of individuals possible. But understanding evolutionary biology and the patterns of variation present in natural populations helps us recognize that the real key is conserving genetic variability".
13. Evolution and the medical profession.
14. What science is and isn't.
15. Mutations, how they occur and their significance.
16. The impact of fossils to the theory of evolution.
17. Great examples of transitional life forms.
18. So what is the key to differentiating species? Find out...
19. How we can determine the historical relationships among species...interesting stuff.
20. Two kinds of variation: phenotypes and genotypes. "Natural selection acts only on phenotypes".
21. The impact of "genetic drift".
22. What Darwin knew versus what he didn't know and why.
23. The fascinating topic of speciation.
24. Life histories.
25. Many great examples of scientific work that have contributed to understanding evolution.
26. Group selection and how it works.
27. One of the most curious examples of reciprocal altruism.
28. Sexual selection and its two components. A number of great examples.
29. What science doesn't know about evolution.
30. Find out the most important addition to the theory of evolution since Darwin.
31. The fascinating topic of human evolution and how we know the things we know.
32. The fascinating world of viruses and bacteria.
33. I finally understand HIV.
34. A very interesting look at influenzas and how we use evolution to keep our vaccines safe.
35. Dinosaurs!
36. Some interesting look at animals that evolved from land animals.
37. A great closing chapter titled "Ten Arguments against Evolution and Why They're Wrong".
Negatives:
1. The wonderful format of the book does not translate as well on the Kindle.
2. No links or references.
3. No bibliography. Further reading section is really more pub for other books in the now apparent excellent Dummies series.
4. Requires an investment of time but so well worth it!
In summary, I will never underestimate a book from the Dummies series ever again. This book is a pleasant surprise and does a wonderful job of educating the reader on the topic of evolution. I'm most impressed at how thorough this book is with regards to the number of topics of evolution it covers. Furthermore, the book's format is conducive for future reference. Finally, it handles evolution in its proper perspective that is with regards to science. I highly recommend this book for all evolution lovers and seekers of knowledge of all levels.
Recommendations (all books reviewed on Amazon): "Your Inner Fish..." by Neil Shubin, "The Making of the Fittest" by Sean B. Carroll, "What Evolution Is" by Ernst Mayr, "Life Ascending: The Ten Great Inventions of Evolution" by Nick Lane, "Written in Stone" by Brian Switek, " Evolution: The Triumph of an Idea" by Carl Zimmer, "Why Evolution Works" by Matt Young, "Why Darwin Matters" by Michael Shermer, "Only a Theory" by Kenneth R. Miller, "The Greatest Show on Earth" by Richard Dawkins and my favorite book for the masses, "Why Evolution Is True" by Jerry A. Coyne.
"Evolution for Dummies" is the surprisingly very thorough and accessible book about evolution. This 362-page book is broken out in four major parts: Part I: What Evolution Is; Part II. How Evolution Works, Part III. What Evolution Does, and Part IV. The Part of Tens.
Positives:
1. A well written, accessible yet thorough account of what evolution is and how it works.
2. A very informative, educational book that concentrates on the science and not on the "so-called" controversy and even with a touch of humor.
3. An ambitious book that covers so much territory and does so very well.
4. Having read a number of books on evolution (see my reviews) I was pleasantly surprised to learn so much from this one.
5. The Dummies series is known for its great and familiar format. A number of very good illustrations and comprehensive charts that add value.
6. Does an excellent job of explaining basic terms of evolution and by doing so really helped me digest better what I've learned from other better known books.
7. Genetics for the rest of us.
8. The difference between micro and macro evolution.
9. Natural selection in its entire splendor.
10. What survival of the fittest truly is.
11. The impact of chance.
12. So much wisdom throughout this book, who knew? "Many people think that the key to protecting endangered species is to conserve the maximum number of individuals possible. But understanding evolutionary biology and the patterns of variation present in natural populations helps us recognize that the real key is conserving genetic variability".
13. Evolution and the medical profession.
14. What science is and isn't.
15. Mutations, how they occur and their significance.
16. The impact of fossils to the theory of evolution.
17. Great examples of transitional life forms.
18. So what is the key to differentiating species? Find out...
19. How we can determine the historical relationships among species...interesting stuff.
20. Two kinds of variation: phenotypes and genotypes. "Natural selection acts only on phenotypes".
21. The impact of "genetic drift".
22. What Darwin knew versus what he didn't know and why.
23. The fascinating topic of speciation.
24. Life histories.
25. Many great examples of scientific work that have contributed to understanding evolution.
26. Group selection and how it works.
27. One of the most curious examples of reciprocal altruism.
28. Sexual selection and its two components. A number of great examples.
29. What science doesn't know about evolution.
30. Find out the most important addition to the theory of evolution since Darwin.
31. The fascinating topic of human evolution and how we know the things we know.
32. The fascinating world of viruses and bacteria.
33. I finally understand HIV.
34. A very interesting look at influenzas and how we use evolution to keep our vaccines safe.
35. Dinosaurs!
36. Some interesting look at animals that evolved from land animals.
37. A great closing chapter titled "Ten Arguments against Evolution and Why They're Wrong".
Negatives:
1. The wonderful format of the book does not translate as well on the Kindle.
2. No links or references.
3. No bibliography. Further reading section is really more pub for other books in the now apparent excellent Dummies series.
4. Requires an investment of time but so well worth it!
In summary, I will never underestimate a book from the Dummies series ever again. This book is a pleasant surprise and does a wonderful job of educating the reader on the topic of evolution. I'm most impressed at how thorough this book is with regards to the number of topics of evolution it covers. Furthermore, the book's format is conducive for future reference. Finally, it handles evolution in its proper perspective that is with regards to science. I highly recommend this book for all evolution lovers and seekers of knowledge of all levels.
Recommendations (all books reviewed on Amazon): "Your Inner Fish..." by Neil Shubin, "The Making of the Fittest" by Sean B. Carroll, "What Evolution Is" by Ernst Mayr, "Life Ascending: The Ten Great Inventions of Evolution" by Nick Lane, "Written in Stone" by Brian Switek, " Evolution: The Triumph of an Idea" by Carl Zimmer, "Why Evolution Works" by Matt Young, "Why Darwin Matters" by Michael Shermer, "Only a Theory" by Kenneth R. Miller, "The Greatest Show on Earth" by Richard Dawkins and my favorite book for the masses, "Why Evolution Is True" by Jerry A. Coyne.
October 23, 2011
The author does an admirable job of explaining precisely how evolution works on the genetic level in a way that lay people can appreciate. I like that this was the focus rather than going through fossil records and focusing on evidence for evolution, though he does touch on these topics as well. My favorite part was the latter third of the book dealing with applications, the evolution of microbes, particular bacteria and viruses and medicine.
December 31, 2014
The information in this book was really useful. I’d been poking around the internet looking for stuff, but not really finding what I needed -- I kept thinking, “Somebody explain this to me like I’m an idiot and have never heard of it before.” I’m not an idiot, but I WAS homeschooled. We watched a lot of Bill Nye, but I was taught to say “But evolution isn't true” extremely loudly any time he mentioned it, so I never actually learned anything. I needed to start from the ground up, but I needed more details than little kids’ books could provide. This book filled the gap.
From a technical standpoint, the Dummies books are a bit cheap, and this one is no exception. It really could've used some another pass through copyediting. During one discussion of flowers the word is rendered “flour” not once but twice, and “organism” is transformed into “organization” just a few paragraphs later. The typos continue throughout the book. That kind of thing is really unprofessional and is especially harmful when the issue is controversial.
On the whole, I feel like this does a good job of updating a person on basic knowledge.
From a technical standpoint, the Dummies books are a bit cheap, and this one is no exception. It really could've used some another pass through copyediting. During one discussion of flowers the word is rendered “flour” not once but twice, and “organism” is transformed into “organization” just a few paragraphs later. The typos continue throughout the book. That kind of thing is really unprofessional and is especially harmful when the issue is controversial.
On the whole, I feel like this does a good job of updating a person on basic knowledge.
May 30, 2017
I have always wanted to read about evolution, but I kept delaying it because I was always afraid that it was going to be a delicate subject ( I've had problems with biology before), but on the contrary I was struck that the subject is not really that complicated, plus it's really intriguing.
This theory is maybe the most controversial scientific theory ever and the one that is facing most of resistance and that is just too sad because frankly it's one of the most beautiful scientific theories I've ever read about.
Greg Krukonis has done a great gob in this book explaining the theory in a simple way.
I think that reading about this theory should be a must for any one, because it explains so many things and eloquently.
You can not understand the diversity of life and the story of human kind without studying this theory that is so simple that Thomas Huxley famously said after reading for Darwin "how stupid not to have thought about it before" and he's right, I mean it makes so much sense that we should have thought about it before but only Darwin did, and that is Darwin's genius.
This theory is maybe the most controversial scientific theory ever and the one that is facing most of resistance and that is just too sad because frankly it's one of the most beautiful scientific theories I've ever read about.
Greg Krukonis has done a great gob in this book explaining the theory in a simple way.
I think that reading about this theory should be a must for any one, because it explains so many things and eloquently.
You can not understand the diversity of life and the story of human kind without studying this theory that is so simple that Thomas Huxley famously said after reading for Darwin "how stupid not to have thought about it before" and he's right, I mean it makes so much sense that we should have thought about it before but only Darwin did, and that is Darwin's genius.
November 1, 2015
I thought this book was engaging and appropriately dumbed-down but it spent way too much time on the ways viruses evolve and change and almost NO TIME on the concepts of human evolution, dinosaurs, or fossils. So I was a little disappointed.
February 4, 2016
Overall, this offers fairly good coverage of evolutionary biology. Unfortunately it is somewhat disappointing in several ways which could and should have been improved by editing and peer-review. That he gets several things wrong and muddled reduces my level of trust in the author and makes me also question whether he has got other things muddled which I've missed.
* The fossil record is not currently as sparse as he claims.
* Gould and Lewontin's idea of a "spandrel" is given hagiographic prominence, yet no potential examples of "spandrels" are given. I suggest this is probably because the idea of "spandrels" exists solely in Gould and Lewontin's mushy Marxist brains and is probably the most overrated idea in evolutionary biology.
* The example of group selection is inadequately explained, and the author apparently fails to consider that just because group selection can be artificially created in the lab, that similar situations would actually occur with any regularity in the wild.
* The section on mutations doesn't mention gene duplication as a very important mechanism.
Finally, there is no references/further reading section (despite specific studies being referenced in the book).
* The fossil record is not currently as sparse as he claims.
* Gould and Lewontin's idea of a "spandrel" is given hagiographic prominence, yet no potential examples of "spandrels" are given. I suggest this is probably because the idea of "spandrels" exists solely in Gould and Lewontin's mushy Marxist brains and is probably the most overrated idea in evolutionary biology.
* The example of group selection is inadequately explained, and the author apparently fails to consider that just because group selection can be artificially created in the lab, that similar situations would actually occur with any regularity in the wild.
* The section on mutations doesn't mention gene duplication as a very important mechanism.
Finally, there is no references/further reading section (despite specific studies being referenced in the book).
September 4, 2012
An excellent book for starters. It's written for the layperson & easy to understand. The theory is pretty straight forward, the only the part that may prove somewhat difficult is understanding a little about genetics but it's not so difficult that it can not be understood after taking the time to think about it. The evidence for it overwhelming & understanding it for what it is, if one doesn't think it's true or supported they likely don't know much about it. For those that want to attach intelligent design on top of it via ad hoc, the gradual process that includes but is NOT made entirely of random factors, reduces so-called intelligent design to trial & error & leads to colossal amounts of waste considering most species that were once alive no longer were. Understanding how species change, viruses change & by extension of understanding viruses how vaccines & medicine in general works I don't see any reason to really dispute it. Very good book & very informative. I would recommend it to everyone. Belief has nothing to do with it, the facts are all around us in our everyday lives, from the food we eat, to the medicine we take, to the animals we see, to our own family. Good read.
Want to read
July 28, 2008I borrowed this from the library first and thought it looked good. I bought it after reading the reviews at Amazon, and now need to actually read the book to plan an evolution unit (as much of a unit as we get in unstructured semi-unschooling) for the kids.
July 11, 2012
excelent book about evolution. Take a complete look in all the issues related to the Evolution of Species from Darwin and his big ideas to the recent genetic descoveries. I RECOMMEND
November 3, 2014
Was great at explaining a complex concept in an easy to understand form. Also was written well and never felt boring like many textbooks.
October 2, 2008
This book is a gem. It's a great first introduction to evolution, including its genetic basis.
March 28, 2017
I used this book to find simple explanations and examples of evolutionary principles to use in a lecture presented to first year students. It worked well, the book's explanations are easy to understand.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews