Genetics and the Origin of Species 3rd Ed

by Theodosius Dobzhansky

Featuring an introduction by Stephen Jay Gould, Genetics and the Origin of Species presents the first edition of Dobzhansky's groundbreaking and now classic inquiry into what has emerged as the most important single area of scientific inquiry in the twentieth century: biological theory of evolution.

Genres: Science, Biology, Evolution, Genetics, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 1937

About the author

Theodosius Grygorovych Dobzhansky (Ukrainian: Теодо́сій Григо́рович Добжа́нський; Russian: Феодо́сий Григо́рьевич Добржа́нский) , Ph.D. (University of Leningrad, 1927; B.S., Biology, University of Kiev, 1921), was a prominent geneticist and evolutionary biologist, one of the central figures in modern evolutionary synthesis; his major work concerning the latter is "Genetics and the Origin of Species", published in 1937. He emigrated to the USA in 1927 on a scholarship from the Rockefeller Foundation.

Dobzhansky was the recipient of the National Medal of Science in 1964 and the Franklin Medal in 1973.

Reviews

[Forked Radish]

Quotations:
Chap. I. Organic Diversity
Chap. II. Gene Mutation
"The cause of individual variation is twofold. The genetic constitution of an individual, its genotype, determines its reaction to the environment; the appearance or phenotype is the resultant of the interaction of the genotype and the environment." p. 15
“The genotype possesses tremendous self-regulatory powers, and can withstand unchanged the impact of most environmental agencies. Heredity is essentially a conservative force. Evolution is possible only because heredity is counteracted by another force, namely, mutation.” p. 16
“The existence of mutation is in itself no conclusive evidence that evolution is caused by it.” p. 38
Chap. III. Mutation as a Basis for Racial and Specific Differences
Chap. IV. Chromosomal Changes
Chap. V. Variation in Natural Populations
Chap. VI. Selection
Chap. VII. Polyploidy
Chap. VIII. Isolating Mechanisms
Chap. IX. Hybrid Sterility
Chap. X. Species as Natural Units

Note: I recommend reading the original 1937 edition. The later editions (1941 & 1951) have been eviscerated by revision.

[Bernie_dunham · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is part of the Columbia Classics in Evolution Series edited by Niles Eldredge and Stephen Jay Gould (Gould writes the introduction). Eldredge was the curator of invertebrates at the American Museum of Natural History in New York (one of my favorite family outings). Along with Gould, Eldredge developed the theory of punctuated equilibrium. Dobzhansky is one of the founders of the Modern Synthesis which was a fussion of new research in genetics, systematics, and paleontology.