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Unnatural Selection
A lavishly illustrated look at how evolution plays out in selective breeding
Unnatural Selection is a stunningly illustrated book about selective breeding―the ongoing transformation of animals at the hand of man. More important, it's a book about selective breeding on a far, far grander scale―a scale that encompasses all life on Earth. We'd call it evolution.
A unique fusion of art, science, and history, this book celebrates the 150th anniversary of Charles Darwin's monumental work The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication , and is intended as a tribute to what Darwin might have achieved had he possessed that elusive missing piece to the evolutionary puzzle―the knowledge of how individual traits are passed from one generation to the next. With the benefit of a century and a half of hindsight, Katrina van Grouw explains evolution by building on the analogy that Darwin himself used―comparing the selective breeding process with natural selection in the wild, and, like Darwin, featuring a multitude of fascinating examples.
This is more than just a book about pets and livestock, however. The revelation of Unnatural Selection is that identical traits can occur in all animals, wild and domesticated, and both are governed by the same evolutionary principles. As van Grouw shows, animals are plastic things, constantly changing. In wild animals, the changes are usually too slow to see―species appear to stay the same. When it comes to domesticated animals, however, change happens fast, making them the perfect model of evolution in action.
Suitable for the lay reader and student, as well as the more seasoned biologist, and featuring more than four hundred breathtaking illustrations of living animals, skeletons, and historical specimens, Unnatural Selection will be enjoyed by anyone with an interest in natural history and the history of evolutionary thinking.
Unnatural Selection is a stunningly illustrated book about selective breeding―the ongoing transformation of animals at the hand of man. More important, it's a book about selective breeding on a far, far grander scale―a scale that encompasses all life on Earth. We'd call it evolution.
A unique fusion of art, science, and history, this book celebrates the 150th anniversary of Charles Darwin's monumental work The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication , and is intended as a tribute to what Darwin might have achieved had he possessed that elusive missing piece to the evolutionary puzzle―the knowledge of how individual traits are passed from one generation to the next. With the benefit of a century and a half of hindsight, Katrina van Grouw explains evolution by building on the analogy that Darwin himself used―comparing the selective breeding process with natural selection in the wild, and, like Darwin, featuring a multitude of fascinating examples.
This is more than just a book about pets and livestock, however. The revelation of Unnatural Selection is that identical traits can occur in all animals, wild and domesticated, and both are governed by the same evolutionary principles. As van Grouw shows, animals are plastic things, constantly changing. In wild animals, the changes are usually too slow to see―species appear to stay the same. When it comes to domesticated animals, however, change happens fast, making them the perfect model of evolution in action.
Suitable for the lay reader and student, as well as the more seasoned biologist, and featuring more than four hundred breathtaking illustrations of living animals, skeletons, and historical specimens, Unnatural Selection will be enjoyed by anyone with an interest in natural history and the history of evolutionary thinking.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 2018
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418 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 17, 2023
The best new book I've purchased this year, & it definitely merits an in-depth review. If you have any interest in Natural History art, evolutionary biology, or gorgeous pencil & charcoal artwork demonstrating the way domestication has changed the animals we love & devour - and what this shows us about the genetic mechanisms of evolution - buy this book. Fascinating, beautiful. It's a full-size, 10 x 12-inch, 300-page monograph, with Van Grouw's eerily animated skeletons marching across every page.
October 17, 2022
This combines several of my interests: evolutionary development, drawing, skeletons, and more recently pigeons (they show up in a book I was writing.) It is the only book I have ever read about animal breeding. The "unnatural" in the title refers to human selection of animals to breed, the kind of selection that inspired Darwin to invent a theory of natural (non-human guided) selection. It's all about what kinds of features can be selected for, how the features come about, and why certain features go together. Ever notice how some animals have white noses, ears, tails, and feet, but nowhere else? It's because the temperature of these areas is just a little lower as the hair is coming in when they are young. That's the kind of thing you find on every page. There's also a little bit of the illicit thrill of the freak-show, since it is all about mutations. It does meander a bit-- like reading National Geographic, you're never really sure what the overall point being made is.
The real attraction of the book is the drawings, though. She has illustrated her points with lifelike drawings of feathers, claws, beaks, but especially skeletons. The skeletons are posed as they would be in life. There's something I've always found beautiful about skeletons, the way the bones curve so gracefully and fit together so smoothly; the repeated but varying vertebrae; the complex patterns in the nasal passages and skull joints; the way their whiteness turns them into pure form. The drawings emphasize how the shapes of different breeds are morphologically related.
The real attraction of the book is the drawings, though. She has illustrated her points with lifelike drawings of feathers, claws, beaks, but especially skeletons. The skeletons are posed as they would be in life. There's something I've always found beautiful about skeletons, the way the bones curve so gracefully and fit together so smoothly; the repeated but varying vertebrae; the complex patterns in the nasal passages and skull joints; the way their whiteness turns them into pure form. The drawings emphasize how the shapes of different breeds are morphologically related.
August 16, 2021
Van Grouw returns to Princeton with another magnificently illustrated book, honouring Darwin's legacy of looking at what domestic animals breeds can tell us about evolution. See my full review at https://inquisitivebiologist.com/2018...
February 12, 2023
Fascinating look at the genetics of domestic animals and how humans have changed their skeletons, colors, sizes, horns and feathers. Gorgeous illustrations.
August 24, 2021
Unnatural Selection combines evolutionary biology, genetics, scientific art and some history in a single package that manages to gracefully pull off what a popular science book should really be. A wide variety of subjects are touched upon, without losing the sight of the central theme, in a manner that is easily accessible for someone without deep knowledge in any of the subjects. At the same time the book is never shallow or sensational. Furthermore, the text present some (for me, at least) novel thoughts on evolution in relation to selective breeding of animals in addition to all the new knowledge about inheritance, mutations and perhaps most importantly, pigeon fancying.
On the art side, it is an absolutely stunning book. The illustrations are gorgeous and the quality of the product as a whole do them justice. The book feels expensive, the paper is nice and physically speaking it is absolutely enormous.
On the art side, it is an absolutely stunning book. The illustrations are gorgeous and the quality of the product as a whole do them justice. The book feels expensive, the paper is nice and physically speaking it is absolutely enormous.
December 30, 2018
Come for the artwork, stay for the text.
A large, coffee table format book extensively illustrated with wonderful anatomical illustrations of domestic animals. What sets it apart from the usual art book is the excellent discussion of the mechanics of evolution as illustrated by domesticated animals. Its somewhat advanced, so not something you'd give to someone as a first read. Some specialty breeds are a bit mind boggling, there's a man who breeds birds for fly-fishing feathers and there are chickens with big feet for those who like to eat 'Phoenix Claws' to name but a few.
I wish there was a bit more on the art methods used to create the illustrations, searching around I found that the author did the book design as well. An excellent book in an unexpected format for the biology nerd in your life.
A large, coffee table format book extensively illustrated with wonderful anatomical illustrations of domestic animals. What sets it apart from the usual art book is the excellent discussion of the mechanics of evolution as illustrated by domesticated animals. Its somewhat advanced, so not something you'd give to someone as a first read. Some specialty breeds are a bit mind boggling, there's a man who breeds birds for fly-fishing feathers and there are chickens with big feet for those who like to eat 'Phoenix Claws' to name but a few.
I wish there was a bit more on the art methods used to create the illustrations, searching around I found that the author did the book design as well. An excellent book in an unexpected format for the biology nerd in your life.
May 2, 2019
This is a marvelous work on the idea of selective breeding, anatomy, genetics, and evolution. If you are someone who wants to have a better idea of what Darwin was saying in his works on evolution, this would be a great book to take a look through. It is a good general summary of one of the two main theses that Darwin had for how evolution would work, in that with the way that people breed animals, and how they will sometimes revert to ancestral forms, and that will often match other domestic breeds as well, is very well done. And of course, the illustrations are fantastic, and great for comparisons.
January 29, 2026
A really great, approachable overview of artificial and natural selection that also captures a lot of the nuances of modern evolutionary theory. Although Darwin also approached the subject via breeding of domestic animals, it's not an approach I've seen since; it added to the clarity and also taught me a lot about domestic breeds that I didn't know. Not to mention the gorgeous illustrations!
February 15, 2020
Picture books include like photo books and other things like that so this Does have a lot of text, which I didn't read, because apparently I only read 1/3 of the library books I borrow these days. It's like retail therapy haha.................
September 24, 2020
good book
the content on the effects and history of artificial selection are compelling. I'd also have to say that the illustrations are amazing as well. I'd buy it as an art book even if I wasn't interested in the subject matter!
the content on the effects and history of artificial selection are compelling. I'd also have to say that the illustrations are amazing as well. I'd buy it as an art book even if I wasn't interested in the subject matter!
April 14, 2019
Beautiful drawings of skulls, skeletons, feathers, claws and more illustrate the rapid changes made in domestic animals by breeders -- a look at evolution in action on a human scale. van Grouw is an artist and a biologist. This exquisite book goes shows how scientists have overlooked the most convincing demonstrations of evolution by ignoring the breeding of domestic animals. It's a beautiful book, my only quibble is the long lines of text are difficult to read easily.
March 30, 2019
Amazing artwork, weak text.
I can't say enough about the artwork, and I could certainly support buying it just for that.
But insofar as being a strong work on the subject? Not so much. The text is written at a very accessible, non-technical level, but it only scratches the surface of a fascinating, deep, and broad subject. You will learn a very little of the "what" and almost nothing at all of the "how" or "why".
I can't say enough about the artwork, and I could certainly support buying it just for that.
But insofar as being a strong work on the subject? Not so much. The text is written at a very accessible, non-technical level, but it only scratches the surface of a fascinating, deep, and broad subject. You will learn a very little of the "what" and almost nothing at all of the "how" or "why".
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews