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Evolution Talk: The Who, What, Why, and How behind the Oldest Story Ever Told
Evolution helps us understand our humble place in the rich tapestry of life. But what do we know about the theory of evolution itself? In this captivating book based on his popular podcast, Rick Coste reveals how the theory of evolution came to be and how it explains the world around us. Before Charles Darwin, other luminaries planted the seeds of the theory that would one day make him famous. Evolution Talk begins by shining a spotlight on the writers, philosophers, and scientists who cultivated the concepts and speculations that blossomed into the theory of evolution by natural selection, from Aristotle’s big ideas to a young fossil hunter named Mary Anning, whose discovery of the first ichthyosaur skeleton changed everything. After exploring the contributions of Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace, Evolution Talk investigates the very beginnings of life itself. From its genesis in a primordial pond to the endless and beautiful forms which emerged to populate our once inhospitable and barren little planet. Along the way, adaptations such as altruism, sexual selection, and the development of brains further pushed life along its amazing path to where it is today. Finally, Coste concludes by taking a step back to ask questions about how we as humans fit in, such as “Are we unique?” and “Are we still evolving?” Breaking down complex concepts with easy-to-follow language and engaging examples, Evolution Talk will educate and entertain any reader looking to learn more about the greatest idea ever.
241 pages, Paperback
Published October 15, 2022
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80 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 23, 2022
The theory of evolution is a good candidate for humanity’s greatest idea simply due to the range of things it can explain—including humanity’s discovery of the idea of evolution itself. Evolution can not only explain the diversity of all life, but it can also explain the development of technology, ideas, morality, culture, and more. Evolutionary explanations are even at the root of our own psychology.
It’s therefore in everyone’s best interest to understand not only how evolution works, but also how humanity came to discover it. And that’s what this book can provide: an easy-to-understand and entertaining tour through the development of the idea and its ability to explain the major evolutionary transitions of life.
The first part of the book covers the development of the idea itself. While many thinkers before Darwin had hit upon the idea of evolution, they didn’t necessarily hit upon Darwinian evolution. Early evolutionary thinkers made various mistakes, such as (1) assuming evolution required divine guidance or ultimate purpose; (2) relying on Lamarckian “use and disuse” theories that get things exactly backwards; (3) denying that all life evolved from a single common ancestor, or that species could evolve into other species given millions or billions of years to do so; and (4) assuming that humanity is the ultimate culmination of the evolutionary process.
Coste does a phenomenal job of explaining this intellectual history, although Anaximander, who was perhaps the first thinker in human history to propose the idea of evolution, is curiously absent from the account. Aristotle, who didn’t even propose an evolutionary explanation of life, is instead included.
In terms of the development of the theory, what was most interesting to me is that Erasmus Darwin, Charles Darwin’s grandfather, himself had touched upon the idea of a single common ancestor. Erasmus wrote:
“Would it be too bold to imagine, that in the great length of time, since the earth began to exist, perhaps millions of ages before the commencement of the history of mankind, would it be too bold to imagine, that all warm-blooded animals have arisen from one living filament?”
Darwin ultimately fleshed out the idea and collected the evidence, but he wasn’t even the first thinker in his own family to contemplate the idea of evolution. I imagine that many people are not aware of this, and this book will show you just how close other thinkers were to hitting on the idea of natural selection.
The remainder of the book, while interesting, is not quite as powerful as the first part. Coste seems more comfortable covering intellectual history than the science itself. While there’s nothing objectionable in the book, his coverage of the science and the major evolutionary transitions will appear a bit superficial to anyone who is familiar with the works of evolutionary biologists like Richard Dawkins.
My only other complaint is that Coste could have done a better job explaining the evidence for evolution, or even devoting an entire section of the book to it. Coste really just explains the development of the idea and then the development of life without addressing all of the reasons why Darwinian evolution is as much a fact as Newton’s theories of motion and gravity.
Overall, if you’re looking for a quick primer on evolution and how we came to understand it, you’d be hard pressed to find a more readable account. Although if you’d like something a little more in-depth, I’d recommend any of the books by Richard Dawkins, Jerry Coyne, or Neil Shubin.
It’s therefore in everyone’s best interest to understand not only how evolution works, but also how humanity came to discover it. And that’s what this book can provide: an easy-to-understand and entertaining tour through the development of the idea and its ability to explain the major evolutionary transitions of life.
The first part of the book covers the development of the idea itself. While many thinkers before Darwin had hit upon the idea of evolution, they didn’t necessarily hit upon Darwinian evolution. Early evolutionary thinkers made various mistakes, such as (1) assuming evolution required divine guidance or ultimate purpose; (2) relying on Lamarckian “use and disuse” theories that get things exactly backwards; (3) denying that all life evolved from a single common ancestor, or that species could evolve into other species given millions or billions of years to do so; and (4) assuming that humanity is the ultimate culmination of the evolutionary process.
Coste does a phenomenal job of explaining this intellectual history, although Anaximander, who was perhaps the first thinker in human history to propose the idea of evolution, is curiously absent from the account. Aristotle, who didn’t even propose an evolutionary explanation of life, is instead included.
In terms of the development of the theory, what was most interesting to me is that Erasmus Darwin, Charles Darwin’s grandfather, himself had touched upon the idea of a single common ancestor. Erasmus wrote:
“Would it be too bold to imagine, that in the great length of time, since the earth began to exist, perhaps millions of ages before the commencement of the history of mankind, would it be too bold to imagine, that all warm-blooded animals have arisen from one living filament?”
Darwin ultimately fleshed out the idea and collected the evidence, but he wasn’t even the first thinker in his own family to contemplate the idea of evolution. I imagine that many people are not aware of this, and this book will show you just how close other thinkers were to hitting on the idea of natural selection.
The remainder of the book, while interesting, is not quite as powerful as the first part. Coste seems more comfortable covering intellectual history than the science itself. While there’s nothing objectionable in the book, his coverage of the science and the major evolutionary transitions will appear a bit superficial to anyone who is familiar with the works of evolutionary biologists like Richard Dawkins.
My only other complaint is that Coste could have done a better job explaining the evidence for evolution, or even devoting an entire section of the book to it. Coste really just explains the development of the idea and then the development of life without addressing all of the reasons why Darwinian evolution is as much a fact as Newton’s theories of motion and gravity.
Overall, if you’re looking for a quick primer on evolution and how we came to understand it, you’d be hard pressed to find a more readable account. Although if you’d like something a little more in-depth, I’d recommend any of the books by Richard Dawkins, Jerry Coyne, or Neil Shubin.
December 5, 2022
This is one of the most entertaining books on evolution I have ever read, probably because the author hosts a podcast on the subject. Podcasts almost have to be entertaining to get any traffic. That means this book falls clearly in the pop science category, but the data is solid based on what I have read on this subject over the years. The approach here is quite different than most books on evolution in that Coste goes into considerable detail about the major personalities who came up with the hypothesis of evolutionary biology, several of whom are before Charles Darwin's time. He also carries evolution back to the introduction of life on the planet billions of years ago.
One of the strengths of this book is how Coste takes extremely complex topics and boils them down to manageable bites for the layperson without dumbing them down. A major highlight of the book is his thoughtful explanation of the difference between a hypothesis and a theory, which is widely misunderstood by most of us and has lead to the unintelligent and misinformed arguments against evolution, with accusations that it is "only a theory." His choice of a river system with tributaries as a metaphorical representation of how evolution works is so much better than the traditional tree with branches diagram that Darwin put forward and that is often used in biology texts. This book is a fine introduction to evolution for readers who are not that familiar with the subject and desire more than just a scientific thesis.
One of the strengths of this book is how Coste takes extremely complex topics and boils them down to manageable bites for the layperson without dumbing them down. A major highlight of the book is his thoughtful explanation of the difference between a hypothesis and a theory, which is widely misunderstood by most of us and has lead to the unintelligent and misinformed arguments against evolution, with accusations that it is "only a theory." His choice of a river system with tributaries as a metaphorical representation of how evolution works is so much better than the traditional tree with branches diagram that Darwin put forward and that is often used in biology texts. This book is a fine introduction to evolution for readers who are not that familiar with the subject and desire more than just a scientific thesis.
January 12, 2026
Coste developed this book from the podcast of the same name. I listened to the podcast first and then read the book. I think the podcast is better.
He divides the book into four parts titled The Pre-Darwinians, Darwin Steps In, Evolution Tales, and The Wonder of It All. The first section is the best part of the book as Coste dives into early thinkers and contributors to evolutionary thought. He brings up many lesser known individuals that clearly demonstrate evolution being developed as an idea. The second section details Darwin's contributions to evolution. The third and fourth sections are seemingly random collection of vignettes about evolution.
Each chapter is short, typically 4-5 pages and easy to read. However, Coste falls into the trap all to common for science writers, sacrificing scientific accuracy for accessiblity. Much of the third and fourth sections were frustrating to read because he used bizarre examples that really didn't fit with the principle. I was underwhelmed by his explanations and wished he would lengthen some of the chapter to allow for more development of the concepts. He avoids technical jargon like the plague and sticks to simple examples. This may appeal to a general audience, but it also invites serious inaccuracies and misunderstandings about evolutionary science.
His prose sometimes gets very lofty and poetic, but it doesn't land well in the book. It works in his podcast when he can have music and sounds effects, but it fall very flat on paper. There are many other good books on evolution that people can read.
He divides the book into four parts titled The Pre-Darwinians, Darwin Steps In, Evolution Tales, and The Wonder of It All. The first section is the best part of the book as Coste dives into early thinkers and contributors to evolutionary thought. He brings up many lesser known individuals that clearly demonstrate evolution being developed as an idea. The second section details Darwin's contributions to evolution. The third and fourth sections are seemingly random collection of vignettes about evolution.
Each chapter is short, typically 4-5 pages and easy to read. However, Coste falls into the trap all to common for science writers, sacrificing scientific accuracy for accessiblity. Much of the third and fourth sections were frustrating to read because he used bizarre examples that really didn't fit with the principle. I was underwhelmed by his explanations and wished he would lengthen some of the chapter to allow for more development of the concepts. He avoids technical jargon like the plague and sticks to simple examples. This may appeal to a general audience, but it also invites serious inaccuracies and misunderstandings about evolutionary science.
His prose sometimes gets very lofty and poetic, but it doesn't land well in the book. It works in his podcast when he can have music and sounds effects, but it fall very flat on paper. There are many other good books on evolution that people can read.
January 25, 2025
This is a great book for both teachers to teach and for their students to learn easily and in the most simplest of ways the beginnings of life on Earth and the slow progression through the more than 400 billion years of how that first life developed and ultimately ended in the life we see around us in all it diverse and wonderful glory.
The book sets off with the author telling us the enthralling adventures of Mary Anning, a young English girl (1799-1847) who collected fossils she found around on the shores of Dorset. From there it goes on to relentlessly educating the readers with scientific facts and also ventures into astrobiology and what's next and what's possible.
There are four chapters to the book, and after each chapter I had to leave the book aside and read up more on the internet to do my own research on stuff I had never heard about before.
Even believers in a supreme being as a creator will not be offended by this book.
The book sets off with the author telling us the enthralling adventures of Mary Anning, a young English girl (1799-1847) who collected fossils she found around on the shores of Dorset. From there it goes on to relentlessly educating the readers with scientific facts and also ventures into astrobiology and what's next and what's possible.
There are four chapters to the book, and after each chapter I had to leave the book aside and read up more on the internet to do my own research on stuff I had never heard about before.
Even believers in a supreme being as a creator will not be offended by this book.
May 4, 2023
It was a decent read overall. nothing too ground breaking. Not needlessly long, which I appreciate.
January 1, 2025
This book explained evolution in an easy to understand way.
August 16, 2025
Great introduction to the history of theories of evolution, especially for someone like me who's never actually learned anything about it before!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews