What do you think?
Rate this book
The Rough Guide to Evolution
Have you ever wondered what Charles Darwin would have had on his iPod? Or exactly how Cartman from South Park fits into the Theory of Evolution? The Rough Guide to Evolution delves into all of this and more, from the life and works of the eminent scientist to the impact of evolutionary thinking on modern times. Read about the evolutionary history of life on Earth, the stark evidence for evolution – including feathered dinosaurs – and how Darwin’s breakthrough is still denied by creationists, who have repeatedly tried to ban evolution from the classroom. Providing a complete and authoritative overview of one of the most controversial topics of our age, the guide is an accessible one-stop-shop for all things Darwinian, while listing resources for those keen to dig deeper into our murky beginnings. Find out exactly how Charles Darwin and The Origin of Species have affected human life in the 150 years since its publication – everything from Darwinian tourism to the evolution of The Simpsons – as well as some new angles that make The Rough Guide to Evolution a must-have for die-hard Darwin fans. Rediscover Darwin’s earth-shattering explanation for the diversity of life with The Rough Guide to Evolution.
352 pages, Paperback
First published December 22, 2008
8 people are currently reading
60 people want to read
About the author
Mark Pallen
8 booksMark Pallen is a Research Leader at the Quadram institute in Norwich and professor of Microbial Genomics at the University of East Anglia. He completed his undergraduate medical education in Cambridge and London and his specialist training in microbiology at St. Bartholomew's Hospital. While working on a PhD at Imperial College in the mid-1990's, Mark led a team to victory in the TV quiz show University Challenge. Shortly afterwards, he gained his first professorship at Queen's University Belfast, before taking up a chair at the University of Birmingham in 2001. During his twelve years in Birmingham, Mark developed a keen interest in the 1978 smallpox incident.
Mark's academic interests include microbial genomics, bioinformatics, ancient DNA, public understanding of science and the life and legacy of Charles Darwin. Mark is married with four children and two dogs and divides his time between Worcestershire and East Anglia.
Mark's academic interests include microbial genomics, bioinformatics, ancient DNA, public understanding of science and the life and legacy of Charles Darwin. Mark is married with four children and two dogs and divides his time between Worcestershire and East Anglia.
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
January 11, 2012
Why is evolution one of the most important ideas of science? Who was Charles Darwin, and why should he be seen as one of the greatest scientists of all time? How has evolutionary thought influenced sciences other than biology? What impact has evolutionary thought made on the humanities and arts? Why is evolution controversial? These are the principal questions addressed by British microbiologist Mark Pallen in "The Rough Guide to Evolution". It is simply no exaggeration to regard his book as the best, most succinct, introduction to evolution and its impact on human culture that I've encountered. It is, quite simply, an utterly delightful book, replete in clear, concise, prose. It is a relatively terse masterpiece of scientific writing and content, which tells the story of evolution and its fundamental importance to human society and culture in barely more than three hundred twenty pages. "The Rough Guide to Evolution" deserves a place on the bookshelves of everyone, both the scientifically literate, and especially, those who are not, simply for the compelling story it tells about the origins, history and current thinking with regards to evolution.
Readers will be pleasantly surprised in finding that this is one guide to evolution that isn't so replete with scientific jargon (And if you are indeed put off by that jargon, Pallen provides a most useful glossary defining key evolutionary concepts and principles at the very end.). Nor is it a guide that's rich in dry, dense prose. Pallen is such an engaging writer that you may wonder, especially towards the end, whether he's crafted a scientifically literate guide to evolution, or instead, one that pays homage too to evolution's enduring influence on both popular and traditional literary and other artistic forms of expression, including television (This slender tome is actually a well-written guide to both, and one whose like I have not seen before, that's succinctly organized into four sections.). This may be the only book where one will encounter humorous references to eminent British science writer Richard Dawkins and television series such as "South Park" and "The Simpsons", along with serious in-depth profiles of notable evolutionary biologists like Ernst Mayr, John Maynard Smith, William Hamilton and Willi Hennig. Readers may also share my ample admiration and awe for Pallen's book, wondering how he has managed to stress evolution's importance to humanity in such a relatively short span of pages.
The largest, most important, section is entitled "Part 1: Ideas and Evidence", tracing the history of evolutionary thought, from the Classical Greeks and Muslims, to, of course, Darwin and beyond, to the very present, including an extensive overview of modern evolutionary biology. The first three chapters summarize early thinking on evolution and, of course, Darwin's life and career (Among the most unexpected, but still fascinating, points Pallen notes are the important cultural and intellectual contributions made by Darwin's descendants, including such noted luminaries as physicist Sir Charles Darwin, artist Gwen Raverat, writer Randal Keynes (His son Skandar will be familiar to movie fans for his performances in the "Chronicles of Narnia" films), writer and filmmaker Matthew Chapman, and novelist Emma Darwin.). Pallen's biographical chapters on Darwin (2 and 3) are especially noteworthy for dispelling myths about Darwin's life and work, and for succinctly presenting the main concepts of his theory of evolution via natural selection (which was discovered independently by Wallace). Chapter 4 is a most admirable summary of the major lines of evidence for evolution, covering everything from biogeography to missing links in the fossil record, vestigial organs in humans, and the significance of homology. In Chapter 5 ("Evolutionary Biology"), Pallen offers among the best written accounts I have read on the nature of speciation (accompanied by simple, well-executed diagrams illustrating the major types) and of phylogenetic systematics (more popularly known as "cladistics"), emphasizing how much modern evolutionary biology has advanced considerably since the joint publication of Darwin and Wallace's ideas on natural selection in 1858 (The only glaring omissions appear to be extensive discussions of coevolution and of ecology, especially of the important species area effect, noted first by one of Darwin's heroes, Baron Alexander von Humboldt.).
A relatively brief section on the history of life (Part 2) is subtitled, "The Greatest Story Ever Told". Pallen's exquisite prose offers one of the most lucid accounts I have read on the origins and history of life on Earth. Much to my surprise, in one long chapter (6), Pallen discusses not only the origin of life on Earth, but also a surprisingly thorough summary of the entire Phanerozoic Eon (the history of life since the dawn of the Cambrian Period, approximately 550 million years ago), which notes not just the major innovations in that history (evolution of the earliest metazoans and the successive invasions of the land by plants and animals), but such, quite literally, Earth-shattering, events as the terminal Permian and Cretaceous mass extinctions, which, respectively, wiped out approximately 96 and 50 percent of Earth's biota (There's an extensive discussion too on the probable causes of mass extinctions, which, amazingly, refers to the important 1982 paper by American invertebrate paleontologists J. John Sepkoski and David M. Raup.). Human evolution is covered extensively in the following chapter (7), and this may be as noteworthy for both the socio-political aspects of paleoanthropology (Pallen has a most intriguing discussion of the history of African paleoanthropology, emphasizing how native Africans have had such an important impact on it recently.) and, of course, its fossil evidence.
Part 3 ("Impact") emphasizes evolution's influence on other sciences, humanities and the arts, and its still controversial relationship to certain religions. For these reasons alone, readers may find this the most interesting, most compelling, section of this Rough Guide. In Chapter 8, Pallen truly covers a vast terrain, emphasizing how natural selection is influencing modern cosmology, computer science, and even, economics (which, I suppose, isn't surprising, given how early modern economics - in the form of Adam Smith's thinking - influenced Darwin's own conception of the "economy of nature"). He also devotes much attention to the still controversial evolutionary psychology and its intellectual ancestor, sociobiology (Incidentally Pallen neglects to mention American entomologist E. O. Wilson's seminal contribution to ecology; the MacArthur - Wilson model of equilibrium island biogeography. One might argue persuasively that this very concept has had as much importance in modern biology - especially in the realm of conservation biology - as has sociobiology.). Chapter 9, devoted to evolution's impact on philosophy and the arts, covers everything from late 19th Century Victorian fiction to science fiction, and even, rock and roll and reggae (I am surprised that the songwriting team of Elton John and Bernie Taupin is omitted, their early 1980s "I Am Your Robot" might qualify as a song inspired by evolutionary thought.). Chapter 10, on evolution's uneasy relationship with politics, not only discusses at length, Herbert Spencer's Social Darwinism (It was he, not Darwin, who coined the phrase "survival of the fittest".), but also lays to rest the ridiculous canard - still perpetuated by Discovery Institute Senior Fellow David Klinghoffer and comedian/writer Ben Stein among others - that, somehow, Darwinian thought inspired Hitler and his fellow Nazis towards committing the Holocaust (Pallen recognizes only one thinly veiled reference to natural selection, which was stated at the infamous 1942 Wannsee conference which sanctioned the Holocaust as official "unofficial" Nazi policy.). Chapter 11 traces evolution's peculiar history with Western religions, including Islam, and provides a most concise overview of the American creationist movement, from the 1925 Scopes Trial to the 2005 Dover Trial (There is a succinct, but still excellent, account of the Dover trial itself.), refuting every major argument made by creationists against evolution, especially those by Intelligent Design creationists.
Last, but not least, Part 4 ("Resources") is an all too brief coda to this splendid book, outlining the extensive print, other media, and online resources available to those interested in exploring further, both evolution and its intellectual and cultural impact on contemporary societies. Chapter 12 is written especially for the diehard Darwin fan, describing most of the buildings in London and elsewhere associated with Darwin, his life and career, including, of course, his home at Down. Chapter 13 discusses primarily the commemorative events associated each year with his birthday (February 12), especially this bicentennial year. Chapter 14 summarizes the extensive literature on Darwin - and should be invaluable as a bibliographic guide alone, even if it's not nearly as complete as I would have wished - and other media references, such as, for example, American invertebrate paleobiologist Stephen Jay Gould's appearance on "The Simpsons" (for which he supplied his own voice). And finally, at the very end, Chapter 15 is a superb glossary devoted to key evolutionary biology scientific terms and concepts.
If one is seeking a one-stop, all inclusive, guide to evolution and its intellectual and cultural impact on contemporary society, then don't walk, but, by all means, please run to your nearest bookstore (or online retailer like Amazon) and buy this book. Trust me. Without a doubt, Mark Pallen has demonstrated most persuasively, and most brilliantly, how and why evolution is so important.
(Reposted from my 2009 Amazon review)
Readers will be pleasantly surprised in finding that this is one guide to evolution that isn't so replete with scientific jargon (And if you are indeed put off by that jargon, Pallen provides a most useful glossary defining key evolutionary concepts and principles at the very end.). Nor is it a guide that's rich in dry, dense prose. Pallen is such an engaging writer that you may wonder, especially towards the end, whether he's crafted a scientifically literate guide to evolution, or instead, one that pays homage too to evolution's enduring influence on both popular and traditional literary and other artistic forms of expression, including television (This slender tome is actually a well-written guide to both, and one whose like I have not seen before, that's succinctly organized into four sections.). This may be the only book where one will encounter humorous references to eminent British science writer Richard Dawkins and television series such as "South Park" and "The Simpsons", along with serious in-depth profiles of notable evolutionary biologists like Ernst Mayr, John Maynard Smith, William Hamilton and Willi Hennig. Readers may also share my ample admiration and awe for Pallen's book, wondering how he has managed to stress evolution's importance to humanity in such a relatively short span of pages.
The largest, most important, section is entitled "Part 1: Ideas and Evidence", tracing the history of evolutionary thought, from the Classical Greeks and Muslims, to, of course, Darwin and beyond, to the very present, including an extensive overview of modern evolutionary biology. The first three chapters summarize early thinking on evolution and, of course, Darwin's life and career (Among the most unexpected, but still fascinating, points Pallen notes are the important cultural and intellectual contributions made by Darwin's descendants, including such noted luminaries as physicist Sir Charles Darwin, artist Gwen Raverat, writer Randal Keynes (His son Skandar will be familiar to movie fans for his performances in the "Chronicles of Narnia" films), writer and filmmaker Matthew Chapman, and novelist Emma Darwin.). Pallen's biographical chapters on Darwin (2 and 3) are especially noteworthy for dispelling myths about Darwin's life and work, and for succinctly presenting the main concepts of his theory of evolution via natural selection (which was discovered independently by Wallace). Chapter 4 is a most admirable summary of the major lines of evidence for evolution, covering everything from biogeography to missing links in the fossil record, vestigial organs in humans, and the significance of homology. In Chapter 5 ("Evolutionary Biology"), Pallen offers among the best written accounts I have read on the nature of speciation (accompanied by simple, well-executed diagrams illustrating the major types) and of phylogenetic systematics (more popularly known as "cladistics"), emphasizing how much modern evolutionary biology has advanced considerably since the joint publication of Darwin and Wallace's ideas on natural selection in 1858 (The only glaring omissions appear to be extensive discussions of coevolution and of ecology, especially of the important species area effect, noted first by one of Darwin's heroes, Baron Alexander von Humboldt.).
A relatively brief section on the history of life (Part 2) is subtitled, "The Greatest Story Ever Told". Pallen's exquisite prose offers one of the most lucid accounts I have read on the origins and history of life on Earth. Much to my surprise, in one long chapter (6), Pallen discusses not only the origin of life on Earth, but also a surprisingly thorough summary of the entire Phanerozoic Eon (the history of life since the dawn of the Cambrian Period, approximately 550 million years ago), which notes not just the major innovations in that history (evolution of the earliest metazoans and the successive invasions of the land by plants and animals), but such, quite literally, Earth-shattering, events as the terminal Permian and Cretaceous mass extinctions, which, respectively, wiped out approximately 96 and 50 percent of Earth's biota (There's an extensive discussion too on the probable causes of mass extinctions, which, amazingly, refers to the important 1982 paper by American invertebrate paleontologists J. John Sepkoski and David M. Raup.). Human evolution is covered extensively in the following chapter (7), and this may be as noteworthy for both the socio-political aspects of paleoanthropology (Pallen has a most intriguing discussion of the history of African paleoanthropology, emphasizing how native Africans have had such an important impact on it recently.) and, of course, its fossil evidence.
Part 3 ("Impact") emphasizes evolution's influence on other sciences, humanities and the arts, and its still controversial relationship to certain religions. For these reasons alone, readers may find this the most interesting, most compelling, section of this Rough Guide. In Chapter 8, Pallen truly covers a vast terrain, emphasizing how natural selection is influencing modern cosmology, computer science, and even, economics (which, I suppose, isn't surprising, given how early modern economics - in the form of Adam Smith's thinking - influenced Darwin's own conception of the "economy of nature"). He also devotes much attention to the still controversial evolutionary psychology and its intellectual ancestor, sociobiology (Incidentally Pallen neglects to mention American entomologist E. O. Wilson's seminal contribution to ecology; the MacArthur - Wilson model of equilibrium island biogeography. One might argue persuasively that this very concept has had as much importance in modern biology - especially in the realm of conservation biology - as has sociobiology.). Chapter 9, devoted to evolution's impact on philosophy and the arts, covers everything from late 19th Century Victorian fiction to science fiction, and even, rock and roll and reggae (I am surprised that the songwriting team of Elton John and Bernie Taupin is omitted, their early 1980s "I Am Your Robot" might qualify as a song inspired by evolutionary thought.). Chapter 10, on evolution's uneasy relationship with politics, not only discusses at length, Herbert Spencer's Social Darwinism (It was he, not Darwin, who coined the phrase "survival of the fittest".), but also lays to rest the ridiculous canard - still perpetuated by Discovery Institute Senior Fellow David Klinghoffer and comedian/writer Ben Stein among others - that, somehow, Darwinian thought inspired Hitler and his fellow Nazis towards committing the Holocaust (Pallen recognizes only one thinly veiled reference to natural selection, which was stated at the infamous 1942 Wannsee conference which sanctioned the Holocaust as official "unofficial" Nazi policy.). Chapter 11 traces evolution's peculiar history with Western religions, including Islam, and provides a most concise overview of the American creationist movement, from the 1925 Scopes Trial to the 2005 Dover Trial (There is a succinct, but still excellent, account of the Dover trial itself.), refuting every major argument made by creationists against evolution, especially those by Intelligent Design creationists.
Last, but not least, Part 4 ("Resources") is an all too brief coda to this splendid book, outlining the extensive print, other media, and online resources available to those interested in exploring further, both evolution and its intellectual and cultural impact on contemporary societies. Chapter 12 is written especially for the diehard Darwin fan, describing most of the buildings in London and elsewhere associated with Darwin, his life and career, including, of course, his home at Down. Chapter 13 discusses primarily the commemorative events associated each year with his birthday (February 12), especially this bicentennial year. Chapter 14 summarizes the extensive literature on Darwin - and should be invaluable as a bibliographic guide alone, even if it's not nearly as complete as I would have wished - and other media references, such as, for example, American invertebrate paleobiologist Stephen Jay Gould's appearance on "The Simpsons" (for which he supplied his own voice). And finally, at the very end, Chapter 15 is a superb glossary devoted to key evolutionary biology scientific terms and concepts.
If one is seeking a one-stop, all inclusive, guide to evolution and its intellectual and cultural impact on contemporary society, then don't walk, but, by all means, please run to your nearest bookstore (or online retailer like Amazon) and buy this book. Trust me. Without a doubt, Mark Pallen has demonstrated most persuasively, and most brilliantly, how and why evolution is so important.
(Reposted from my 2009 Amazon review)
May 20, 2019
This is a five stars book because is really attract my attention. Whoever talks about science talks about researches? For instance, Pallen uses a lot of evidence to show and explain the evolution. Darwin’s idea of evolution has been used to show that all species are related. More than one fact has been mentioned. This book got its merit regarding the analytical reasoning of life. In addition, Pallen scientifically proved the evolution of any group of living organisms in this book by pointing out a lot of notions mostly with Darwin method. I personally liked Politics in part three because it really explains what Darwin was trying to demonstrate, how he wants things to be done and was avoiding himself in it.
Anyone should read this book.
Anyone should read this book.
June 1, 2011
A very informative book, although Mr. Pallen sometimes forgets he's writing a book for the uninitiated and writes using scientific concepts and, even though they're explained, it's hard to keep up at times. But don't misunderstand me, this is not the general tone: the book has a lot of examples, including great chapters that include the influence of evolution in different fields, and the history of Darwin, how he came upon the theory of evolution, and how it has developed over the years. Overall, it's a fascinating read.
August 8, 2009
The book is an excellent introductory read for the newcomer to the subject of evolution. The Rough Guide to Evolution" deserves a place on the bookshelves of everyone, both the scientifically literate, and especially, those who are not, conversant about the origins, history and current thinking with regards to evolution. All-in-all a wonderful read by someone who not only writes well, but also an author who really knows and loves his entire subject.
February 21, 2020
Dense, very dense! Interesting, but they sure did pack a lot into this. I think I enjoyed the last chapters the most where it spoke about the influence of the concept of evolution on literature, art, religion etc.
Read
February 28, 2023The Rough Guide to Evolution (Rough Guide Science/Phenomena) by Mark Pallen (2009)
February 14, 2012
A 2007 Gallup poll indicated approximately one-half of all Americans and two-thirds of Republicans do not believe in the theory of evolution. In a perfect world, Mark Pallen’s The Rough Guide to Evolution would change some minds. [return][return]The book is divided into three sections. The first, "Ideas and evidence" discusses pre-Darwin theories of evolution, as well as Charles Darwin’s theory. It also gives a brief biography of Darwin, and as the title implies evidence to support his theory. The second section, "The greatest story ever told" presents the history of life on earth, including the most recent discoveries. Mr. Pallen also discusses some of the current controversies between scientists. The final section, “Impact” unsurprisingly explains the impact Darwin’s theory has had on an array of related and unrelated sciences. The chapters on politics and religion discuss the recent court battles with proponents of Intelligent Design, The Flying Spaghetti Monster, and evolution in pop culture, amongst other things. [return][return]This book is definitely not for anyone who majored in biology in college. Mr. Pallen, a Professor of Microbial Genomics at the University of Birmingham, offers evolution for the non-specialist and manages to explain everything in a manner that is easy to understand. If you have a hazy grasp on Mr. Darwin’s theory or if you have spent your life believing the world was created in seven days give this book a read. [return][return]I received this book from the LT Early Reviewer program.
December 16, 2009
Very nice, fairly simple explanation of evolution (also talks about creationism, ID, etc., and approaches it honestly, not hatefully). I'd recommend this to anyone who doesn't understand evolution but is interested in honestly learning.
Read
December 15, 20124 stars
even I was able to understand the science in this - dumbed down enough for the unscientifically minded without being an actual 'for dummies' book.
even I was able to understand the science in this - dumbed down enough for the unscientifically minded without being an actual 'for dummies' book.
October 26, 2011
This is a great introduction to Darwin and the theory of evolution. Incredibly easy to read and understand - especially for the unscientifically minded among us!
April 4, 2013
A really well laid out book and interesting. I really never knew how much data Darwin had collected before he wrote his paper.
February 2, 2014
Too much about Darwin and the after effect of evolution on religion and philosophy and not enough on actual evolution.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews