Recommended Readings
Evolution
Dawkins, Richard1996Climbing Mount Improbable,W.W. Norton: New York and London. An authoritative and elegant account of the evolutionary explanation of the "design" of organisms.
Fortey, Richard1998Life: A Natural History of the First Four BillionYears of Life on Earth,Alfred P. Knopf: New York. A lively account of the history of life on Earth.
Gould, Stephen J.1992The Panda's Thumb,W.W. Norton: New York. Gould's Natural History columns have been collected into a series of books including Hen's Teeth and Horses Toes, An Urchin in the Storm, Eight Little Piggies, The Flamingo g Smile, and Bully for Brontosaurus. All are good popular introductions to the basic ideas behind evolution, and extremely readable.
Homer, John R., and Edwin Dobb1997Dinosaur Lives: Unearthing anEvolutionary Saga,HarperCollins: New York. What it's like to uncover fossilized bones, eggs, and more, plus Homer's views on dinosaurs.
Howells, W.W.1997Getting Here: The Story of Human Evolution,Compass Press: Washington, D.C.A very readable survey of human evolution by one of the fathers of physical anthropology.
Johanson, Donald C., Lenora Johanson, and Blake Edgar1994Ancestors:In Search of Human Origins,Villard Books: New York. The companion volume to Johanson's NOVA series, "In Search of Human Origins."
Mayr, Ernst1991One Long Argument: Charles Darwin and the Genesisof Modern Evolutionary Thought,Harvard University Press: Cambridge, MA.An easily understandable distillation of Charles Darwin's scientific contributions.
National Academy of Sciences1998Teaching About Evolution and theNature of Science,National Academy Press: Washington, DC.An engaging, conversational, and well-structured framework for understanding and teaching evolution.
Nesse, Randolph, and George C. Williams1996Why We Get Sick: TheNew Science of Darwinian Medicine,Vintage Books: New York. The principle of natural selection as applied to modern-day health and disease. Helps to illustrate evolution as an ongoing phenomenon.
Tattersall, Ian1998Becoming Human,Harcourt Brace: New York. A description of the current state of understanding about the differences between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens.
Weiner, Jonathan1994The Beak of the Finch: A Story of Evolutionin Our Time,Alfred P. Knopf: New York. Discussion of basic evolutionary principles and how they are illustrated by ongoing evolution on the Galápagos Islands.
Whitfield, Philip1993From So Simple a Beginning,Macmillan: New York. A large-format, beautifully illustrated book explaining evolution from genetic, fossil, and geological perspectives. A good general introduction for nonspecialists.
Zimmer, Carl1999At the Water's Edge: Macroevolution and the Transformationof Life,Free Press: New York. Some creatures moved from water to land (the evolution land vertebrates) and others from land to water (the evolution of whales from land animals). Zimmer clearly explains these two events in the history of vertebrates and what might have brought them about.
Evolution: Books for Children and Young Adults
Cole, Joanna, and Juan Carlos Barberis1987The Human Body: How WeEvolved,Illustrated by Walter Gaffney-Kessell, William Morrow and Company: New York. This book traces the evolution of humans, from early prehistoric ancestors to modem tool-users. Grades 4-7.
Lauber, Patricia, and Douglas Henderson1994How Dinosaurs Came toBe,Simon and Schuster: New York. A description of the ancestors to the dinosaurs. Grades 4-7.
Matsen, Brad, and Ray Troll1994Planet Ocean: A Story of Life, theSea, and Dancing to the Fossil Record,10 Speed Press: Berkeley, CA. Whimsically illustrated tour of history for older kids and adults. Grades junior high to high school.
McNulty, Faith1999How Whales Walked into the Sea,Illustrated by Ted Lewin, Scholastic Trade: New York. This wonderfully illustrated book describes the evolution of whales from land mammals. Grades K-3.
Stein, Sara1986The Evolution Book,Workman Publishing Co., inc.: New York. A hands-on, project-oriented survey of evolution and its mechanisms. Grades 4-8.
Troll, Ray, and Brad Matsen1996Raptors Fossils Fins and Fangs:A Prehistoric Creature Feature,Tricycle Press: Berkeley, CA. A light-hearted trip through time ("Good Gracious — Cretaceous!") with similes kids will like ("Pterosaurs — some as big as jet fighters."). Grades 4-6.
Origin of the Universe and the Earth
Dalrymple, G. Brent1991The Age of the Earth,Stanford University Press: Stanford, CA. A comprehensive discussion of the evidence for the ages of the Earth, moon, meteorites, solar system, Galaxy, and universe.
Longair, Malcolm S.1996Our Evolving Universe,Cambridge University Press: New York. A brief discussion of the origin and evolution of the universe.
Silk, Joseph1994A Short History of the Universe,Scientific American Library: New York. Popular treatment of the evolution of the universe.
Weinberg, Steven1993The First Three Minutes: A Modern View of theOrigin on the Universe,Basic Books: New York. An explanation of what happened during the Big Bang.
Evolution and Creationism Controversy
Godfrey, Laurie, ed. 1983Scientists Confront Creationism,W.W. Norton: New York. A collection of articles by scientists analyzing and refuting arguments of creation science.
Kitcher, Philip1982Abusing Science: The Case Against Creationism,MIT Press: Cambridge. A philosophical as well as scientific analysis of creation science.
Matsumura, Molleen1995Voices for Evolution,National Center for Science Education, Inc : Berkeley, CA. A collection of statements supporting the teaching of evolution from many different types of organizations: scientific, civil liberties, religious, and educational.
Numbers, Ronald1992The Creationists: The Evolution of ScientificCreationism,University of California Press: Berkeley, CA. A thorough history of the American creationist movement.
Pennock, Robert T.1999Tower of Babel: The Evidence Against theNew Creationism,MIT Press: Cambridge, MA. A philosopher of science analyzes the newer "intelligent design" theory and "theistic science" creationism.
Strahler, Arthur1987Science and Earth History: The Evolution/CreationControversy,Prometheus Press: Buffalo, NY. A comprehensive analysis of creationist scientific claims.
Toumey, Christopher P.1994God's Own Scientists: Creationists ina Secular World,Rutgers University Press: New Brunswick, NJ. An anthropologist's view of creationism as a belief system upholding the moral authority of both science and religion.
Skehan, James W.1986Modern Science and the Book of Genesis,National Science Teachers Association: Washington, DC. Written by a geologist (former Director of the Weston Seismological Observatory) and bible scholar, trained as a Jesuit priest.