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| Evolution: What the Fossils Say and Why It Matters | 
 enlarge | Author: Donald R. Prothero
Creator: Carl Buell
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Category: Book
List Price: $29.50
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Avg. Customer Rating:  38 reviews
Sales Rank: 17637
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 408
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.1
Dimensions (in): 9.9 x 7.2 x 1
ISBN: 0231139624
Dewey Decimal Number: 576.8
EAN: 9780231139625
ASIN: 0231139624
Publication Date: October 11, 2007
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Product Description
Over the past twenty years, paleontologists have made tremendous fossil discoveries, including fossils that mark the growth of whales, manatees, and seals from land mammals and the origins of elephants, horses, and rhinos. Today there exists an amazing diversity of fossil humans, suggesting we walked upright long before we acquired large brains, and new evidence from molecules that enable scientists to decipher the tree of life as never before. The fossil record is now one of the strongest lines of evidence for evolution. In this engaging and richly illustrated book, Donald R. Prothero weaves an entertaining though intellectually rigorous history out of the transitional forms and series that dot the fossil record. Beginning with a brief discussion of the nature of science and the "monkey business of creationism," Prothero tackles subjects ranging from flood geology and rock dating to neo-Darwinism and macroevolution. He covers the ingredients of the primordial soup, the effects of communal living, invertebrate transitions, the development of the backbone, the reign of the dinosaurs, the mammalian explosion, and the leap from chimpanzee to human. Prothero pays particular attention to the recent discovery of "missing links" that complete the fossil timeline and details the debate between biologists over the mechanisms driving the evolutionary process. Evolution is an absorbing combination of firsthand observation, scientific discovery, and trenchant analysis. With the teaching of evolution still an issue, there couldn't be a better moment for a book clarifying the nature and value of fossil evidence. Widely recognized as a leading expert in his field, Prothero demonstrates that the transformation of life on this planet is far more awe inspiring than the narrow view of extremists.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 33 more reviews...
 The best popular resouce on the importance of the fossil record to evolution to date November 5, 2007
133 out of 134 found this review helpful
A cursory look at the science section of any bookstore will reveal a current glut of books about evolution and creationism, some works being excellent reviews of the debate while others are not worth the paper they're printed on. Prothero's book falls into the former category, being the best popular resource I've come across to date about evolution and the evidence from the fossil record.
One of the most important (and appealing) aspects of Prothero's book is that he takes a "gloves off" approach to creationism, not waffling on the subject like other recent works (i.e. Whitham's "Where Darwin Meets the Bible"). This more up-front tone allows Prothero to look at the claims of creationists and ID advocates in depth, his excellent review of the formation of the Grand Canyon (the only one I know of in the popular literature) being a fantastic example of melding positive scientific evidence with a thorough refutation of pseudoscience. Still, while Prothero takes a more aggressive approach than other recent authors the book is hardly a long diatribe against creationism; Prothero combines personal experience debating YEC stalwarts like Duane Gish with his extensive knowledge of paleontology, geology, and evolution, delivering a successful one-two punch that is informative on more than just one level.
If I have any complaint about this book, it is only that some of the sections require a little more fine-tuning or focus to bring out the important evolutionary trends. The chapter on Dinosaurs is a good example of this; while Prothero provides a good review of important fossil finds, the origin and diversification of sauropod dinosaurs, ceratopsians, and dromeosaurs could use some further clarification as there is certainly more to the story than was given room for discussion. This is a minor point, though, as the book proceeds at breakneck speed through geologic time, providing an overview of various transitional fossils and important evolutionary changes. Indeed, while this treatment might not entirely satisfy a reader looking for excruciating detail, it is an excellent primer for those largely unfamiliar with the fossil record.
As Prothero himself notes in the book, the fossil record is incredibly rich and paleontologists continue to accumulate knowledge with every new day in the lab and the field, but up until now many writers have avoided listing many of the important fossils with unfamiliar and tongue-twisting names in popular works. Fortunately for us, Prothero breaks from the older approach and acts as a guide to the diversity of the fossil record, recognizing that it is no longer sufficient to place a group of fossils in a straight line in an attempt to convince the reader that evolution has occurred without illuminating the "bushiness" the evolution produces.
In summary, Prothero's book is a joy to read and provides an excellent summary of the current richness of the fossil record for specialist and layman alike, with the added bonus of a comprehensive refutation of creationist claims about the fossil record. If you're looking for a comprehensive primer on evolution, or even a refresher on the current state of fossil finds important to evolution, you need look no further than this book.
Evolution: The Fossils Say `Yes' To It And `No' To Creationism, Including Intelligent Design February 12, 2008
119 out of 127 found this review helpful
"Evolution: What the Fossils Say and Why It Matters" is the best book I have ever read emphasizing the importance of the fossil record as the indisputable "facts" of biological evolution, documenting the history of life on Planet Earth. Its publication is long overdue, and yet, remains quite timely, when major publishers like Simon and Schuster have mistakenly published sterling examples of mendacious intellectual pornography like Michael Behe's "The Edge of Evolution". Indeed, Prothero's book ought to be viewed as the one that demolishes forever, Behe's inane assertion (which he had expressed in a private e-mail reply to me that I've posted elsewhere here at Amazon.com) that the fossil record is irrelevant, claiming that the "truth" will be found only at the molecular level (More than anything else, that terse comment from Behe merely demonstrates his profound ignorance and understanding of the fossil record. Incidentally, Prothero refers to Behe as an "Intelligent Design creationist".). It also demonstrates the absurdity of creationist claims from the likes of Behe's Discovery Institute colleagues Paul Nelson, Jonathan Wells, and Geoffrey Simmons, among others, that the fossil record does not have "transitional forms". Indeed, as Prothero clearly shows his readers again and again, the history of life on our planet is replete with "transitional forms" documenting the evolutionary transitions from fish to tetrapods, from terrestrial carnivorous dinosaurs to flying birds, from primitive ungulate mammals to whales, and from apes to mankind. He also stresses the relevance of the fossil record to other aspects of evolutionary biology, noting its relevance with respect to molecular - as well as comparative anatomical - data. All of this is told in clear, concise, and persuasive, prose that often reaches the same literary heights attained by Prothero's mentor and friend, the late Stephen Jay Gould; without question this splendid book ought to be regarded as among the finest published last year.
Prothero's book is also a superb guide to the history and - regrettably - ever-present danger posed by Intelligent Design advocates and other creationists. The first three chapters emphasize the profound intellectual differences between valid mainstream science like contemporary evolutionary biology and pseudoscientific religious nonsense like "scientific" creationism in all of its flavors, especially Intelligent Design. Prothero offers a detailed look at the scientific method in the very first chapter, comparing and contrasting it with creationism (He also provides a superb introductory guide too to the writing of the Judeo-Christian Old Testament.). The second chapter is an in-depth exploration of creationism, tracing its roots in early 20th Century American Fundamentalist Protestant Christianity, and, of course, describing the emergence of Intelligent Design and its zealous promotion by the Discovery Institute, the Seattle, Washington-based "conservative" think tank (However, much to my amazement, he does not emphasize sufficiently, the important work done by philosopher of science Barbara Forrest and biologist Paul Gross in their book "Creationism's Trojan Horse: The Wedge of Intelligent Design" in exposing the Discovery Institute's crypto-Fascist agenda for a future United States. Yet, to his credit, he does acknowledge that agenda by referring to its infamous "Wedge Document" while noting the Discovery Institute's deceitful promotion of Intelligent Design at the expense of valid mainstream science like contemporary evolutionary biology.). Finally, in Chapter Three, Prothero exposes both the intellectual inanity of "Flood Geology" and the popular creationist pastime of "quote mining"; the latter, a practice that's still popular with Discovery Institute Senior Fellows Michael Behe, William Dembski and Jonathan Wells.
The next two chapters comprise an excellent introduction to the history and science of evolutionary biology and the theory and practice of cladistic systematics. In Chapter Four, Prothero discusses the history of evolutionary biology, tracing its intellectual roots from the ancient Greeks to Lamarck, Darwin, and those biologists who became the "architects" of the Modern Synthesis Theory of Evolution (also known as the so-called "Neo-Darwinian Synthesis", since it merged population genetics with paleontology, biogeography, ecology and systematics). He also discusses some of the current controversies in contemporary evolutionary biology, beginning with evolutionary developmentaly biology, better known as "Evo - Devo", and, ending, of course, with punctuated equilibrium, noting how often it has been twisted and bent out of shape by creationists of all stripes, who have excelled only in "quote mining" from the published scientific and popular publications written by Stephen Jay Gould and Niles Eldredge; the two American invertebrate paleobiologists responsible for "punk eke". In Chapter Five, Prothero offers an especially lucid account of the theory and history of cladistic systematics, emphasizing its importance as a tool for studying both Earth's current biodiversity and its history of life.
In "Part II Evolution? The Fossils Say YES!", Prothero gives us a whirlwind tour of the history of life on Planet Earth, emphasizing major episodes in the history of life on Planet Earth, beginning with the origin of life, and culminating with the emergence of mankind. In Chapter Six, Prothero offers clear, persuasive evidence for the relative ease in creating life from inert organic compounds, brushing aside creationist arguments to the contrary. He debunks the outdated notion of a "Cambrian Explosion" - which remains popular with creationists, including Intelligent Design advocates - in Chapter 7, observing that the fossil record points to instead, a "Cambrian Slow Fuse", involving the gradual diversification of hard-part skeletonized fauna over the span of eighty million years, from the Late Precambrian through early Ordovician. He discusses the emergence of tetrapods from limbless fish in Chapter 10, the rise of early amniotes (which includes the reptiles, birds and mammals) in Chapter 11, and the evolution of flight in avian dinosaurs in Chapter 12, demonstrating the existence of countless "transitional forms". Further chapters are devoted to the origin of whales (Chapter 14) and humans (Chapter 15), and thus, offer a terse, but still thorough, glimpse, at the history of life on this planet. Prothero's coverage is so superb, that I am surprised by his all too brief references to mass extinctions, especially when their very existence ought to raise ample questions about an Intelligent Designer and his ability to "design" life that is extinction resistant.
In the final chapter of his book (Chapter 16), Prothero makes a truly compelling argument explaining why creationism is a clear and present danger, not only to American education, but indeed, the very survival of the United States too. He quotes from an extended excerpt from the Los Angeles Times, describing creationist Ken Ham's indoctrination of young school children against evolution, conjuring up - at least for me - an image of Adolf Hitler's infamous Nuremberg Nazi Party rallies. He blames the advent of creationism since the late 1950s for fostering scientific illiteracy among Americans, and noting that this threatens our future economic success as we compete with other, better educated, countries like those in Europe and East Asia in a global economy increasingly dominated by science and technology. He also argues persuasively that denial of evolution is harmful to our health and well being, graphically illustrating this point by reminding us of the unsuccessful 1984 baboon to human heart transplant by a creationist Loma Linda University surgeon. Prothero's dire warning is a message I have read before, especially from Niles Eldredge, but here, Prothero's remarks are most compelling, and ones that ought to be heeded by all (Not surprisingly, Prothero compares and contrasts current denial of evolution with that of global warming, and finds obvious parallels with both.).
Excellent November 25, 2007
52 out of 54 found this review helpful
The earth is old, and animals and plants have changed over time. If you know somebody who doubts these two well-established propositions, this is the book to share with them. I remember, as a teenager, in the early 1980s, reading Duane Gish's "Evolution: The Fossils Say No," as well as the other standard texts of creationism, and Prothero's book would have helped me think through (and past) creationism a lot quicker than I did. Prothero's book might have been aptly titled, "Evolution: The Fossils Say Yes." It is a lavishly illustrated, thoroughly readable, and authoritative dismantling of creationism. Because of the patient work of contemporary scientists writing accessible popular texts on evolution, no thoughtful 21st century young person need be intellectually derailed by creationist literature. Dr. Prothero's is perhaps the best of the current spate of these types of books. I especially liked the chapter on the origins of life, and the chapter on the Grand Canyon. One of the strengths of this book is that Dr. Prothero does not dodge difficult questions, but attempts to address them directly. It is always refreshing to read somebody who does not obfuscate or downplay contrary lines of evidence, and who is willing to say "I don't know" when something is uncertain. The book is thus, in addition to its overt purpose, also an excellent model of sane and measured reflection. A good companion volume to Dr. Prothero's book might be "The Counter-Creationism Handbook," by Mark Isaak, recently published by the University of California Press.
Another Smoking Gun November 26, 2007
23 out of 25 found this review helpful
Every once in a while, a book is written that completely changes how one thinks about life. This book is a MUST for every child or adult who has ever been captivated about dinosaurs and fossils. The Palentological evidence also relates to the current difference of opinion between science and certain fundamentalistic religion.
This book is another "smoking gun", distinctly pointing out how Paleontology complements the evidence of Molecular Biology. The first part of the book is devoted to understanding the issue. Chapter 5 "Systematics and Evolution" is very relevant in understanding the evidence in Part 2 of the book. Plus one gets a really good explanation of the "Flood Geology" perspective and the evidence that does not support that illusion.
The second part of this book is exquisite: One sees the evidence, learning how to do so by the expertise of the author (been there as opposed to just reading about it). The excellent drawings and recommended readings at the end of each chapter just encourages one to learn more.
Another objective of the book is clearly spelled out by explicit examples of how people with a particular fundamental religious agenda would abandon honor and reason, redefine science, to arrive at a predetermined conclusion. In other words, I think the author is really annoyed at the "there-are-no-transitional-fossils" from non-scientists who make big bucks on the talking-head circuit. Cool...those jerks irritate me too.
In summary, I LOVE this book - The climb up the cladistic tree of life is so well done. I want to learn more...
IF ONLY CREATIONISTS WOULD READ THIS...... December 6, 2007
21 out of 24 found this review helpful
...with an open mind, they might learn a thing or two! On the other hand, they have no open mind almost by definition, so it's a bit of a pointless opener...
But I would recommend reading this book to just about anyone else with an interest in evolutionary biology, paleontology, and the philosophy of science... Prothero's work shows top-notch writing skills and reads in the most pleasant way! It shows a masterful ability to condense and explain complex sociocultural and paleontological issues in a few sentences, making them understandable in the best possible way... And really it shows how much the author has been able to handle lots of information about lots of different subjects and still maintain control on the subject overview he was aiming for. My compliments...
After a couple of opening chapters on what science is and what its relationships and merits are with respect to pseudoscience and religion in examining the physical world, Prothero introduces a few basics of general biology and paleontology in chapters 3 to 4. He's been able to explain the fundamentals of systematics in a not too technical way while also presenting its historical development through time, and not one page was dull or cumbersome to read through! Something I still have to see in any other book, whether textbook or popularization... Systematics is usually, and almost unavoidably, presented in the most dreadful and maddeningly boring ways everywhere else!
Then comes the best part of course, the remaining ten chapters, which accompany the reader along a journey through time, from the very start of life when our planet would have been alien to us, to human origins when we were already almost there. Shame that plant evolution has been skipped, but for the rest, it's all there... From unicellular life to the radiation of the Invertebrates (clearing up the famous misconceptions on the "Cambrian explosion", which was more of a slow-motioned, tentative evolutionary experiment in the end), from how Chordates rised to the world from squishy and unprepossessing animals that most people don't even know, to the first Tetrapods scouting the lands, from why you're actually entering a Kentucky Fried Dinosaur everyday to the endless variety of forms and lifestyles that Mammals evolved...
There is really grandeur in such a view of life, as Darwin declaimed. And here and there, while great examples of evolutionary process are shown and explained, old-fashioned creationism objections are discussed and demolished... It's fun (yeah ok, if you're into paleontology...), it's amazingly readable and fluent, and it's instructive: more one couldn't ask?
And in the last chapter of the book, he expounds the most important issue of all. Why, this whole big issue of evolutionary biology being confronted and challenged continuously by religious fundamentalists, is not just about getting things right about the world around us and about our animal nature. It's about politics, society, freedom and tolerance... But you can read it for yourself...
I found some chapters to be little masterworks of clarity and contextual explanation which would make for great additional reading for undergrads... It's not just a good popularizing essay on paleontology, biology and the nature of scientific thought, it would really be good for university courses too!
I don't know why Prothero gets so overexcited about punctuated equilibria or why he spent so much time discussing old-school creationism while ignoring lots of ID nonsense, but doesn't matter. It's worth reading, all of it! Tells you not about drab facts, but how we arrived at certain conclusions. Which is the best way to discuss science....
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