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Summary: Also a great introduction to evolutionary biology
Review: I have no training or experience in natural science, and still I couldn't put this book down. This book dispels myths ("Evolution" is a theory all scientists agree on), gives a hard realistic look at field research (raising your kids on a rock), and demonstrates some fascinating evolutionary benefits of El Nino (finch mating frenzies). A great writer, and a great read.
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Summary: Entertaining and educational book!
Review: I learnt a lot about evolution through this book. It was charmingly written and gave me a lot of insights onto Darwin's teachings. Would definitely recommend this book.
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Summary: The beak of the finch--a short course on evolution
Review: I read this fascinating account of the Grants' twenty years' of work on Darwin's finches after visiting the islands and seeing the birds. The author's summary of their monumental studies is one of the best pieces of popular scientific writing I've ever read. It is lucid, well-organized, an excellent read, and (so far as this chemist can tell) scientifically accurate without getting bogged down in the enormous amount of detail involved in such a study. I had not realized the great speed with which selection pressures can produce changes in species--although, given the speed with which insects and microorganisms develop resistance to pesticides and antibiotics, in retrospect I note that there are ample clues on this. The human implications of the rapid adaptations of these organisms (bugs, bacteria) are frightening.
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Summary: fascinating example of observable evolution
Review: I thought of evolution as being a slow process, so it was fascinating to read about this research on evolution that happens really quickly. The setting for the research and the lifestyle of the researchers are also interesting for those of us who like to travel via armchairs.
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Summary: Wow
Review: I was assigned this book for my physical anthroplogy class, and all I can say is wow. The writing is fantastic and interesting (yet not bulky like most scientific writings). The research is superb, and the story is awesome. My generation grew up believing evolution is not a theory but a fact, but I was still taught that you couldn't "see" evolution because it took tons of years. The Grants blew that notion away in the Galapagos Islands, where they watched nature select for and against certain types of birds...within a twenty year time period! The book explains how variation comes about, the fusion and fission of species, and how separate yet similar we all are to one another. It's a fantastic book, and I recommend it to anyone looking into evolution, Darwin, or anthropology
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Summary: Very Factual
Review: I was assigned to read this book for an Environmental class. The book was very informative, but also dry and slow. Some of the factual information was interseting, but for the most part i did not enjoy it, beacuse it seemed like a continual listing of facts on evolution.
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Summary: Compelling reading and science...
Review: I was never really taught evolution but I always viewed it as very commonsensical now I know it is an observable fact. This story cleverly evolves (pun intended) like a page turning mystery--it could have been science fiction but it was real, hard science. The Beak of the Finch is a story about curious and dedicated evolutionists who are in it for the long haul--and described by a poet (Jonathan Weiner) who knows how to pluck the living story and suspense from it. After reading it I wanted to know more about the scientists--I wanted to know more about all science.
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Summary: Read the book, don't bother with my review!
Review: I've given this book to at least a dozen friends--do yourself a favor and get it.
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Summary: This is a great book!
Review: If you can stick with it, this book will really convince you
that evolution not only happens but can be observed in real time! All it takes is a bit of patience on the part
of the scientists involved AND the reader...
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Summary: Superb and illuminating reading for curious minds
Review: Jonathan Weiner's "The Beak of the Finch" is an elegant and eminently readable explanation of how evolution works in ways we can actually witness. The finches in question are those Darwin studied on the Galápagos Islands, and are the birds which first stirred for him the musings of his revolutionary theory.Two evolutionary biologists from Princeton University are on the Galápagos Islands, studying these finches, and understanding first-hand how evolutionary changes can visibly take place in just a single season. The story hinges on the meshing together of food and consumer. If it's a rainy season, certain of the island's trees will produce more or fewer of certain fruits, nuts, and seeds. The shape and degree of curvature of a particular finch's beak, it seems, is eminently well-suited to breaking apart and eating some foods and not so much to others. Therefore, a few inches more or less of rain in a single season can favor one finch's beak shape over another's--ensuring that certain finches will predominate because they have the beak shape which makes eating easier. Of course this can then swing back the other way the following season. Weiner makes this story utterly absorbing for the lay-reader and serious science reader alike. He sums up the entire book in the splendidly chosen example of watching a volcano, writing that seeing a volcano from many miles away, the smoke and lava and movement seem all rather slow and smudgy. Seeing it from the island on which it is situated, of course, is another matter entirely and we can witness for ourselves the terrifying speed with which one eruption changes everything instantly. Weiner ensures through this single passage that we gain a well-rounded idea of what evolution can mean in just a single lifetime, a single year, or even a single season. This is a fascinating true story that is written with the pacing of a thriller. Highly recommended!
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