Patterns and Processes of Vertebrate Evolution (Cambridge Paleobiology Series)

Rating:
Summary: Major Work on Evolution refutes Gould
Review: This is a very extensive treatment of evolution, mostly focused on vertebrate evolution. It is a very detailed and up-to-date discussion of all the effects that influence evolution, not just natural selection. Recent finds illustrate the major transitions from fish to amphibian, from dinosaur to bird, from land mammal to whale. It also is a polemic book, aimed at debunking the theories of S. J. Gould.

While the constraints of development and mass extinctions are taken into account, the book still shows the importance of Darwinian selection, even with respect to speciation, a fact denied by Gould and his followers.

This is an advanced book, aimed at advanced undergraduate students, graduate students and professionals. It is not a coffee-table book on vertebrate evolution, like Carroll's previous "Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution", but it is well illustrated and clear enough to be of interest to non-specialists.

A short review cannot do this book justice. The amount of information presented is enormous. This is the first attempt of a grand synthesis since Simpson's "Major Features of Evolution". Simpson's book was also a polemic work, aimed at the German paleontologist Schindewolf (even if this is not clear from the text, since Schindewolf was not explicitly quoted and his works had not been published in English at the time.) Not surprisingly, Gould was somehow influenced by Schindewolf and introduced a translation of his work. The fight for the correct understanding of evolution has to be fought again every generation!

It is unfortunate that Gould became the official writer on evolution for the educated non-specialists (at least in the USA). This book is a good antidote, but is much harder to read that the Conway Morris book (The Crucible of Creation). If you can get through it, though, it is very rewarding.

Rating:
Summary: Evolution - the big picture
Review: This reference starts off by noting problems in evolutionary theory, particularly that while short-term microevolution shows Darwinian characteristics, long-term macroevolution based on the fossil record does not, with species suddenly appearing and then persisting for long periods with few changes. Vertebrates are proposed as a model for studying evolution, noting that they are a monophyletic group, have sexual reproduction, share a similar body plan, and most importantly have an excellent fossil record. While the knowledgeable reader will find this reference interesting in its integration of the forces affecting vertebrate evolution, the more general reader will find a variety of topics from fundamentals of population genetics to evolutionary development to the origins of major vertebrate groups, useful reading.