Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Reads: Beak of the Finch
by TimG
This is one of three titles under consideration for this year's Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Reads, which will focus on Revolutions In Science: the people, theories, explanations and discoveries that challenged our thinking and changed the world.
On a desert island in the heart of the Galapagos archipeglago, where Darwin received his first inklings of the theory of evolution, two scientists, Peter and Rosemary Grant, have spent twenty years proving that Darwin did not know the strength of his own theory. For among the finches of Daphne Major, natural selection is neither rare nor slow: it is taking place by the hour and we can watch.
In this dramatic story of groundbreaking scientific research, Jonathan Weiner follows these scientists as they watch Darwin's finches and come up with a new understanding of life itself.
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This is an excellent book
This is an excellent book and covers some of the really interesting observational and experimental work that strongly supports Darwin's concept of selection as a powerful force in evolution.
Great choice! I don't know
Great choice!
I don't know where Peter and Rosemary are at present, but some of the participants in the multi-year study described in the book are currently living in the vicinity. If this book is chosen, it would be possible to arrange a visit from one or more of the scientists involved, AADL willing. Ayse Unal
good choice because of the
good choice because of the controversy over teaching evolution in schools.
This is a fascinating and
This is a fascinating and timely book, but I think unless you have a very strong interest in the topic it is difficult to finish...awfully dry.