I've read three or four other books that explore the evidence for evolution and in all of those books they cover the familiar areas of the fossil record, geographical distribution, etc. and sometimes briefly discuss molecular evidence, but "The Making of the Fittest" deals specifically with that area (as you can tell from the subtitle). The book is a fantastic exploration of how DNA (literally the text of the base pairs or the specific amino acids of a protein) provides incontrovertible evidence for evolution. To deny evolution after seeing some of the impressive examples in this book is a clear indication that the denial is based purely on theological grounds and certainly not scientific ones.
The book is divided as such:
Chapter 1: An introduction to what the rest of the book will be discussing. However, I would have preferred that this actually have been an introduction instead of being chapter 1, because it doesn't really get into the topic of the book so much as summarize what each of the following chapters will be about.
Chapter 2: A somewhat difficult chapter that deals with the math of evolution. I love math but I felt at times that Carroll was simply telling us what the results of particular equations mean, as opposed to explaining the math itself. I would like to have learned how to do the calculations myself in the event I need to present this evidence to someone else. At one point he uses a logarithm without even explaining how the equation works, so it raises the question of why he even bothered to show us the math at all if he wasn't going to explain it.
Chapter 3: This is where the book really hits its stride and doesn't slow down for several chapters. This chapter discusses specific genes in our DNA that have remained unchanged for billions of year, evidence that natural selection has worked to keep these genes in place because of their fundamental usefulness to life.
Chapter 4: An utterly fascinating chapter on how new genes have evolved in order to create new features across various species. In particular Carroll discusses color vision and the similarities/differences between species in the genes that affect vision in various animals.
Chapter 5: Yet another completely absorbing chapter on "fossil genes" -- genes that have mutated over time and have become inactive, yet still can be used to trace their heritage far back through the past.
Chapter 6: Discusses the phenomenon of evolution repeating itself when given the same set of selection pressures with which to work, and how different species have independently evolved similar (or the same) features as a result.
Chapter 7: Deals specifically with human issues such as the "arms race" between increasingly drug-resistant bacteria and human-created methods to deal with such germs.
Chapter 8: A discussion on how complex features (such as the eye) can evolve. Intelligent designers, pay attention!
Chapter 9: Carroll stops with the science at this point and in this chapter deals with the common arguments against evolution and the rational responses to these arguments.
Chapter 10: The final chapter discusses how acceptance of evolution is more than just a philosophical exercise but instead can help us shape the future of not only our species but of many other species on the planet (especially those on the verge of extinction because of human activity). Even though Carroll discusses things such as overfishing, overhunting, pollution, and global warming, I didn't get the impression that he tied all of this up neatly with the actual idea that accepting the truth of evolution can help us with these things.
A few complaints I had were that:
1. At some points the explanations got a little difficult to follow, and not so much because the science (or math) was over my head, but because Carroll didn't seem to fully explain what he was describing. I feel like it was a fault of the writing in certain sections.
2. There are many charts, graphs, and pictures, but they weren't all explained very well. For example, Figure 4.3 (DNA Typing and Hominoid Evolution) shows a comparison of junk DNA called "SINES" among various animals (Human, Bonobo, Chimpanzee, Gorilla, etc.), but for the life of me I couldn't figure out what I was looking at or how to read the lines. I got the general idea of what I was seeing, but the caption and even the text itself didn't seem to explain the figure very well.
3. A problem many authors, including Carroll, seem to have is the habit of summing up the topics they are about to discuss. Chapter 1 is mainly a setup for the rest of the book and the final part of it actually sums up what each of the following chapters will discuss. Furthermore, within each chapter Carroll also will sometimes close a section by describing what the next section will be about, or close a chapter by describing what the next chapter will be about. Personally, I find this kind of writing to be somewhat lazy. It contains no real content, no new information, and reads like filler. It's as if the authors are not confident enough to simply end a section or chapter as-is without resorting to some type of segue into the next part.
However, overall the book is a fantastic exploration of how DNA reveals the evidence for evolution across just about every species. If you've read other books about the evidence for evolution, chances are they dealt with a little of this material, but not as in-depth as Carroll's book does. I definitely recommend this book to complement those other books, because it deals thoroughly with the DNA record. You will be amazed to see how similar DNA is across various species, and equally amazed to see that it differs in exactly the ways we would expect it to differ if evolution is true.
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Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on August 15, 2010
- Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2012
Top reviews from other countries
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- sudhish MajumdarReviewed in India on November 13, 2019
Truth about Evolutionary science.
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Michel BrillonReviewed in Canada on May 6, 2022
Le livre est en bon état et se lit très bien.
Pour avoir plus de connaissance sur l'évolution de la vie et la relation entre le vivant et son environnement.Michel BrillonLe livre est en bon état et se lit très bien.
Reviewed in Canada on May 6, 2022
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