The Evolutionists

This is a so-so look at the various debates between camps of evolutionary scientists. ( )

This book may have some value for readers who have no background in biology or evolution and never intend to read another book on the subject, but it has little if any value for anyone with a more serious interest in evolution. Morris first takes the reader through an explanation of basic geology, paleontology, and evolutionary theory. His explanations are oversimplified to the point of becoming misleading and condescending. He defines terms like "vertebrate," which presumably most people who are interested in reading science books for pleasure already understand, but doesn't define words more specific to evolution, like "saltation." After the chapters introducing basic concepts, Morris begins to describe the battles between the Stephen Jay Gould camp and the Daniel Dennett/Richard Dawkins camp. He explains their differences to some extent, but he concentrates mainly on the personal sniping between these scientists, a topic that I imagine is of little interest to those looking for a general overview of the modern debates on the nature of evolution.

The biggest problem with this book, though, is that it is poorly written and poorly edited. Morris's writing is extremely repetitive both in terms of content and syntax. I caught numerous errors in the text--everything from missing periods to the use of "complement" instead of "compliment."

I expected this book to be a good synthesis and analysis of the modern debates on the process of evolution, but this is nothing more than a superficial treatment of the topic. ( )