The "Origin" Then and Now: An Interpretive Guide to the "Origin of Species" » (New Edition)

David N. Reznick is professor of biology at the University of California, Riverside.

"This is a beautiful book—the best book I have ever read dealing with the Origin. It will move many people, experts and lay readers alike."—Lee Alan Dugatkin, author of Principles of Animal Behavior

"The "Origin" Then and Now has made the wealth of information held within Darwin's opus many times more accessible. This book is unquestionably essential reading for students and others approaching the Origin for the first time. It should be terrifically useful to anyone with an interest in understanding one of the most important books in intellectual history."—Kurt Schwenk, University of Connecticut

Choice

During the past decade, a number of writers have hoped to rectify this situation with books that summarize, modernize, or otherwise elucidate this seminal work of evolutionary biology. Within this growing corpus of 'guides' and 'companions,' this new book by Reznick (Univ. of California, Riverside) occupies a place somewhere between the easygoing narrative of Darwin's Ghost by Steve Jones . . . and the scholarly analysis of The Cambridge Companion to the Origin of Species, edited by Michael Ruse and Robert J. Richards. . . . Major post-Darwinian concepts are discussed as needed to explain the modem repercussions of the Origin. Overall, this is a very readable and insightful guide that will provide readers with both the understanding and the motivation to tackle the original. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels of academic, public, and professional libraries.

Preface ix Acknowledgments xv Introduction: Charles Darwin and the Origin of Species 3
Michael Ruse

Part One: Natural Selection Chapter 1: Preamble to Natural Selection 29
Chapter 2: Variation under Domestication 38
Chapter 3: Variation under Nature I 56
Chapter 4: The Struggle for Existence 66
Chapter 5: Natural Selection I 77
Chapter 6: Laws of Variation 102
Chapter 7: E volution Today: A Modern Perspective on Natural Selection 119

Part Two: Speciation Chapter 8: Preamble to Speciation 137
Chapter 9: Variation under Nature II 152
Chapter 10: Natural Selection II 164
Chapter 11: Hybridism 190
Chapter 12: E volution Today: The Mosquitoes of the London Underground 205

Part Three: Theory Chapter 13: Preamble: What Is a Theory? 219
Chapter 14: Difficulties on Theory 227
Chapter 15: Instinct 250
Chapter 16: Geology I: Background 264
Chapter 17: Geology II: On the Imperfection of the Geological Record 275
Chapter 18: Geology III: On the Geological Succession of Organic Beings 288
Chapter 19: Geology IV: Evolution Today 301
Chapter 20: Geographical Distribution 314
Chapter 21: Geographical Distribution, Continued 331
Chapter 22: Mutual Affinities of Organic Beings: Morphology: Embryology: Rudimentary Organs 346
Chapter 23: Recapitulation and Conclusion 381
Chapter 24: E volution Today: The Witness Has Been Found, Again and Again 401

Illustration Credits 417
Index 419