What Is Intelligence?: Beyond the Flynn Effect7 reviews James R. Flynn Cambridge University Press, 2007 The real answer to "The Bell Curve" + Flynn changes his mind on value of IQ testing + Flynn and media + His new picture of human intelligence is not to be missed.             From Lucy to Language: Revised, Updated, and Expanded7 reviews Donald Johanson, Blake Edgar Simon & Schuster, 2006 Excellent overview + From Lucy to Langauge + Beautiful Book on How We Came to Be + Great + Fascinating & Illuminating             The Symbolic Species: The Co-Evolution of Language and the Brain36 reviews Terrence W. Deacon W. W. Norton & Company, 1998 Hopeful Monster? + Excellent introduction to neuroscience, linguistics and evolution + Exciting on the nature of language, but misses the boat at the end. One of the most entertaining things about Deacon's book is the cultural references he uses to explain how human language evolved along with the human brain. The robot-come-alive movie Short Circuit? Now I'm going to have to watch a Steve Guttenberg movie. Deacon calls the "hopeful monster" ...             RACE AND HUMAN EVOLUTION: A FATAL ATTRACTION4 reviews Milford Wolpoff, Rachel Caspari Simon & Schuster, 2007 Required Reading + Genetics AND skeletal studies BOTH have their place. + A layman's guide to the multiregional theory The debate between multiregional evolution vs. the replacement model continues unabated, and naturally, not without certain biases muddling the understanding of the interested lay-reader. Wolpoff and Caspari do an excellent job of presenting the historical foundations for the intellectual biases ...             Ontogeny and Phylogeny13 reviews Stephen Jay Gould Belknap Press, 1985 Ontogeny and Phylogeny + One Of The Most Influential Books On Evolutionary Thought Published In The Past Twenty Five Years + The rise and fall of a scientific idea Ontogeny and Phylogeny by Stephen Jay Gould is an enlightening book filled with facts, history, knowledge, science, sociology, biology and mixed with this is the Gould Factor. By this, Gould Factor, what I mean is this. There are illustrative bits woven into the tapestry of this scientific work. ...             First Farmers: The Origins of Agricultural Societies1 review Peter Bellwood Wiley-Blackwell, 2004 The single book to read about the Neolithic Bellwood, an archaeologist specializing in Austronesian populations, has compiled a vast body of evidence from archaeology, linguistics, and genetics, and synthesized it into a very readable book about the origin and dispersal of the Neolithic. Bellwood is known for his view that the major ...             The Ghosts of Evolution: Nonsensical Fruit, Missing Partners, and Other Ecological Anachronisms13 reviews Connie Barlow Basic Books, 2002 Who mourns for the mastodons? + An awesome book! + The Ghosts of Evolution + Seeking seed spreaders             On the Origin of Species: A Facsimile of the First Edition (Harvard Paperbacks)14 reviews Charles Darwin Harvard University Press, 2001 Interesting, but the third edition is recommended + simple copy + A good facsimile of a great book + The Most Accessible Scientific Masterpiece Ever Written             Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife109 reviews Mary Roach W. W. Norton, 2006 Very Entertaining + Not as good as Stiff, but still funny I think that one of the best things you can say about a book is that it's entertaining and this one sure is. The author is very, very funny and makes learning about the various topics enjoyable. I'm going to have to get her other books as well.             Soul Made Flesh: The Discovery of the Brain--and How it Changed the World17 reviews Carl Zimmer Free Press, 2004 What Willis was talking about + How we came to know the brain as the seat of thought + Reasonably Good; 3.5 + Did the firing of my neurons make me do it? + The search for consciousness             Mapping Human History: Genes, Race, and Our Common Origins50 reviews Steve Olson Mariner Books, 2003 The Truth About the origin of Race and Its new Meaning + ROFLCOPTER! + Fun and informative. + Very informative, easy reading             Mathematical Population Genetics Warren J. Ewens Springer, 2004 Population genetics occupies a central role in a number of important biological and social undertakings. It is fundamental to our understanding of evolutionary processes, of plant and animal breeding programs, and of various diseases of particular importance to mankind. This is the first of a planned two-volume work discussing the mathematical aspects of population genetics, with an emphasis ...             The Genetical Theory of Natural Selection R. A. Fisher Oxford University Press, USA, 2000 This is the definitive edition of R.A. Fisher's classic work--probably the best known book in evolutionary biology after Darwin's Origin of Species. The book was the first attempt to assess and explain Darwin's evolutionary theories in terms of genetic evolution. Based on the original 1930 edition, the book incorporates the many changes Fisher made for the second edition as well as unpublished ...             Endless Forms Most Beautiful: The New Science of Evo Devo38 reviews Sean B. Carroll W. W. Norton, 2006 The "Butterfly Effect" in the genes + Interesting reading + Very good! The best feature of this book is the fantastic sense of the complexity of the development of the organism from the genes. Sean shows with genius how the tiniest changes in a gene can lead to huge effects in the developing organism -- much like in Chaos theory (see the book "Chaos: making a new ...             Evolving Eden: An Illustrated Guide to the Evolution of the African Large Mammal Fauna3 reviews Alan Turner, Mauricio Anton Columbia University Press, 2007 Illustrated by Built Up Fossils + Just Right Africa, expecially as it appears to have been over time is probably the closest piece of land that might have been considered Eden. For some 35 million years Africa has been the home of an ever widening number of animals. This beautifully illustrated work takes fossil finds, compares them with ...             The Descent of Man (Penguin Classics)25 reviews Charles Darwin Penguin Classics, 2004 The beginning of human evolution understanding... If you want to understand the human evolution, you might read the original though. Of course, there are some misunderstandings, then you might read considering the historical influence and personal conflicts of Charles Darwin. Essential for researchers on sexual selection.             The First Human: The Race to Discover Our Earliest Ancestors14 reviews Ann Gibbons Anchor, 2007 A Human who can write! + The dark side of science + Cannot Recommend This Highly Enough---WONDERFUL + An excellent primer + Ann Gibbons, the First Human             Reflections Of Our Past: How Human History Is Revealed In Our Genes3 reviews John Relethford Westview Press, 2004 Such a fine balance + cool and clear thinking about human genetic diversity + A Good Overview for the Layperson Labelling this work as "balanced" is a minimal descriptive. Relethford seeks to explain and reconcile some of the major themes in human evolution. Each topic is introduced with a presentation of "traditional" views. These are lined out fully and each seems to have sufficient support for a ...             The Voyage of the Beagle: Journal of Researches into the Natural History and Geology of the Countries Visited ...5 reviews Charles Darwin Modern Library, 2001 Charles Darwin as Indiana Jones + A sentimental scientists + Insight into the mind of Darwin + Charles Darwin-Naturalist, Poet, Adventurer             The Making of the Fittest: DNA and the Ultimate Forensic Record of Evolution38 reviews Sean B. Carroll W. W. Norton, 2007 How DNA supports the fact of biological evolution + The Fittest Record + Destined to be a classic. + Black box no more