\u00a0<\/div>\n<\/td>\n
Richard Dawkins\u2019s The Selfish Gene<\/em> (Oxford University Press, 2006), originally published in 1976, is a compelling take on natural selection \u2013 in a nutshell, we are survival machines for genes. Dawkins has written several other excellent books on evolution, among them The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution<\/em> (Free Press, 2010).<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/the-third-chimpanzee-the-evolution-and-future-of-the-human-animal-paperback_1_fullsize-199x300.jpg\") \n\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/div>\n<\/td>\n Jared Diamond\u2019s The Third Chimpanzee<\/em> (HarperPerennial, 2006) is a thoroughly interesting account of human evolution. Chapter titles include \u201cThe Great Leap Forward,\u201d \u201cBridges to Human Language,\u201d \u201cAnimal Origins of Art,\u201d and \u201cAgriculture\u2019s Mixed Blessings.\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/life-Fortrey-194x300.jpg\") \n\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/div>\n<\/td>\n Richard Fortrey\u2019s Life: A Natural History of the First Four Billion Years of Life on Earth<\/em> (Vintage Books, 1999) is an engaging and reader-friendly account of evolution from the beginnings of life to the emergence of human beings, based on the fossil record (and scattered with stories about Fortrey\u2019s own experiences in the field).<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/pandas-thumb-200x300.jpg\") <\/td>\n | Evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould is known for developing the theory of punctuated equilibrium, which argues that long periods of evolutionary stability \u2013 during which nothing much happens \u2013 are followed by relatively rapid periods of change. Gould is also famous for his many wonderful collections of popular science essays. Good starting points for students of evolution: Ever Since Darwin<\/em> and The Panda\u2019s Thumb<\/em> (both W.W. Norton & Company, 1992).<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/dragons-of-eden-180x300.jpg\") <\/td>\n | Carl Sagan\u2019s The Dragons of Eden: Speculations on the Evolution of Human Intelligence<\/em> (Ballantine Books, 1986) is a fascinating evolutionary history of the brain (beginning with the Big Bang).<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/beakofthefinch-1gxdeo5-194x300.jpg\") <\/td>\n | Jonathan Weiner\u2019s Pulitzer-winning The Beak of the Finch<\/em> (Vintage Books, 1995) is a fascinating story of evolution in action, as the author follows the research of biologists Peter and Rosemary Grant, studying the Galapagos finches that Darwin used to prove his point in On the Origin of Species<\/em>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n| \u00a0<\/td>\n | Bird Beak Buffet <\/a>is a lesson plan based on Darwin\u2019s Galapagos finches targeted at grades 3-5. Using various forms of beak-like tools (clothespins, tweezers, chopsticks), kids determine how much of what kinds of foods they can best pick up.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rebeccaruppresources.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/evolution-Zimmer-200x300.jpg\") \n\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/div>\n<\/td>\n Carl Zimmer\u2019s 300+-page Evolution: The Triumph of an Idea<\/em> (HarperCollins, 2001) \u2013 written as a companion volume to the PBS series of the same name (see above) \u2013 combines well-presented science with a captivating, reader-friendly text, crammed with interesting examples and supplemented with color photographs, drawings, and helpful diagrams. In other words, what good textbooks should be, but usually aren\u2019t.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n | | | | | | | | | | |