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ISSN 2159-9270
REVIEW
The Princeton Guide to Evolution
edited by Jonathan B Losos
Princeton (NJ): Princeton University Press, 2013. 880 pages
reviewed by Marvalee H Wake
Coordinated and edited by Jonathan Losos and eight co-editors, The Princeton Guide to
Evolution is intended for undergraduate and graduate students, scientists in fields related
to evolutionary biology, and others with a serious interest in evolution. The cost of the volume is modest, and given the diversity of topics and the expertise of the authors, it will enhance the libraries of all who teach, at almost any level; students who want to know more
about particular topics of interest; and the public, which has long deserved an authoritative
and objective presentation of the many facets of evolutionary biology.
One hundred and thirty-five evolutionary biologists contributed more than one hundred
short articles that mostly stress advances during the last twenty years that increase our
understanding of what evolution is and how it works. Unfortunately, the table of contents
lists only the section and topic titles; I would have found it informative to have the authors’
names listed as well, so I could see at a glance whose article I was about to read, rather
than having to sort through the chapters themselves or the alphabetical list of authors to
find the topics. The articles are arranged in eight sections that together reflect the major
areas of evolutionary biology. The sections include an introduction that contains contributions that describe what evolution is (by the editor-in-chief, Jonathan Losos), the history of
evolutionary thought (by Garland Allen), the evidence for evolution (by Gregory Mayer),
and a discussion of the conceptual basis of DNA through phenotypes (by Michael Whitlock). Separately, but especially together, they provide a well-articulated, carefully objective introduction to current concepts of evolution that makes good reading for both the
interested novice and those who think they are well-grounded.
The topical sections that follow reflect two broad themes: examinations of the evolutionary
history of major groups and discussions of evolutionary patterns and especially processes—that is, how evolution works. Together, these sections present information on major
concepts and a selection of sub-topics that sample broadly from current themes in evolution research. Some sections include specific discussions that consider new techniques,
their applications, and their contributions, as well as discussions that examine major topics and conceptual areas in evolutionary biology. Each of the articles contains a wealth of
information, carefully presented and well-explained. Most are illustrated (but not all); the
illustrations range from a single topical graph to well-prepared diagrams of processes, often including exemplar organisms (or parts of organisms, such as chromosomes and so on)
that catch the reader’s eye and increase the reader’s understanding. Several of the chapters
include the appropriate equations that allow the analysis presented; they are usually wellexplained and carefully chosen.
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To give the reader a sense of the scope of the book, which is wide-ranging but of course
not totally inclusive (an impossible task), I list the sections:
I.
Introduction (as noted above)
II.
Phylogenetics and the history of life (eighteen essays)
III.
Natural selection and adaptation (fifteen essays)
IV.
Evolutionary processes (eight topics)
V.
Genes, genomes, phenotypes (fifteen topics)
VI.
Speciation and macroevolution (sixteen essays)
VII. Evolution of behavior, society, and humans (sixteen topics)
VIII. Evolution and modern society (fifteen topics).
Each section begins with a brief overview, and several topical essays follow. Each essay
begins with an outline of its content and a glossary of key terms, and a well-structured
discussion follows. At the end of each article there is a list of further reading that is admirably well-composed and presents a wealth and diversity of information (often of different
conceptual levels) to the interested reader. It is not surprising that the depth of coverage of
topics is somewhat uneven, but each is consistent at the level the author(s) chose. Some of
the essays present more background than others; many are well-honed, direct accounts of
the current status of the topic with discussions of their current implications. This allows for
careful and constructive updating, assuming the volume has the success that it deserves.
The essays, because they exclusively address their topics, may be taken as authoritative
statements in those areas, given the research interests of the authors. However, I hope
that the next edition might include, for some topics, two (or more) essays that reflect different perspectives on a theme, and with alternative approaches, research strategies, and
examples. After all, that is the way our science grows, and it would be appropriate for the
readership to see different stances and approaches—and to learn that this does not necessarily mean disagreement about the nature of evolution!
At the same time, there are some interesting convolutions in the topics included, and not
included, in the various sections. For example, section VII on the evolution of behavior,
society, and humans has contributions on such topics as hormones and behavior, game
theory and behavior, three different aspects of sexual selection, parental care, communication, cooperation and conflict, behavioral ecology, evolutionary psychology, cognition,
“apparently nonadaptive behavior,” and aging and menopause, but neither in that section
nor elsewhere in the volume is a contribution that deals explicitly with the evolution of the
human species. This surprises me, because the topic is “hot” and controversial, the science
is dynamic with new information (and interpretations) arising frequently, and it is of interest to potential readers with diverse backgrounds, knowledge, and biases. It is a strange
omission. (However, in the final section, cultural evolution, evolution of human language,
notions of race, and the future of human evolution are considered.)
I will try to encapsulate the richness of the volume by looking in more detail at two sections that are very different in content, scope, approach, and viewpoint. The first is section
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IV, on evolutionary processes; the other is section VIII, on evolution and modern society.
In his introduction to section IV, describing the intent of the section and the context of its
contents, Michael Whitlock beautifully summarizes: “In the evolutionary theater, natural
selection without doubt is the star of the show, but important roles are played by mutation,
migration, recombination, drift, and details of the transmission of genetic material. These
other players change the pace and direction of evolution, and without them the outcome of
natural selection would be completely different” (page 306). The section includes contributions on genetic drift by Philip Hedrick, mutation by Charles Baer, geographic variation,
population structure, and migration by Ophélie Ronce, recombination and sex by Nick
Barton, genetic load by Aneil Agarwal, inbreeding by Deborah Charlesworth, selfish genetic elements and genetic conflict by Lila Fishman and John Jaenike, and the evolution of
mating systems by Spencer Barrett. (The latter essay, subtitled “Outcrossing versus selfing,”
deals with plants, obviously; aspects of animal mating systems are included in section VII,
on the evolution of behavior, society, and humans, showing that it’s not exclusively human
at all.) A wealth of cogent information is presented in each contribution; each includes material appropriate to both those with a general interest in the topic and those who consider
themselves well-trained evolutionary biologists who desire to update their knowledge.
Section VIII, on evolution and modern society, is introduced by Richard Lenski. Renowned
for his research using Escherichia coli as a model organism to study evolution and selection, Lenski here exquisitely summarizes the relevance of evolution to modern society.
He uses a Garry Trudeau comic strip to remind us of the way that evolution is a property
of society in the four main themes of the section—evolution and disease, evolution and
technology, evolution and what it means to be human, and evolution in the public sphere.
Lenski provides his own perspective on these areas in the introduction and tells us what to
look for in the section’s topics. The articles in the section are highly diverse, wide-ranging,
and rich. They include Paul Turner’s commentary on evolutionary medicine, an arena that
is changing medical education and the practice of medicine in many ways; Dieter Ebert’s
discussion of the evolution of parasite virulence; Dan Andersson’s exploration of the evolution of antibiotic resistance; Paul Keim and Tatima Person’s discussion of evolution and
microbial forensics; Amy Cavanaugh and Cameron Curry’s review of domestication and the
evolution of agriculture (a must-read, ranging from agriculture as mutualism, agriculture in
ants, and cultivation and division of labor to selection under domestication—and beyond);
Brad Shaffer’s excellent treatise on evolution and conservation, in which he considers pattern and process, the role of genetics, and what the future might hold; Erik Quandt and
Andrew Ettington’s chapter on directed evolution, in which they discuss experimental approaches to determine how selection pushes molecular or cellular systems in particular directions; Robert Pennock’s discussion of evolution and computing; Mark Pagel’s summary
of linguistics and the evolution of human language (another must-read); Elizabeth Hannon
and Tim Lewens’s analysis of cultural evolution in human and nonhuman animals, and
what culture is not; Alan Templeton’s contributions on evolution and notions of human
race and the future of human evolution (very thoughtful and erudite analyses); Francisco
Ayala’s discussion of evolution and religion; Eugenie C Scott’s discussion of creationism
and “intelligent design” (her usual data-rich, thoughtful analysis); the section, and the volume, close with Carl Zimmer’s discussion of evolution and the media—a good look at why
we see what we see about evolution in the media, and how it could be improved.
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The volume is as nearly comprehensive as a treatment of evolution could be; its potential
for the enlightenment and guidance of its readership is enormous. It warrants a place in
the library of anyone interested in evolution, for any reason, whether he or she is a high
school student, a parent and/or member of the public, a policy maker, or a scientist (or
a skeptic in any of these groups)—anyone who is looking for information about evolution that is presented objectively, thoughtfully, and clearly. While I have caviled a bit, and
made some suggestions for inclusion in a second edition, I will make extensive use of The
Princeton Guide to Evolution, and I recommend it to everyone who has questions (and
answers) about evolution—what it is, and how it works. Congratulations to the editors and
the contributors for a work that will serve a very broad readership well. I look forward to
the next edition!
About th e author
Marvalee H Wake is Professor of the Graduate School at the University of California, Berkeley; a
past president of the International Society of Vertebrate Morphology, the American Institute of
Biological Sciences, and the International Union of Biological Sciences; and a member of NCSE’s
Advisory Council.
Author’s address
Marvalee H Wake
Department of Integrative Biology and Museum of Vertebrate Zoology
3040 VLSB
University of California
Berkeley CA 94720-3140
[email protected]
Copyright 2015 by Marvalee Wake; licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/
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