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Annotated Reading List

By Michael Zimmerman

Charles Darwin was a prolific author and reading some of his original works can be very enlightening. Three places to begin are:

  • Darwin, Charles. Narrative of the Surveying Voyages of His Majesty's Ships “Adventure” and “Beagle”: Volume III: Journal and Remarks, 1832-1835, Henry Colburn, 1838 (reprinted numerous times). Volume III of this four-volume work is what has become known as The Voyage of the Beagle. The first two volumes were written by Robert FitzRoy, captain of The Beagle, while the fourth volume is an appendix. Volume III is both a travel memoir and a guide to Darwin's scientific investigations and makes for fascinating reading. Volume III went through numerous editions, even in Darwin's lifetime, with the concept of evolution playing an increasing role, beginning with the second edition, published in 1844, 15 years prior to the initial appearance of On the Origin of Species.
  • __________. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life, J. Murray, 1859 (reprinted in numerous editions ever since). This is the original work that caused all the trouble! Interestingly, the word “evolution” does not appear in the book at all and the only derivative of it that does appear is “evolved,” which is the final word in the book.
  • The Darwin Correspondence Project is an amazing project out of Cambridge University designed to present and analyze the approximately 14,500 letters Darwin exchanged with roughly 2,000 correspondents. The project has published a number of volumes, all of which can be referenced on its Web pages.

While there are a large number of biographies of Darwin, the following stand out:

  • Browne, E. Janet. Charles Darwin: A Biography (released in two volumes: Charles Darwin: Voyaging, Knopf, 1995, reprinted in paperback by Princeton University Press, 1996; and Charles Darwin: The Power of Place, Knopf, 2002, reprinted in paperback by Princeton University Press, 2003). The first volume of this amazing work largely focuses on Darwin's time on the ship Beagle and attempts to explain how his experiences shaped the man and the scientist he became. The second volume begins a year before the publication of On the Origin of Species and contextualizes much of his science. It also provides great insight into Darwin's family life.
  • Desmond, Adrian and James Moore. Darwin: The Life of a Tormented Evolutionist, Little, Brown, 1992 (reprinted in paperback by Norton, 1994). This massive work (more than 800 pages) has become the classic biography of Darwin. It explores his activities in great detail as well as his agonizing over ways to present evolution to a public he feared would not be receptive.
  • Quammen, David. The Reluctant Mr. Darwin: An Intimate Portrait of Charles Darwin and the Making of His Theory of Evolution, Norton, 2006 (released in paperback by Norton in 2007). This much abbreviated biography focuses on the single question of why it took Darwin so very long to publish his groundbreaking ideas on evolution.

Although there are numerous books written for a popular audience that explain the evidence for evolution, the following are especially worth reading:

Coyne, Jerry A. Why Evolution is True, Viking, 2009. Coyne, a University of Chicago evolutionary biologist, presents compelling evidence for evolution in a fully accessible manner. 

  • Carroll, Sean B. Endless Forms Most Beautiful: The New Science of Evo Devo, Norton, 2005. A thoroughly enjoyable and informative explanation of evolutionary development by a University of Wisconsin biologist.
  • National Academy of Sciences and Institute of Medicine. Science, Evolution, and Creationism, The National Academies Press, 2008. This slim volume, written by a committee of NationalAcademy members, is an easy-to-use resource that provides evidence for evolution as well as a discussion about the nature of science. It explains why evolution and religion need not be in conflict. The full text of the book is available online at: http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=11876&page=R1
There are a growing number of Web pages that provide good resources on evolution. Among the best are:

Many have promoted an erroneous view of Darwin's religious beliefs and his views on racism. The following resources do a wonderful job of clarifying the record:

  • Desmond, Adrian and James Moore. Darwin's Sacred Cause: How a Hatred of Slavery Shaped Darwin's Views on Human Evolution, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009. In their latest book, the foremost biographers of Darwin explore the ways in which Darwin's negative views of slavery shaped his thoughts and presentation about evolution. This authoritative volume should put to rest a belief that Darwin was a racist.
  • Wollert, David.  Paradise Lost: The Religious Life of Charles Darwin, Blank Slate Studios, 2007. This engaging 49-minute DVD explores Darwin's religious journey.

There is a rapidly growing body of high-quality work explaining why intelligent design does not have standing within the scientific community and examining the motivations of those promoting the topic. The following resources are particularly notable:

  • Lebo, Lauri. The Devil in Dover: An Insider's Story of Dogma v. Darwin in Small-Town America, The New Press, 2008. As the education reporter for the York (Pa.) Daily Record, Lebo covered the 2005 Dover “intelligent design trial.” This book presents a comprehensive and insightful look into the case.
  • NOVA.  Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial. WGBH Educational Foundation, 2007. This NOVA DVD uses court transcripts to present the highlights of the 2005 Dover “intelligent design trial.” The 112-minute documentary first aired on PBS on 13 November 2007.
  • Petto, Andrew J. and Laurie R. Godfrey, editors. Scientists Confront Intelligent Design and Creationism, Norton, 2007. The 16 contributed essays in this volume address a host of topics central to the evolution-creation controversy.

The claim has long been made that one can't be an evolutionary biologist and hold traditional religious beliefs. The following books, written by world-renowned scientists and deeply religious Christians, refute this erroneous conclusion:

  • Collins, Francis S. The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief, Free Press, 2006. Collins was the head of the National Human Genome Research Institute and he talks personally about how it is possible to have faith in both God and science. 
  • Miller, Kenneth R. Only a Theory: Evolution and the Battle for America's Soul, Viking, 2008, and Finding Darwin's God: A Scientist's Search for Common Ground Between  God and Evolution, Harper Perennial, 2007 (reprint of 1999 edition). A Brown University biologist, the author of numerous high school and college biology texts and a devout Roman Catholic, Miller in Only a Theory explores the scientific bankruptcy inherent in intelligent design and in Finding Darwin's God explains why evolution and his Christian faith are fully compatible.
  • Roughgarden, Joan. Evolution and Christian Faith: Reflections of an Evolutionary Biologist, Island Press, 2006. A Stanford evolutionary biologist, Roughgarden looks for common ground between religion and science while rejecting both junk science and suspect theology. 

A growing number of Web sites explain how religion and evolutionary biology need not be in conflict. Among the most useful are:

NOTE: The Annotated Reading List accompanies Zimmerman's article in the Spring 2009 issue of Phi Kappa Phi Forum entitled "Why Evolution is the Organizing Principle for Biology"

 

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