The Beak of the Finch: A Story of Evolution in Our Time

The authors have proven evolution works in real time. Fascinating and very readable.

Now that it's linked to the Amazon Empire, Goodreads makes a pretty good catalog of my reading (for myself . . . ) Since I read almost exclusively on Kindle, having disassembled bookshelves and hit the road. I do wish that I took more care to classify and comment since memory is so unreliable.In my mind this book goes together with a book I read some time ago and remember often, but can't quite name. Perhaps it's _Survival of the Sickest_ but I can't get that on Kindle to check my memory.Anyhow - one for medicine and one more generally for the way we inhabit the planet and especially the way we grow our food - both of these books convincingly send up much conventional wisdom as mediated by powerful corporate structures with profit as a motive for understanding.For neither of these books is that the authors' aim. This particular book has become a classic on evolutionary theory, mostly because of how throughly its author documents his comprehensive survey of the field. Dissonance with general understanding (of medicine or of evolution more generally to account for both books) falls out from that documentation.This book continues to resonate because there remains hope by its end that it is because our human designs are so much deficient in the face of the greater forces of ever-evolving life on the planet, that those designs will be subsumed by something more alive.The hint is that this will depend on our own continued evolution as well. That there is something beyond consciousness and cognitive power in store for the planet, and that we are locking ourselves away from it by our only temporary but terminal for the species as we are, dominance. Pride our downfall, but also our hope, as it promises to destroy our destruction.Blessed be the meek who feel the strains of evolution more than the pride of arrival.Anyhow, this book still makes a terrific refresher on the principles of evolutionary theory. I'd wanted a different book to document recent discoveries regarding the heritability of acquired characteristics. Some kind of folding of the DNA. I'll keep looking. Because I retain hope for the flowers.

The story of Rosemary and Peter Grant's twenty-year study of the finches of the Galapagos islands goes far beyond ornithology and even beyond biology: the author contends that the Grants have successfully observed the birds evolving under stressful conditions to become better adapted to their environment. That claim may be disputed, but the book is a great adventure story of science under brutal conditions--the most barren of islands, so rugged that just landing on it is potentially fatal. The description of how the study was conceived and carried out is woven into the Grants' own personal story and the whole is placed into the context of the history of evolutionary theory, told in an intelligent and entertaining style. The book ends with some comparisons of other similar attempts to observe evolution, and the arguments are compelling that the Grants have succeeded in doing so.While fascinating and well-written, I must admit that there were parts that were a bit dry and you really have to love this subject to get all the way through the book. Probably the best part is Weiner's explanation for why the finches' beaks are so crucial to their survival: their primary food source is a tiny, rock-hard seed. There is also a very funny passage on how the Grants discovered what male finches find sexually attractive.A pleasant and engrossing read for the serious or semi-serious naturalist. Recommended for those who enjoyed  Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World .

I am taking a Philosophy of Science course at my university, and this is one of the three required books. While I have only just started reading, this is a non-fictional novel about Darwin's discoveries amidst the Galapagos Islands - particularly, his famous 13 species of finches and how those discoveries hint at modern-day evolution and observable natural selection. I am only ~60pgs in, so this is largely the focus thus far, although I believe later chapters, Weiner writes more philosophically with regards to evolution and God's place in it all. One of my majors is a science (Biochem), so this ties in very well with Gen Bio 1 & 2 (especially Bio 2, as it briefly goes over dominant/recessive and patterns of heredity as well as other scientific methods). It is not entirely too intellectual, and Weiner does an excellent job explaining methods and theories. While it is packed with information, it does not read like a textbook and is far more interesting. I very much like the quotes he lifts from Darwin's works, as well as the sketches from the Smithsonian Institute. I am also very impressed with the quality of the paper - sounds nerdy, I know, but I really enjoy the thickness and smoothness of the pages. This book is also a Pulitzer Prize winner.I would recommend this book to anyone interested in evolution, even if they haven't the slightest passion for finches.

ma eccessivamente prolisso e scritto in 'linguaggio da Pulitzer'

La información que contiene el libro aún está vigente sobre todo muy informativa y explicativa acerca de la evolución

An absolutely stunning book. After reading it the natural world around me will never look the same again. Highly recommended reading.

En suivant les travaux des Grant sur les pinsons des Galápagos, Weiner nous donne à voir les lois de l'évolution en action. L'ampleur du livre est difficile à rendre compte car il réussit à entremêler les résultats les plus pointus de la biologie, à l'histoire des sciences, à la pratique concrète des scientifiques, et même aux paysages, aux saisons et à l'étrange beauté de la vie sur ces îles du pacifique. A lire!

An Hand der schnellen Anpassung der Darwinfinken an Veränderungen in ihrer Umwelt zeigt der Autor sehr wirksam auf, dass die Artenentwicklung ständig weitergeht, dass Menschen, Vögel, Tiere und Mikroorganismen ständig auf ihre Umwelt reagieren und sich ihr anpassen.Anhand einer 25-jährige, minutiös durchgeführten Forschungsreihe des Ehepaares Grant, die auf Daphne Major im Galapágos Archipel stattgefunden hat, wurden Veränderungen in Populationen, der Anatomie von Unterarten einer Gattung festgehalten, anschließend ausgewertet im Bereich Reaktionen auf Klima, Populationsdichte, Ernährung., Darwins Theorie wird den Ergebnissen der heutigen Forschung gegenüber gestellt, und zum großen Teil bestätigt, wobei die große Überraschung darin besteht, dass "Evolution" bereits innerhalb einer Generation sichtbar werden kann. Auch werden die neuesten Forschungsmethoden beschrieben, und das Problem der Resistenzentwicklung bei Schädlingen und Pathogenen nicht außer Acht gelassen.Trotz der wissenschaftlichen Thematik ist das Buch sehr unterhaltsam geschrieben, sehr klar - der Leser wird nicht mit Fachtermini überhäuft, so dass ich es unbedingt als Buch für Einsteiger in das Thema der Evolution empfehlen würde, oder auch für diejenigen, die Freude an neuen Entdeckungen haben.