Evolution

Unsere Auswahl an lesenswerten Büchern zu Evolutionsgeschichte und wichtigsten Fossilienfunden, zur Erdgeschichte und den Protagonisten mit einem Schwerpunkt zu Darwin und Wallace.

ALLGEMEIN

  • The Song of the Dodo – Island biogeography in an age of extinction, David Quammen, 1997, Beschreibung: „David Quammen’s book, The Song of the Dodo, is a brilliant, stirring work, breathtaking in its scope, far-reaching in its message — a crucial book in precarious times, which radically alters the way in which we understand the natural world and our place in that world. It’s also a book full of entertainment and wonders.image
    In The Song of the Dodo, we follow Quammen’s keen intellect through the ideas, theories, and experiments of prominent naturalists of the last two centuries. We trail after him as he travels the world, tracking the subject of island biogeography, which encompasses nothing less than the study of the origin and extinction of all species. Why is this island idea so important? Because islands are where species most commonly go extinct — and because, as Quammen points out, we live in an age when all of Earth’s landscapes are being chopped into island-like fragments by human activity. „
  • Warum gibt es die Welt? Die Evolution des Kosmos, Lee Smolin, 1999, Klappentext: „Lässt sich die Entstehung der Welt mit Elementen der Evolutionstheorie erklären? Haben selbst Naturgesetze eine Geschichte?“

ERDGESCHICHTE

  • Am Anfang war kein Mond – 40 Science-Storys, wie unser Sonnensystem entstand und das Leben auf die Erde kam, Thomas de Padova, 2004
  • The Man Who Found Time – James Hutton and the discovery of the earth’s antiquity, Jack Repcheck, 2003, Umschlagtext: “ Fans of the history of science should find time to read Repcheck’s marvellous story.“

ENTDECKUNGSGESCHICHTE

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  • Jurassic Mary – Mary Anning and the primeval Monsters, Patricia Pierce, 2006, Klappentext: “ … all the professors and other clever men … acknowledge that she understands more of the science than anyone in the kingdom … We had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of the Princess of Paleontology … she ist a strong, energetic spinster of about 28 years of age … as a child never passed a pin on the ground; but picked it up, and so at last an Ichthyosaurus found.““
  • The Dinosaur Hunters – A true story of scientific rivalry & the discovery of the prehistoric world, Deborah Cadbury, 2001, Umschlagtext: “ (…) Cadbury brilliantly recreates the remarkable story of the bitter rivalry between two men: Gideon Mantell uncovered giant bones in a Sussex quarry, became obsessed with the lost world of the reptiles and was driven to dispair. Richard Owen, a brilliant anatomist, gave the extinct creatures their Name and secured for himself unrivalled international acclaim.“
  • The Dragon Seekers – the discovery of dinosaurs during the prelude to Darwin, Christopher McGowan, 2002, Umschlagtext: “ … the dramatic Story of how a Group of nineteenth-century fossilists forever changed our view of history and laid the groundwork for the Darwinian Revolution.“
  • The First Fossil Hunters – Paleontology in greek and roman times, Adrienne Mayor, 2000, Umschlagtext: „Griffins, Centaurs, Cyclopes, and Giants – These fabulous creatures of classical mythology continue to live in the modern imagination (…) But what if These beings were more than merely fictions? (…) have a Basis in fact – in the enormous bones  of  long extinct species (…)“
  • Unearthing the Dragon – The great feathered dinosaur discovery, Mark Norell, 2005, Klappentext: „Captures the sights, the sounds – even the smells – of a hard-working, hard playing surf-dude paleontologist on the fossil trail. Rex and drugs and rock´n ´roll!“

CHARLES DARWIN & ALFRED RUSSEL WALLACE

  • Charles Darwin and the Tree of Life, präsentiert von David Attenborough, 2009, DVD.
  • Darwin, Adrian Desmond & James Moore, 1992, Umschlagtext: „(their) majestic biographe replants Darwin in the social and cultural soil that nourished him and shaped his science. They reconstruct a new Dawin from the vast corpus of Notebooks, diaries and letters published during the last ten years.“
  • Darwin – Das Abenteuer des Lebens, Jürgen Neffe, 2008, Klappentext: “ In seiner mitreißenden Wissenschaftsreportage schildert der preisgekrönte Journalist, Bestsellerautor und promovierte Biologe … die Entstehung der Evolutionstheorie, die die Weltsicht der Menschen revolutionierte. Gleichzeitig beschreibt er den Menschen Darwin und dessen Wandlung vom gottesgläubigen Anhänger der Schöpfungsgeschichte zum (…) umstrittensten Wissenschaftler aller Zeiten.“
  • Darwin, His Daughter & Human Evolution, Randal Keynes, 2002, Klappentext: “ In a chest of drawers  left by his grandmother, author Randal Keynes found the writing case of Charles Darwin´s beloved daughter Annie, who died at the age of ten. Within the box, among the typical keepsakes of a Victorian girlhood, were the notes Darwin kept as he cared for Annie through her final illness.“
  • Footsteps in the Forest – Alfred Russel Wallace in the Amazon, Sandra Knapp, 1999, Klappentext: “ … Wallace is justly famous for his discoveries in South east Asia, where he not only wrote to Charles Darwin outlining a theory of evolution by natural selection, but also identified two great faunas of the world … the story … is told using his own words and these delicate drawings …“
  • The Ascent of Man, J. Bronowski, 4 DVDs. Etwas veraltet, aber in DVD 3 eine schöne Beschreibung wie es dazu kommen konnte, dass zwei Männer, Darwin und Wallace, mit ähnlichem sozialen Hintergrund zu gleicher Zeit das Konzept der natürlichen Auswahl entwickelten. Beschreibung: „Dr. Bronowski’s classic history of humankind (…) The Ascent of Man is regarded as one of television’s greatest achievements. This lavish and thought-provoking series tells the story of the ideas that have transformed our lives. (… It) discusses human invention from the flint tool to geometry, agriculture to genetics, and from alchemy to the theory of relativity, showing how they all are expressions of our ability to understand and control nature.  this award-winning series remains compelling viewing.“ Die Verfilmung basiert auf Bronowskis Buch gleichen Titels von 1973.
  • The Kiwi´s Egg – Charles Darwin & Natural Selection, David Quammen, 2007, Klappentext: „Drawing on secret notebooks and privat letters, David Quammen paints a meticulous, humane portrait of a cautious, shy man burdened with a profoundly radical insight that was frightening even to himself. Here also we discover a breeder of pigeons, a close student of barnacles, an agnostic, a collector of beetles, an invalid …“

FOSSILIEN

  • Lost Worlds – Vanished Lives, David Attenborogh, 1989, DVD, Beschreibung: „David Attenborough’s comprehensive study of fossils, which give many clues to how life existed on pre-historic Earth.“
  • Evolution of Fossil Ecosystems. Paul Selden und John Nudds, 2. Ausgabe 2012,  Umschlagtext: „This study of exzeptionelle well- preserved fossil Sites from different periods in geological time provides a picture of the evolution of ecosystems down the ages.“
  • Fossil  Revolution -The finds that changed our view of the past, Douglas Palmer, 2003, Klappentext: „Fossil revolution is the story of the discoveries that unlocked  the secrets of the past. It traces the history of species that once dominated the earth and were wiped out.“
  • The Crucible of Creation – The Burgess Shale and the rise of animals, Simon Conway Morris, 1998, Umschlagtext: „(…) an engaging introduction to the early evolution of  animals from a paleontological perspective … provides an absorbing window into some of the most lively debates.“

MENSCHHEITSGESCHICHTE

  • Origin of Us, Alice Roberts, DVD, 2011. Beschreibung; „Dr Alice Roberts reveals how your body tells the story of human evolution. The way you look, think and behave is a product of a 6 million year struggle for survival. We have uncovered the secrets of the atom and traveled to the moon. But how did humans come to be so successful? This series explores the anatomical changes that have given us, and our ancestors, the edge.“ Sehr interessantes Material zu dieser Serie hier: Link  
  • The First Chimpanzee – In search of human origens, John Gribbin und Jeremy Cherfas, 2001, Umschlagtext: „People and apes share an ancestor. (…) But evidence that we share almost all our DNA with chimpanzees and Gorillas has forced a rethink. Not only is our common ancestor much more recent (…) but the whole story might be backwards.“
  • The Fossil Trail – How we know what we think we know about human evolution, Ian Tattersall, 2009, Umschlagtext: “ (…) provides an up-to-the-Minute overview of paleoanthropological thought and discovery (…).“
  • The Mind in the Cave, David Lewis-Williams, 2002, Klappentext: “ The most comprehensive and convincing explanation for the cave art in Euro so far.“