Life: The Leading Edge of Evolutionary Biology, Genetics, Anthropology, and Environmental Science

If the cited quote doesn’t turn you completely cuckoo, you may be the reader for this book. You may want to first check out edge.org to see if the style of information is accessible. If you are a fan of Richard Dawkins or Freeman Dyson, you will probably be able to understand this work better than I did. I found this book nearly impossible to read. It is a collection of essays and one large interview with a group of scientists talking to themselves. That chapter Life: What a Concept is as confusing as it could be. One scientist decries popular science books as too easy. Why shouldn’t science be easy? Sometimes a simpler explanation without the use of jargon is much harder for a scientist to write. A good example of clear writing is Stephen Hawkins or Loren Eisley.

A particularly good chapter is entitled Duck Sex and Aesthetic Evolution by Richard Plum. Plum writes about beauty found in nature: his writing is clear and accessible. Recommended for the serious scientist.