The evolving world : evolution in everyday life /

This accessible book's goal is to present applications of evolutionary biology to individual and public health, agriculture, conservation, and forensics, and also to "provide a context and metaphor for human cultural affairs." Mindell (Univ. of Michigan) largely succeeds in this wide-ranging effort, but occasionally errs in minor particulars. Readers at all levels will encounter new knowledge and examples (e.g., mDNA proof of Japanese mislabeling of whale meat in violation of whaling regulations). Mindell demonstrates the centrality of evolutionary theory to applied biology, but will not convince evolution-haters, who will claim it is all "microevolution" within created "kinds," or that similarities only exemplify "God's plan." The author spends too little effort on the clincher--multiple fossil examples of intermediates linking major taxa. A good companion book that exhaustively counters creationist claims is Mark Isaak's The Counter-Creationism Handbook (2005). Mindell's consideration of the applicability of biological methods in studying human culture, especially language evolution, is excellent. He points out two benefits of evolutionary insight to religion: liberation from the burden of literal interpretation of ancient legends, and the converse: "If reason can prove theological claims, it can also disprove them." ^BSumming Up: Recommended. All levels. E. B. Hazard emeritus, Bemidji State University

In the heated landscape of public discourse about evolution, books are weapons, lobbed by each side at the other. While creationists tend to directly attack the credibility of evolution, scientists have generally been loath to engage in direct comparison of evolutionary and creationist theories, preferring instead to simply focus on laying out the facts of evolution. Evolutionary biologist Mindell's contribution to the fray breaks little new ground. Couched as a general and accessible overview of how evolutionary reasoning pervades our lives, from the selective breeding of animals to understanding disease-causing pathogens, this book does have a few daggers tucked into its belt; the book opens with an examination of three "unpopular discoveries" (heliocentrism, the germ theory of disease and evolution) and ends with a coda that cursorily nods toward tolerance of religious and moral qualms but has little patience for them. What lies between is a perfectly reasonable survey of the ways that evolution explains biology, medicine, culture and religion. Written for a general audience, the book is solid but unremarkable, another salvo in the roar of the larger cultural war. B&w illus. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Mindell (ecology & evolutionary biology, Univ. of Michigan) has written a welcome but somewhat encyclopedic account of the ways in which concepts of evolutionary biology are used in ways that influence our daily lives, e.g., domestication, conservation, public health, and education. Mindell includes a chapter on evolution as a metaphor for understanding cultural changes, provocatively using the Bible and the Abrahamic religions as examples. He spends little time addressing evolutionary biology's contemporary cultural and religious criticism, letting its value as an explanatory tool speak for itself. Yet in a too-long survey at the beginning, he does compare it with two other scientific discoveries that initially resisted acceptance-the heliocentric theory of Copernicus and the germ theory of disease. The strongest section details the role of evolution in the courtroom, where Mindell has experience giving expert testimony on DNA analyses. The chapter on using evolution as a metaphor for human cultural change suffers from the limitations of metaphor. For public libraries. (Line illustrations not seen.)-Walter L. Cressler, West Chester Univ. Lib., PA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Mindell (ecology & evolutionary biology, Univ. of Michigan) has written a welcome but somewhat encyclopedic account of the ways in which concepts of evolutionary biology are used in ways that influence our daily lives, e.g., domestication, conservation, public health, and education. Mindell includes a chapter on evolution as a metaphor for understanding cultural changes, provocatively using the Bible and the Abrahamic religions as examples. He spends little time addressing evolutionary biology's contemporary cultural and religious criticism, letting its value as an explanatory tool speak for itself. Yet in a too-long survey at the beginning, he does compare it with two other scientific discoveries that initially resisted acceptance--the heliocentric theory of Copernicus and the germ theory of disease. The strongest section details the role of evolution in the courtroom, where Mindell has experience giving expert testimony on DNA analyses. The chapter on using evolution as a metaphor for human cultural change suffers from the limitations of metaphor. For public libraries. (Line illustrations not seen.)-- Walter L. Cressler, West Chester Univ. Lib., PA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.