Icons of Evolution: An Encyclopedia of People, Evidence, and Controversies [2 Volumes](Greenwood Icons)

Students and the general public are frequently confronted with contradictory and confusing claims about the people, ideas, and artifacts that were essential in the development of the science of evolution. Where can they find accurate and understandable information on these important concepts? Icons of Evolution comprises twenty-four in-depth essays on the most famous ideas, artifacts, people and places of evolutionary biology. Dinosaurs, Neanderthals, Charles Darwin, peppered moths, carbon dating, the fossil record, and more, are explained by some of the most respected scientists, historians, and philosophers of evolution in the world.

About the Author :
Brian Regal is a historian who teaches the history of science at Kean University, New Jersey. His work centers on fringe notions, anomalous beliefs, dubious ideas and the people who propagate and study them. He has written on eugenics, racial anthropology, and creationism and their relationship to evolution studies, society and culture.

Review :
As with other entries in the series, the articles in these three volumes feature a nice mix of scholarly excellence and great reading appeal. The editor/authors were chosen for their breadth of knowledge, and much care was taken to present the topics in a way that provides context. Expect to find a time line of significant events, followed by entries with essential historical data and a legacy discussion pointing out the significance of the icon to the genre. Signed articles are accompanied by further reading and interspersed with chronologies and interesting sidebars. These sets are excellent for students requiring authoritative studies yet popular enough in writing style to allow for leisure reading. Recommended as solid encyclopedias of important figures, so purchase as interest warrants for school, public, and college library reference collections. Packed in these volumes are essays describing the highlights of evolution. Written by a mix of different authors, the text is informative and challenging reading. Further reading is listed at the end of each essay, with a lengthy bibliography at the end of Volume 2. Text boxes are found within several articles. . . . This set will be useful in public and academic libraries and in high schools where more information on evolution is needed. . . . excellent pair of volumes . . . honest, diverse, interesting, and designed to show the complexities of the scientific enterprise . . . . The best chapter is probably the detailed analysis of the famous peppered moth experiments, followed closely by useful articles on dinosaurs (and how they are often misunderstood), the dinosaur-bird Archaeopteryx, and the horse fossil series. The articles on Radiometric Dating and Cladistics are models of clear prose, which could easily be used to teach the topics to undergraduates. Icons of Evolution holds its own as an introduction to some of the most interesting aspects of evolutionary theory and history. It will be most useful, however, as a resource for those lonely soldiers on the frontlines of science education who find themselves besieged by pseudoscientific claims that evolution is a failing concept. The candor of these volumes is refreshing, showing evolutionary studies to be a dynamic, human science that produces astonishing insights about our world and our places in it. This work is highly recommended for all libraries. It is a good toolbox to deal with Intelligent Design and will be particularly valuable in the USA. It is also a good introduction to aspects of evolution. . . . on the whole good interesting reading and schools and public libraries should consider having a copy. Those interested in the history and social and philosophical aspects of biological knowledge will find this a good collection of essays with many useful references.