Customer Reviews

At the Water's Edge : Macroevolution and the Transformation of Life

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There seem to be a number of really big macroevolutionary events in natural history, and Zimmer does well in explaining what happened and why with the fish-tetrapod event, the blind alleys, and people involved. I would have liked more detail in anatomy, DNA relationships, and the like, but that probably would have bored most people. The land animal-whale transition feels closer to home, but seems to be to be a side-show to the major events in evolutionary history. Zimmer writes well but it would be good to have a technical volume to go with it. Footnotes / endnotes would also be pleasant addition for the reader that wants to follow up, but they are missing.

This book does a remarkable job of covering two major transitions in evolution. First the transition from fish to the first terrestrial tetrapods and secondly from terrestrial mammals to whales. A kind of out of the water and back in scenario.

The book covers the transitional specimens that have been found to date very well and goes over most of the difficulties of changing from one extreme environment to the other.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in evolution.

Informative, well written. This book is a delight to read.

Carl Zimmer does a terrific job of taking a difficult subjectand making it interesting and undertandable. This is a great resourcefor describing to the "evolutionary uninformed public" about the vast number of transitional fossils, embryologic similarities between species and DNA evidence for macroevolution. We need more writers and researchers like Carl Zimmer to help the masses aquire the knowledge to propell us into the 21st Century. It was a pleasure to read..only wish it was longer!

The shimmering interface between water and air has been a stage for some of evolution's most amazing feats. In this expertly written book Zimmer examines how nature has coped with the challenge of evolving across this formidable barrier -- first as ancient fish evolved into tetrapods, and later when certain animals re-evolved to return to the sea. Along the route we get to meet the key fossils and paleontologists that have contributed to our understanding today. Zimmer includes plenty of details, including a lucid explanation of how changes in the hox gene complex allowed evolution of the limbs and hands of land animals, and a detailed recapitulation of the step-by-step evolution of a Mesonychid land animal into the majestic whales we know today. Unfortunately the book is stretched a bit thin to cover so many topics, and ends up feeling like a tasty appetizer for something more substantial. If you have a lazy afternoon at the library, try opening a copy of the peerless work by Colbert and Morales: Evolution of the Vertebrates.

--Auralgo

The author takes you along the path from the earliest animals to the evolution of whales in an account that is detailed , yet is an enjoyable read and one that does not lose you in all its intricacies. At the end I felt very satisfied that he had done an excellent account of explaining everything,

Although critical of, and no fan of, Darwin's theory, I found this book a significant and interesting counter-challenge important for keeping up with the vast amounts of new research that do belie some of the standard criticisms of Darwin's theory, behind enemy lines speed reading. Part of the problem in the Darwin debate is the spiritual-material dilemma that makes any challenge to selectionism seem metaphysical, this closing on the 'species question' with miracle mongering. But that was never as such the point, and the facts of evolution being filled in, still with theoretical preconceptions to be sure, by new discoveries are essential updates for all parties to all arguments. This work is therefore a good curve ball for any Darwin critic, but still, I fear, no finally conclusive demonstration of the theory, beyond the exciting facts, and these include, for example, one of the thorniest transitions, that of the whales.
Good to keep an eye on the facts, and these 'succcesses' can be misleading, so watch out.
By the author of the PBS series evolution.

Although critical of, and no fan of, Darwin's theory, I found this book a significant and interesting counter-challenge important for keeping up with the vast amounts of new research that do belie some of the standard criticisms of Darwin's theory, behind enemy lines speed reading. Part of the problem in the Darwin debate is the spiritual-material dilemma that makes any challenge to selectionism seem metaphysical, this closing on the 'species question' with miracle mongering. But that was never as such the point, and the facts of evolution being filled in, still with theoretical preconceptions to be sure, by new discoveries are essential updates for all parties to all arguments. This work is therefore a good curve ball for any Darwin critic, but still, I fear, no finally conclusive demonstration of the theory, beyond the exciting facts, and these include, for example, one of the thorniest transitions, that of the whales.
Good to keep an eye on the facts, and these 'succcesses' can be misleading, so watch out.
By the author of the PBS series evolution.

Although critical of, and no fan of, Darwin's theory, I found this book a significant and interesting counter-challenge important for keeping up with the vast amounts of new research that do belie some of the standard criticisms of Darwin's theory, behind enemy lines speed reading. Part of the problem in the Darwin debate is the spiritual-material dilemma that makes any challenge to selectionism seem metaphysical, this closing on the 'species question' with miracle mongering. But that was never as such the point, and the facts of evolution being filled in, still with theoretical preconceptions to be sure, by new discoveries are essential updates for all parties to all arguments. This work is therefore a good curve ball for any Darwin critic, but still, I fear, no finally conclusive demonstration of the theory, beyond the exciting facts, and these include, for example, one of the thorniest transitions, that of the whales.
Good to keep an eye on the facts, and these 'successes' can be misleading, so watch out.
By the author of the PBS series on evolution.