Darwin's Ghost: The Origin of Species Updated [Hardcover]

Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday Canada, Limited
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385259034
• ISBN-13: 978-0385259033
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,960,546 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The New/Old Science, May 23, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Darwin's Ghost: The Origin of the Species Updated (Hardcover)

Regardless of your interest in or knowledge of science, Jones' work is captivating. Equally important, for the general reader, it is not hard work. Using modern scientific advances including work on diseases (such as AIDS and sickle cell anemia), primate research and genetics, Jones sets out to prove Darwin's theory of "descent by modification" all over again. He succeeds both in supporting Darwin's theory and holding the reader's interest with a sharp writing style and a gift for applying useful analogies and metaphors that make his subject accessible. Some of Jones' sidebar comments will make you laugh out loud and some of his more profound conclusions will have you thinking about and recommending this book long after you have finished it.

42 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not just for science buffs, April 24, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Darwin's Ghost: The Origin of the Species Updated (Hardcover)

I picked this up because of the great NY Times Book Review review--I'm not a science buff in particular, but it just sounded like a good, intelligent read. Just want to say how glad I am I took the plunge, because this book is so wide-ranging, it's about everything. It's fantastic--I've never read anything quite like it. Animals, life, AIDS, history, geography, God--you name it, Jones talks about it, and he weaves it all together into an incredibly readable book. So here's from one satisfied reader--I couldn't recommend this book more.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Evoution Made Understandable for the Nonscientist, February 13, 2001

By 

Mark Evans (Radnor, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Darwin's Ghost: The Origin of the Species Updated (Hardcover)

The last serious book I read on evolution was Darwin's Origin of Species, which I read as a requirement for a History of Science course in college. I wish had first read Darwin's Ghost. This book completely rekindled my scientific interest in evolution. Jones follows the structure of the original, but updates it with more than a century's worth of scientific progress. For example, the question of why we can't actually observe evolution in progress is answered through modern examples such as HIV. But more importantly, Jones has made The Origin of Species readable for the common man. Darwin's Ghost is enjoyable, relative easy to comprehend, and most importantly, after you have read it you actually understand and retain much of the current evidence that supports modern evolutionary theory. I would recommend this book for those who consider themselves either "evolutionists" or "creationists", because without understanding the scientific evidence for evolution it is impossible to either defend or attack evolution. Far too much of the popular press coverage of evolution occurs in a vacuum of understanding (on both sides). For the diehard evolutionist, this book will certainly pale in comparison to the original. But for the vast majority of people, who will never read The Origin of Species, I would highly recommend this book. You may even find your intellectual curiosity piqued sufficiently to delve further into the field.