Encyclopedia of Evolution: 2 volume set [Hardcover]

Mark Pagel (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2, 2002 | ISBN-10: 0195122003 | ISBN-13: 978-0195122008

From the classic work of Darwin to current developments in such fields as psychology and economics, evolutionary biology is an increasingly powerful tool for understanding the natural world. Here in two volumes is a comprehensive, accessible, and authoritative guide to what we know about evolutionary biology, from the origins of species to the selfish gene and beyond.
The Encyclopedia of Evolution covers the essentials of evolutionary biology in 370 original articles written by leading experts. The articles cover basic concepts and theories; models, methods, and findings; schools of thought; current controversies; biographies; and more.
The Encyclopedia covers evolutionary thought in genetics, animal behavior, and every area of the life sciences, as well as in anthropology, psychology, linguistics, sociology, economics, medicine, philosophy, and other fields. There are hundreds of tables, charts, grtaphs, maps and other illustrations, bibliographies, cross-references and index.
Designed for students and teachers in both high schools and colleges and universities, and scholars and scientists in the natural and social sciences, the Encyclopedia of Evolution will be the first point of access to this growing body of knowledge.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Given the many recent advances in biology and genetics, a comprehensive new reference work on evolution has been greatly needed. Edited by Pagel (evolutionary biology, Univ. of Reading, U.K.), this impressive new work fills that gap nicely. Its coverage is much broader than that of previous references, which mainly focused on human evolution; it treats not only theory and the whole range of life forms but also a wide variety of other areas, including developmental biology, social behavior, consciousness, evolution of disease, systematics, population biology, complexity theory, and even art in prehistory. Some biographical articles are also included. The list of advisors and contributors reads like a who's who of biology, including, among others, Stephen Jay Gould, Jane Goodall, Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, and John Maynard Smith. Each article is signed and features a selected bibliography. Broad articles serve the novice as an introduction to their fields, but there are highly technical articles for experts as well; the high quality of writing overall makes difficult concepts easier to understand. This is an excellent resource that can also be browsed enjoyably by anyone interested in biology. It belongs in all academic and large public libraries. Marit MacArthur Taylor, Univ. of Colorado Lib., Denver
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

"The list of advisord and contributors reads like a who's who of biology...An impressive new work...This is an excellent resource,"--Library Journal [Starred Review] "No other recent encyclopedias provide comparable authoritative in-depth coverage of biological evolution."--Booklist [Starred Review]

"This ample work illustrates how thoroughly evoluton's concepts have permeated nearly every branch of modern human thought and study."--School Library Journal

"A comprehensive, accessible, and authoritative guide to all topics known about evolutionary biology....Encyclopedia of Evolution will be the first point of access to this growing body of knowledge."--Biology Digest "This encyclopedia will be a key resource for researchers, as well as students and teachers."--Nature "The essays not only provide excellent background, but look at how these theories of evolution might be applied to future research."--Choice "This is a superb, very general work

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1326 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (April 2, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195122003
• ISBN-13: 978-0195122008
• Product Dimensions: 12.4 x 9 x 4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,394,171 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very readable, clearly written & authoritative Encyclopedia of Biology, May 25, 2010

By 

R. A. Lang "madbioman" (Brisbane, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Encyclopedia of Evolution: 2 volume set (Hardcover)

This massive and remarkable work covers nearly every topic within biology in enough detail to give a good overview and provide a basis for further reading. Its minimum readership level is somewhat higher than that of a general encyclopedia. The title "Encyclopedia of Evolution" may put some people off; but this book is equally much an "Encyclopedia of Biology"....because 'evolution' and 'life' are one and the same thing! The two large volumes of this encyclopedia contain detailed, semi-popular- through to technical- level, articles, with an average length of several pages.

The articles are cleverly written so as to be useful to the scientifically informed layperson; if you have a modest amount of tertiary-level biology, or have been an enthusiastic reader of popular-level science magazines, you can benefit from this encyclopedia. Each article has been written by an authority in its field, and is accurate and detailed, so this reference work is also very useful to undergraduate, graduate, and professional biologists.

This encyclopedia is a remarkable achievement; it gathers together into two volumes the knowledge of large numbers of professional biologists. It achieves the Herculean task of adequately covering nearly all of biological science in a reference that is accessible at several different readership levels.