Evolution: The Modern Synthesis [Hardcover]

Julian Huxley (Author), John R. Baker (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 5, 1974 | ISBN-10: 0045750181 | ISBN-13: 978-0045750184 | Edition: 3rd

The definitive edition of one of the most important scientific books of the twentieth century, setting out the conceptual structure underlying evolutionary biology.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"It is good to have again in print (with a new introduction) Julian Huxley's masterwork, Evolution: The Modern Synthesis. One marvels at the depths of Huxley's insights, one is impressed by the breadth of his scope, and one is charmed and delighted by his gracious prose. Reading this book is like coming again on an old, valued friend or meeting someone who captivates from the first moment."--Michael Ruse, Lucyle T. Werkmeister Professor of Philosophy, Director of the Program in History and Philosophy of Science, Florida State University

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Julian Huxley (1887-1975), an English evolutionary biologist, was a prolific author and the leading figure in the mid-twentieth century effort to develop the modern synthesis of evolutionary theory. He was the first director of UNESCO, a founding member of the World Wildlife Fund, and the recipient of UNESCO's Kalinga Prize for the popularization of science in 1953, the Darwin Medal of the Royal Society in 1956, and the Darwin-Wallace Medal of the Linnean Society in 1958. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 768 pages
• Publisher: Allen & Unwin; 3rd edition (December 5, 1974)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0045750181
• ISBN-13: 978-0045750184
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,836,807 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE CLASSIC STATEMENT OF NEO-DARWINIAN EVOLUTIONARY THEORY, November 12, 2009

By 

Steven H. Propp (Sacramento, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Evolution: The Modern Synthesis (Hardcover)

Julian Huxley (1887-1975) was a famous English evolutionary biologist and humanist. (He wrote books like RELIGION WITHOUT REVELATION, as well as the forward to Teilhard de Chardin's The Phenomenon of Man.) This 1942 book was one of the prime statements of the "Neo-Darwinian" or "Synthetic" theory of evolution, which combines Darwinian Natural Selection with Mendelian genetics. "Mendelian analysis ... together with selection, explains the progressive mechanism of evolution." Yet "Neither mutation nor selection alone is creative of anything important in evolution; but the two in conjunction are creative."

Huxley states, "By Darwinism I imply that blend of induction and deduction which Darwin was the first to apply to the study of evolution." Concerning Natural Selection, "In a broad sense it covers all cases of differential survival: but from the evolutionary point of view it covers only the differential transmission of inheritable variations."

Huxley's considerable literary style is evident throughout the book: "To continue our metaphor, the offer made by a mutation to the species is not necessarily the final offer."

Huxley is (shades of Teilhard) a believer in evolutionary "progress." Although "All that natural selection can ensure is survival. It does not ensure progress, or maximum advantage," "evolution may perfectly well include progress without being progresive as a whole." And "we are justified in calling the trends which have led to (Man's) development progressive."

He ends on the positive note, "The future of progressive evolution is the future of man."

This is an essential work for anyone interested in the development of evolutionary theory.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Overrated, September 27, 2011

By 

M. Pardee "flagmichael" (Flagstaff, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Evolution: The Modern Synthesis (Paperback)

"Evolution: The Modern Synthesis" is a staple of evolutionary teaching today, but I sure don't understand why. It has the same problem the O.J. Simpson prosecution case had - a big pile of facts with no unifying thread, just a wandering narrative that has no apparent theme. More disturbing, Huxley cited Sir Ronald Fisher's "Genetical Theory of Natural Selection" heavily and never acknowledged Fisher's warning, as stated in the opening sentence of his book, "Natural Selection is not evolution."

The writing style is readable enough but is not engaging. As a source of interesting nature trivia it is passable, but the book fails to deliver on the promise of the title. There is no synthesis, just an attempt at reconciling disparate theories of the time.