Pattern of Evolution (Hardcover)

by Niles Eldredge (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
What drives biological evolution? Celebrated theorist Niles Eldredge shows us how the adaptation of organisms to their environment mirrors other natural processes in The Pattern of Evolution, and while he's at it, he gets in a few jabs at "ultra-Darwinians" like Richard Dawkins. The well-known theory of punctuated equilibrium, which Eldredge conceived and promoted with Stephen Jay Gould, holds that species remain stable for long intervals between literally earthshaking events that rewrite the evolutionary roster. Eschewing the traditional view differentiating between historical sciences, like his beloved paleontology, and functional sciences, like physics and chemistry, Eldredge proposes that evolutionary theory, by explaining patterns found in nature, can give us just as much "hard" knowledge as Newton's laws. His intriguing ideas are fleshed out with descriptions of illustrative sites (particularly the Puerto Rican rain forest) and dramatic arguments from before, during, and after Darwin's publication of The Origin of Species. As much a pleasure to read as his better-known colleague Gould, Eldredge shares his passions with his readers and is one of the few writers who can make theory both accessible and engrossing. While not all readers will agree with his attitude toward the "selfish gene" model of evolution, few will argue that his arguments for interdisciplinary synthesis in The Pattern of Evolution are anything but necessary and profound. --Rob Lightner

From Publishers Weekly
In these rich, dense, stimulating essays, Eldredge (Life in the Balance), curator of invertebrate paleontology at the American Museum of Natural History, improvises on Darwin by sketching a grand, sweeping, ecologically based theory that links biological evolution to physical events in the earth's history. He maintains that the driving force of evolution is global mass extinctions of a majority of species, which paves the way for the advent of new species that inhabit and rebuild disrupted ecosystems. What caused these extinctions? Eldredge goes beyond the usual culprits?rapid global cooling, periodic ice ages, catastrophic meteor collisions?by also citing plate tectonics, shifts in the earth's crust causing dramatic changes in oceanic circulation and global climate. In a sense, his theory fleshes out the notion of "punctuated equilibria" he developed with Harvard biologist Stephen Jay Gould, which holds that evolution proceeds episodically, in relatively short spasms that "punctuate" monotonous eons where nothing much happens. Mixing scientific adventure (the author's search for the Taita falcon, one of the world's rarest birds, near Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe) and freewheeling speculations on geology, paleontology, genetics and evolutionary theory, these elegant essays explore how the recognition of patterns in nature?by Darwin, Linnaeus, geologist James Hutton, continental-drift pioneer Alfred Wegener and others?often provides the key to scientific breakthroughs. A deep probe of how scientific advances emerge, the book touches upon current controversies as well, including the "snowball earth" theory of CIT geologist Joseph Kirschvink, which asserts that massive glaciers invaded the tropics just 600 million years ago, and that the earth's crust and upper mantle rotated as a shell 90 degrees, stirring the evolutionary pot. Author tour; rights: the Spieler Agency.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 219 pages
• Publisher: W.H. Freeman & Company (October 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0716730464
• ISBN-13: 978-0716730460
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,483,553 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent review of evolution and speciation, March 12, 1999

By A Customer

Niles Elderidge picks up where he left off in "Reinventing Darwin" and "Fossils: The Evolution and Extinction of Species", and takes the reader on a tour of the history of evolution. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. He starts off with admitting he caught himself at one moment contemplating whether Richard Dawkins might actually have been correct in his "selfish gene" theory about evolution. "My God, Richard Dawkins must be right after all!" he exclaims on the first page. But soon he calms down, takes a deep breath, and looks at the larger picture. He argues (convincingly, in my opinion) that evolution does not occur all the time, and that in fact species are quite stable and will last for millions of years, until some sort of environmental event happens which wipes out not only species but entire ecosystems as well. Most of the time, if there's a local change in the environment, the species could simply move. But sometimes events happen which results in extinction (in fact, the species today represent less than 1% of all species that have ever existed). Evolution occurs from the survivors of extinction, radiating to fill in new niches. This is Darwinian evolution, but not quite the gradual improvement often taught by the "Ulta-Darwinists". I found this book a delight to read, and thought he did an excellent job of summarising the history of the attempts to unite evolution with modern genetics.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New Theory from Ecology-Evolution Interplay, December 1, 1999

By	Jake Keenan "saying no to Plato" (Berkeley, Calif, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is noteworthy for two reasons. Most importantly Eldredge attempts an important advance of his earlier work on punctuated equilibria in evolution with a new model that he calls a "bucket-sloshing" model where ecological stabilities and regular evolutionary genetic drift alternate like sloshing water in a bucket to ratchet evolution. Secondly, the introductory chapters of the book are presented not just as background but as commentary on a fundamental divide within science, namely a split between historical sciences (geology, paleontology) and functional science (e.g. physics). Historical scientists commonly pursue pattern as opposed to cause or mechanism such as the more dominant functional scientists. Hence the "pattern" of the title links the holistic implications in both the contribution of historical scientists and the contribution of changing ecologies from events such as extinctions to "environmental" pressures.

His tone is grand and plodding even avuncular through much of the book as befits the scope of a paleontologist of his stature, but with it he opens the way for more of us to keep up with him. This is definitely an accessible book. Yet do not miss the important gems of theory that he brings to the dialogue to evolve our understanding of evolution.

13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Wegenerian epic?, August 6, 2000

By	Stephen A. Haines (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Eldredge would have done better to end this book at the second paragraph: "Richard Dawkins must be right after all!" Unfortunately, after making this capitulation he then turns to a pejorative, labelling Dawkins and his [unnamed] colleagues as "UltraDarwinists". It is difficult to perceive how anyone can be `beyond Darwin', but Eldredge returns continually to the phrase.

For a generation, Eldredge, in collaboration with Stephen J. Gould, has attempted to erode Darwin's 'natural selection' mechanism of evolution. Instead of gradual, incremental change, they urge evolution as progressing in fits and starts. The idea is indirectly supported by the imperfect sequence of the fossil record, a point Darwin conceded in Origin of Species. Eldredge uses the remainder of this book to explain why 'natural selection' should be replaced by 'punctuated equilibrium' - it follows the pattern of history. The pattern is that a traditional idea replaced by more innovative concepts. The key example here is the replacement of gradualism in geology replaced by the more determined action of continental drift. Eldredge wants to replace Darwin's form of 'gradualism' in evolution with a Wegenerian concept in biology, punctuated equilibrium. This will gain Eldredge [and, one assumes, Gould] a stature in the history of science equaling Wegener's.

Daniel C. Dennett's DARWIN'S DANGEROUS IDEA offers a penetrating analysis of the punctuation idea. Illustrating the fallacies of the thesis, failing to provide a scale for measuring rate of species change, for example, Dennett's critique should have swept away any vestige of support for the idea. The 'UltraDarwinists' use molecular genetics to reinforce Darwin's original concept. While earth's history has experienced episodes of rapid change [a 10 km bolide provides an earthshaking [sorry!] environmental pulse], such events are not the mechanism of evolution.

Eldredge's own example of the Cecropia tree, a continuing theme through this book, is a perfect example of why Dawkins is right and Eldredge wrong. Cecropia's forebears adapted to the impact of increasing hurricane frequency due to the closure of the Panamanian isthmus. Eldredge calls Cecropia`s emission of dormant seed pods 'cheating'. Yet that's exactly what Dawkins calls adaptation to environment. How rapidly did Cecropia `learn' this trick? Where did it learn it? Clearly, those trees whose genes contributed to seed dormancy survived to enhance the talent in later generations. Why Eldredge fails to examine that aspect is a mystery, since it is evolution's method.

Recommendations about this book don't come easy. The dispute over `punctuated equilibria' has gone on too long. Readers should be aware of Eldredge's views [and cheap rhetoric], but learn why he's wrong. Read this book, but don't buy it. Rush over to the Dennett page and pick up Darwin's Dangerous Idea, a book that deserves shelf space in anyone's library.