The Evidence for Evolution - by Alan R Rogers (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

According to polling data, most Americans doubt that evolution is a real phenomenon. And it's no wonder that so many are skeptical: many of today's biology courses and textbooks dwell on the mechanisms of evolution-natural selection, genetic drift, and gene flow-but say little about the evidence that evolution happens at all. How do we know that species change? Has there really been enough time for evolution to operate?

With The Evidence for Evolution, Alan R. Rogers provides an elegant, straightforward text that details the evidence for evolution. Rogers covers different levels of evolution, from within-species changes, which are much less challenging to see and believe, to much larger ones, say, from fish to amphibian, or from land mammal to whale. For each case, he supplies numerous lines of evidence to illustrate the changes, including fossils, DNA, and radioactive isotopes. His comprehensive treatment stresses recent advances in knowledge but also recounts the give and take between skeptical scientists who first asked "how can we be sure" and then marshaled scientific evidence to attain certainty. The Evidence for Evolution is a valuable addition to the literature on evolution and will be essential to introductory courses in the life sciences.

Review Quotes

"Alan Rogers addresses the political controversy over the theory of evolution (there's no longer any scientific controversy) in the best scientific spirit: with evidence and logic. For anyone with an open mind, a curiosity about the natural world, and a desire to see controversies settled with evidence rather than rhetoric, this is an invaluable contribution and a fascinating read."

--Steven Pinker, Harvard University

"This work is novel and significant because of the growing misunderstanding of the concepts of evolution. Rogers does a great job of presenting the creationists' arguments and providing some of the best evidence to counter those arguments. He brings the full arsenal of what modern science has to offer, but also does so in a respectful manner that is accessible to a broad audience without condescending language. This is exactly the kind of message that evolutionary biologists should be sending."

--Christina Richards, University of South Florida

"An elegant little128-page book by a veteran University of Utah scientist that explains and defends the theory of evolution."
--Roger Ebert

"The Evidence for Evolution is a find advocate's case for Darwin's theory."--Michael J. Behe, Lehigh University "Review of Metaphysics"

"[A] fresh and splendid little book."
--Warren D. Allmon "Reports of the National Center for Science Education"

"Lucid, compact, up-to-date, and highly readable."--Ross H. Nehm, Ohio State University "BioScience"

"The volume is clearly written and presents helpful examples for readers. In addition to providing an excellent introduction for general readers, this book will be of use in a variety of introductory courses on biology or as a supplement to a more general treatment of evolutionary theory."--Chris Zarpentine, University of Utah "Quarterly Review of Biology"

About the Author

Alan R. Rogers is professor of anthropology and biology at the University of Utah.