Explaining Life Through Evolution

This eclectic primer by Chakrabarty (A Guide to Academia), a biology professor at Louisiana State University, explores the science of evolution. The author expounds on three proposed explanations for genetic variation: natural selection (survival of the fittest), sexual selection (survival of the most attractive), and Japanese biologist Motoo Kimura’s “neutral theory of molecular evolution,” which posits that much genetic difference between species is effectively random and has little bearing on individuals’ ability to survive and reproduce. However, the presentation of the science is somewhat scattered, with tidbits about Aristotle’s hierarchy of living creatures, the nature of truth, and what humans share with their distant marine ancestors (the larynx evolved from gills) jumbled together. Nonetheless, the freewheeling spirit sometimes works to the book’s benefit (one amusing chapter offers a comic of Charles Darwin’s life) and the author’s humorous tone keeps the proceedings light (“Nipples on males—what’s up with that?”). The strongest sections propose how science can inform political debates, as when Chakrabarty notes that the existence of same-sex mating across the animal kingdom casts doubt on the assumptions of those who consider homosexuality “unnatural.” Pop science fans willing to look past some disorganization will be rewarded. (Aug.)