Awards

• Winner of Pulitzer Prize General Non-Fiction Category 1994
• Winner of Pulitzer Prize General Non-Fiction Category 1994.

Overview

This is one of the easiest-to-read, most exciting books on evolution of the past twenty years. It describes evolution happening before our eyes among the isolated bird populations of the Galapagos - the very finches observed by Darwin on his Beagle voyage - and its heroes are an unsung British couple. It is uncannily fascinating to imagine the beak of the finch changing in our lifetime in response to evolutionary pressure. . . .

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9780099468714

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Reviews

A book that reads as easily as a good novel, while adroitly conveying information -- John Gribbin * Sunday Times * Jonathan Weiner's powerful and elegant book is a meditation on Darwinism, from its beginnings to our current planetary crisis... At its core is a study of the changes that are still happening to the 13 finch species that inhabit the Galapagos Islands. They are famous ( and fabled) birds, whose eccentric adaptations to the raw, unformed habitats of these young volcanoes gave Darwin one of the crucial clues in the development of his theory of the Origin of the Species by means of Natural Selection -- Richard Mabey * Independent on Sunday * No other book has displayed so dramatically the tiny but momentous changes that are taking place all around us in the living world. Darwin would be cheering -- Derwent May * Evening Standard * The subtle interweaving of historical fact, hard scientific detail and humorous anecdote makes this the kind of popular science writing to which many authors aspire but which so few achieve * Economist *

"A book that reads as easily as a good novel, while adroitly conveying information -- John Gribbin * Sunday Times * Jonathan Weiner's powerful and elegant book is a meditation on Darwinism, from its beginnings to our current planetary crisis... At its core is a study of the changes that are still happening to the 13 finch species that inhabit the Galapagos Islands. They are famous ( and fabled) birds, whose eccentric adaptations to the raw, unformed habitats of these young volcanoes gave Darwin one of the crucial clues in the development of his theory of ""the Origin of the Species by means of Natural Selection"" -- Richard Mabey * Independent on Sunday * No other book has displayed so dramatically the tiny but momentous changes that are taking place all around us in the living world. Darwin would be cheering -- Derwent May * Evening Standard * The subtle interweaving of historical fact, hard scientific detail and humorous anecdote makes this the kind of popular science writing to which many authors aspire but which so few achieve * Economist *"

An unusual and enjoyable look at the ongoing process of evolution. Think finch. Think Galapagos. Darwin's finches. All those clever birds adapted to fill niches that might normally be filled by other birds. Each with beak adapted to be long and pointy or stout and deep: whatever it takes to tackle the food of choice. It all happened when the first finch or two blew into the volcano islands millennia ago, right? Wrong. What Weiner (Planet Earth, 1986) sets out to do, and does very well, is demonstrate that evolution happens fast and now. That point is not new to those in the know: Remember those 19th-century English moths that adapted to soot-covered bark by turning from predominantly white to predominantly black in a few moth generations? Weiner's tale focuses on Peter and Rosemary Grant, who have spent 20 years documenting every finch on Daphne Major island and coding data on life history to be plugged into computers back home in Princeton. The story is fascinating: In hard times the species exploit their separate niches: ground feeders of varied-sized seeds, cactus feeders, etc. In soft times they intermingle, even hybridize. Thus the pendulum swings from species fission to species fusion. Now after a few flood seasons, the hybrids are doing very well...but times change. And that is the point - dynamic and constant change. As Weiner winds up his story, he moves on to thee and me: with the bacteria in our guts, with anti-biotic and pesticide resistance, global warming and the greenhouse effect - all the manmade changes that are ratcheting up the evolutionary gears. All this is artfully told, with maps and drawings, some by a Grant daughter. There are lots of memorable lines, and telling, even funny anecdotes (don't miss the one about the barnacle that bit) that make this Weiner a winner. (Kirkus Reviews)

This compelling book reads like a good novel but, at the same time, opens a window on the process of evolution. It is the story of two dedicated scientists who have been studying a population of Darwin's own famous finches, in the Galapagos Islands, since 1970. They are able to recognize every one of the birds by sight and know all about their family trees, their breeding habits and almost every other aspect of their daily lives. But most exciting of all, they are observing evolution in progress, in exactly the way that Darwin surmised. The book describes their field work, living conditions and some of their perilous adventures; explains how they have managed to record the activities of some 20,000 finches over a period of 20 years; discusses Darwin, his theory of evolution and the continuing resistance to his ideas; and helps to explain in a delightful, roundabout way how evolution really works. If you only read one book on the subject, this should be it. (Kirkus UK)

A book that reads as easily as a good novel, while adroitly conveying information -- John Gribbin Sunday Times Jonathan Weiner's powerful and elegant book is a meditation on Darwinism, from its beginnings to our current planetary crisis... At its core is a study of the changes that are still happening to the 13 finch species that inhabit the Galapagos Islands. They are famous ( and fabled) birds, whose eccentric adaptations to the raw, unformed habitats of these young volcanoes gave Darwin one of the crucial clues in the development of his theory of the Origin of the Species by means of Natural Selection -- Richard Mabey Independent on Sunday No other book has displayed so dramatically the tiny but momentous changes that are taking place all around us in the living world. Darwin would be cheering -- Derwent May Evening Standard The subtle interweaving of historical fact, hard scientific detail and humorous anecdote makes this the kind of popular science writing to which many authors aspire but which so few achieve Economist

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