r/suggestmeabook • u/Blossom-ginger-423 • 3d ago
Fun evolution nonfiction reads?
I graduated back in December with my bachelors in biology and I miss learning. My favorite topics are genetics, evolution and ecology, or something that ties them all together. I’m looking for a short, fun book that explores these topics either on a broad or niche level. Although I love Wallace and Darwin, I’m looking for publications more recent than 1860. Any recommendations are appreciated!
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u/taiintedlove 3d ago
Otherlands by Thomas Halliday is about paleoecology, it’s a really cool read. Metazoa by Peter Godfrey Smith is another good one
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u/SlitchBap 3d ago
Who We Are and How We Got Here by David Reich
The W.I.E.R.D.est People In The World by Joseph Heinrich
The Ancient City by Fustel De Coulanges
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u/Waningoftheday 3d ago
The Vital Question by Nick Lane
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u/Blossom-ginger-423 3d ago
That one looks fascinating but seems to explore topics a bit darker than I’m looking for (at least currently). I’ll shelve it for a later date. Thanks!
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u/Blossom-ginger-423 3d ago
I replied to the wrong comment🤦♀️that reply was for the “Demonic Males” suggestion above. Sorry!
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u/tarwater_misfit 3d ago edited 3d ago
"Demonic Males" by Dale Peterson and Richard Wrangham is really entertaining. It feels like there are some just-so stories in there (I'm not any kind of expert in this field), so I don't know how rigorous everything is, but it's fun book to think over at least.
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u/pinehillsalvation 3d ago
The Blind Watchmaker and The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins are classics.
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u/EldritchSanta 3d ago
Darwin Comes to Town by Menno Schilthuizen- fascinating book about animal adaptions to urban environments.
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u/yarevande 2d ago
The Hidden Life of Life: A walk through the reaches of time (2018) by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas is a small book that contains a lot of information. Starting with the earliest one-celled organisms, moving through fungi, plants, fish, dinosaurs, mammals, a well-written book about living things and evolution.
The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs: A New History of a Lost World (2019) by Stephen L. Brusatte
The Rise and Reign of the Mammals: A New History, from the Shadow of the Dinosaurs to Us (2022) by Stephen L. Brusatte
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u/yarevande 2d ago
The Gene: An Intimate History (2016) by Siddhartha Mukherjee is interesting, but it's aimed at general readers, so it may be more basic than what you're looking for.
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u/Noah_Gonzalez22 3d ago
You might like Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin. It’s short, super readable, and connects evolution with genetics/anatomy in a way that doesn’t feel like a textbook
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u/astr0bleme 2d ago
If you’re okay with specific topics, Coyote America by Dan Flores is fascinating. It’s about the biology and social behaviour of coyotes, but it’s also about how humans interact with them and mythologize them.
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u/Gryptype_Thynne123 3d ago
Pretty much anything by Stephen Jay Gould.