Why read Endless Forms Most Beautiful?

Book cover of Endless Forms Most Beautiful: The New Science of Evo Devo

Book description

For over a century, opening the black box of embryonic development was the holy grail of biology. Evo Devo-Evolutionary Developmental Biology-is the new science that has finally cracked open the box. Within the pages of his rich and riveting book, Sean B. Carroll explains how we are discovering that complex…

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Why read it?

2 authors picked Endless Forms Most Beautiful as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

W. A. Harris

Author

This is a wonderful book by one of the great pioneers of Evo-Devo. The title comes from the last lines of Darwin’s classic Origin of the Species, and the book fittingly illustrates how the theory of evolution is related to the development of plants and animals.

The lessons in this book are fundamental to my appreciation of biology and provide excellent context to the evo-devo stories in my book.

From W.'s list on the evolution and development of the brain.

Danna Staaf

Author

I’m in awe of how clearly and completely this book introduces the science of evo-devo, or evolutionary developmental biology, to the general public. It inspired me as both a scientist and a writer to delve into the wonders of how a fertilized egg can develop into the enormous diversity of life on our planet, from anemones to zebras and everything in between.

When I first learned about evolution, I was fascinated but struggled to understand how natural selection could produce such enormous variation. This book makes it make sense.

From Danna's list on babies and parenthood throughout the animal kingdom.