Avise, J.: Molecular Markers, Natural History and Evolution. Chapman and Hall, New York, 1994. An up-to-date account of how molecular biology is revolutionizing our ability to study evolution.

Browne, J.: Charles Darwin: Voyaging, Volume I of a Biography. Knopf/Cape, 1995. A delightful book that takes a detailed look at Darwin’s life in light of the then-understood status of evolutionary biology. First of two volumes, highly recommended.

Cody, M. and J. Overton: "Short-term Evolution of Reduced Dispersal in Island Plant Populations," Journal of Ecology, 1996, vol. 84, pages 53–61. An unusually clear and simple example of evolution by natural selection.

Futuyma, D.: Evolutionary Biology, 2d. ed., Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, MA, 1986. This text presents a good discussion of the development of evolutionary thought, combined with a process-oriented treatment of the whole field.

Goldschmidt, T.: Darwin’s Dreampond, The MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1996. An award-winning account by a Dutch fish taxonomist of how the colorful and incredibly diverse cichlids he was classifying were driven to extinction when Nile perch were introduced into Lake Victoria.

Gould, S.J.: Ever Since Darwin, W.W. Norton, New York, 1977. An entertaining and insightful collection of essays on evolution and Darwinism.

Grant, P.: "Natural Selection and Darwin’s Finches," Scientific American, October 1991, pages 82–87. In the Galápagos, finches evolve very rapidly—populations are altered significantly by a single season of drought.

Kerr, R.: "Did Darwin Get It All Right?" Science, March 1995, vol. 267, pages 1421–22. A thorough study of species formation in bryozoans indicates that new species appear abruptly in the fossil record after long periods of stability, providing evidence supporting the punctuated equilibrium model.

Little, C.: Terrestrial Invasion: An Ecophysiological Approach to the Origins of Land Animals, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England, 1990. An excellent treatment of the factors involved in the evolution of land animals.

May, R.: "How Many Species Inhabit the Earth?" Scientific American, October 1992, pages 42–48. A good guess at how many species exist now, how they got here, and the implications for conservation.

Weiner, J.: "Evolution Made Visible," Science, January 1995, vol. 267, pages 30-33. Evolution within natural populations is the subject of current research reviewed here by the author of The Beak of the Finch.