Evolution: What the Fossils Say and Why It Matters - Donald R. Prothero

Fossils: Below and above ground

The "Good But Overwrought" 3 star review here ably nails down the substance of Prothero's book. Prothero is obviously frustrated at the way creationists blithly ignore or dismiss the huge amount of fossil evidence we now have for evolution. He presents a good amount of that evidence, while vilifying those who act as if it doesn't exist.

There are a fair number of typos in the book. Sometimes the text and figures it refers to seem a bit uncoordinated their usage of terms.

An excellent book... but to what purpose?

I enjoyed this book immensely and it was helpful in getting me--a dimwitted layperson--up to speed on more recent developments in the relevant fields. However, I already believed in Evolution and, even armed with this fine collection of information, I'm sure I'd find that I could no more convince Creationists of the validity of the idea of Evolution than, well, I imagine I could sway Evolutionists into accepting Creationism (if my convictions were inverted).

The problem is scientists attempt to use scientific, rational methods to influence people whose minds are not scientific and rational. The greater problem is that too many people who aren't necessarily Fundamentalists, and are often well-credentialed educationally, and who have a major say in the conduct of our educational systems, have accepted the "validity" of unscientific and irrational thinking. It's not the Religious Right that's the problem, it's the Academic Left that tore down the barriers between Enlightenment thinking and superstition, and turned "judgement" and "discrimination" into forbidden words.

A book like this isn't going to work on those types because it's simply another product of Patriarchal Euro-centric Imperialistic blah, blah...you know the drill. Maybe many of those sorts of critics wouldn't be that overtly idiotic, but quite a few would say (and have said to this reader) that while the Theory of Evolution--all of Western science in fact--is just swell it's just one of many equally valid Truths, or Models of the Universe. Now the Hopi Indians...etc.

This is a fine book, but what I'd like more is a book on how to return to the point where anyone who voiced a belief in literal Creationism and the denial of the paleontological record would be laughed out of nearly any college classroom. In the film "Inherit the Wind" there is a scene where a prominent community member asserts his Christian beliefs but expresses deep concern that if his son attends a school that forbids the teaching of Evolution--modern science--he'll never be accepted into Harvard or Yale. The same should be said of a school that teaches Creationism along with Evolution*. No educated person watching that film when it was released into the pre-Hippie anti-Western college radical activist world would have seen anything wrong with those limitations.

There's a terrible point where respect for diversity and other cultures steers into disrespect for your own culture. Western Civilization does (or did) quite well by respecting both privately held beliefs AND the evidence of ones own senses coupled with the application of reason and logic. However, Atheist Evolutionists only compound problems by attacking not only intrusions into academia but religious belief itself--a strategy that wins over few to their causes, only infuriates and mobilizes the Religious Right, and alienates many otherwise sympathetic religious moderates.


*now we hear of teachers who avoid teaching Evolution altogether for fear of stirring up trouble.

Insightful research and analysis

The "design" and layout of the book is superb. It is clear a great deal of time, research, and creativity went into the overall presentation. The diagrams, cladograms, photos, illustrations (although occasionally not the best quality), cartoons, biblical text, and quotes enhance the entirety of this work. It was a well conceived book from a proficient researcher and author that does his best to explain the complexities of phylogeny in both paleontology and genetics (albeit not as extensive). Although I did not agree with some interpretations or analysis, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in what our past has to say in relation to our present and our future. Mr. Prothero displays and elaborates on the fossil record both apparent and vague. He is honest in the achievements in this field of research and is equally honest about any short comings. He gives care in communicating that there is never complete consensus in the scientific community in that there are always new hypothesis and discoveries to replace or enhance the current analysis.

Those readers who believe that God initiated evolution to propagate life on this uniquely rare planet should have few problems in following this research accordingly. However, it should be noted the author argues against God's hand in evolution by propagating "jury-rigging" creations, confusion of biblical interpretations of "good" and "perfect" as well as crying "cruelty" by referencing the Ichneumon Wasp reproductive process. Ironically, these charges serve as a momentous foundation for evolutionary components to work consistently across time whether or not you believe in divine handy work. Besides, what happens in nature is neither cruel nor righteous. The author does, at time, stray away from the science analysis with political rhetoric as he casts the blame of mediocre education and social ills on the creationists just as they blame evolutionists for the same social ills and humanity's inhumanity. Although I disagree with creationism (out-dated literal view of Genesis) as science, this type of soap boxing is distracting.

Do the fossils matter? Yes and No. It is well documented that this author as well as others consistently use "design" terms in their nomenclature when discussing and describing the elements of evolution or any science for that matter. To some perspectives it is apparent nature is the "god" or guiding force (via mutation, natural selection, common ancestor, etc.), where as, others believe God put nature and all these components into action as part of a divine plan. The difference is merely in the viewpoint of purpose or no purpose. This, however, makes no difference in the data. Whether or not the reader believes in God or not should make little difference to the research as it should not be considered irrefutable nor should it be considered ungodly. Data is data and in the end it is this reader's belief that true science as raw information should be considered, challenged, and revised as new discoveries are made. Neither creationism nor ID need necessarily be taught as an addendum since it makes no difference to the data itself. Spirituality deals with the soul and is not affected by ancient bones, exploding stars, or nuclear reactions. An individual does not necessarily have to compromise their spiritual faiths to research and study the world around them. Data is data. Faith is faith.

Overall, it was an enjoyable informative read and it is clear that some reviewers had not even read the book and don't understand the subject matter. That said, I do wish the author had included more research on pterosaurs. Additionally, I would recommend having an illustrated book on prehistoric life to give credence and flesh out the author's analogies and descriptions of current and extinct life forms. Thanks, Mr. Prothero.

One of my biology books

Evolution: What the Fossils Say...is a thorough examination of science and religion. The first chapter of the book I felt a bias coming off of the author (which made me want to stop reading), but about half way through the second chapter he discusses the in's and out's of religion and science. The author also discusses his background, which gives me insight as to why he can speak on such topics so confidently. I am very pleased w/ this book, and I recommend it.

This Book Serves Many Purposes and Does So Exceptionally

Evolution: What the Fossils Say and Why It Matters, by Mr. Prothero is one of the best books I've read on the subject of evolution. It is also one of the most complete.

The way I see it this book serves three purposes:

1. It provides excellent information about the fossil record.
2. It debunks many common creationist/intelligent design claims.
3. It gives an excellent overview of evolution in general, including some information on the findings regarding origin of life studies.

As for the first purpose, the latter half of the book is devoted to explaining the fossil evidence for the earliest forms of life found to be fossilized to detailing many of the fish/amphibian transitional fossils, all the way to humans. In regards to the section on human fossils I was a little disappointed that he did not go into as much detail as with the other fossils. He did not include as many pictures or diagrams of the fossils of the human ancestors as he did with the other groups, but the information is very good either way.

As for the second purpose, I think the author successfully debunks many common claims made by creationists, such as their confusion about the scientific method, Cambrian "slow fuse," to use Prothero's phrase, and "flood geology."

I also wanted to add one thing about the author's discussions of the creationists. Several of the reviewers seemed to look down on Prothero for his "venom" and "rage" as one reviewer put it. I had read some of the reviews and once I began reading the book I was expecting Prothero to throw insult after insult out at the creationists and simply verbally attack them. I found that this wasn't the case. Prothero was clearly agitated at these con-men continuously taking his fellow scientists out of context and resorting to bold faced lies to achieve their goals, but with the author calling these people liars, deluded, or dumb isn't that bad in my opinion. That's about as bad as his insults get. Yes, in beginning each chapter there were cartoons ridiculing the creationists, but with targets so easy, I see no harm in interspersing your work with a little humor. I didn't feel these things took from the rest of the book at all. Besides, the truth is that these people are liars, deceivers and are deluded. I see no problem with stating the obvious.

Overall, the author responds throughly and intelligently to many claims of the creationists, and throws a few low blows at the same time, but again I didn't think it subtracted anything from the author's message or his arguments.

Finally, the first half of the book covers some creationist arguments but then delves into the history of evolution; how Darwin came to develop his theories, to the difference between real science and pseudoscience, and gives some background on the creationist/intelligent design movement.

Overall, the book is very well written with fantastic explanations about the findings of evolutionary biology with very informative pictures, drawings and charts to illustrate what is said in the text. With the book covering such a wide range of topics as well as the author does, it would be an excellent addition to anyone's library.