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archytas's review against another edition
4.0
This book isn't the easiest read, particularly if you, like me, have no background in chemistry and scarcely remember cellular biology. Lane explains each new concept/word as it is introduced, but also introduces them rapid fire, so keeping each in your head in increasingly dense sentences becomes difficult. No doubt had I found the analogies useful, this would have been off-set, but unusually (based on other reviews) I found them often not quite exact enough to be useful, and sometimes off-base entirely (I'm still struggling with his use of "illegal alien" at a point I'm pretty certain he just meant "alien" for example).
These factors were compounded by my own state of ill-health and high medication at the time of reading. Combined, unusually and frustratingly, I ended up accepting that some of the details were escaping me as I read through. And I suspect I will come back to this one, but after reading some more introductory primers on bacteria, cellular structure and DNA.
So why did I give a book I had trouble following 4 stars? Firstly, because with some effort, I did grasp the basic point of each section, and was able to explain it to my long-suffering (and more scientifically educated) partner. And this was far more a discussion about the motor force of life than other evolution books I have read. I feel much much more competent now to understand not just the theoretical basis of how an eye could evolve, but how it may have done so in actual practice. Lane's topics were fascinating, each in each, and while all may not have been well-named, each drastically broadened my understanding of the complexity of life, and the interconnectedness of things.
It certainly is refreshing to read a book which takes you through evolution, without feeling the need to point out the wrongness of creationism. There is no need - the intricacy with which millions of pieces of evidence only fit together with an understanding of evolution does that. And when Lane finally gives at the end his plea for a scientific approach, he has earned the grandeur he assigns to a natural history of our earth.
I just wish there had been better analogies, and maybe a few diagrams :)
These factors were compounded by my own state of ill-health and high medication at the time of reading. Combined, unusually and frustratingly, I ended up accepting that some of the details were escaping me as I read through. And I suspect I will come back to this one, but after reading some more introductory primers on bacteria, cellular structure and DNA.
So why did I give a book I had trouble following 4 stars? Firstly, because with some effort, I did grasp the basic point of each section, and was able to explain it to my long-suffering (and more scientifically educated) partner. And this was far more a discussion about the motor force of life than other evolution books I have read. I feel much much more competent now to understand not just the theoretical basis of how an eye could evolve, but how it may have done so in actual practice. Lane's topics were fascinating, each in each, and while all may not have been well-named, each drastically broadened my understanding of the complexity of life, and the interconnectedness of things.
It certainly is refreshing to read a book which takes you through evolution, without feeling the need to point out the wrongness of creationism. There is no need - the intricacy with which millions of pieces of evidence only fit together with an understanding of evolution does that. And when Lane finally gives at the end his plea for a scientific approach, he has earned the grandeur he assigns to a natural history of our earth.
I just wish there had been better analogies, and maybe a few diagrams :)
harryr's review against another edition
4.0
The ten ‘inventions’ are: The origin of life, DNA, photosynthesis, the complex cell, sex, movement, sight, hot blood, consciousness and death. Lane explains how each of these work and how they evolved, at least as far as current knowledge can take us — which in some cases, like the origin of life, is apparently rather further than I had realised. The consciousness chapter, if you’re wondering, was rather less persuasive.
What sets this book apart from most popular accounts of evolution is that Nick Lane is a biochemist rather than, say, a palaeontologist or an ethologist. So this is a book which focuses on evolution at the micro level: it’s all biochemical pathways and enzymes and the genes which code for them. This is the real nitty gritty of how evolution works, how it actually achieves things; but it’s also the stuff which I generally find is a complete headfuck. No matter how many times I have read accounts of the inner workings of a cell over the years, it just doesn’t stick.
So it is not a small compliment to say I found this book was not just full of new and interesting information, but also managed to be clear, engaging and enjoyable. I still ending up having a long pause halfway through, and I’ve already forgotten a lot of it, but I enjoyed it as I read it.
What sets this book apart from most popular accounts of evolution is that Nick Lane is a biochemist rather than, say, a palaeontologist or an ethologist. So this is a book which focuses on evolution at the micro level: it’s all biochemical pathways and enzymes and the genes which code for them. This is the real nitty gritty of how evolution works, how it actually achieves things; but it’s also the stuff which I generally find is a complete headfuck. No matter how many times I have read accounts of the inner workings of a cell over the years, it just doesn’t stick.
So it is not a small compliment to say I found this book was not just full of new and interesting information, but also managed to be clear, engaging and enjoyable. I still ending up having a long pause halfway through, and I’ve already forgotten a lot of it, but I enjoyed it as I read it.
brianeb2c1's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
panxa's review against another edition
4.0
Another great book by Nick Lane. This is probably his most approachable book. Oxygen and Mitochondria both really get into the science of their topic, while Life Ascending is more of an overview. I read this one last, but I'd recommend reading it first.
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