I'm going to take advantage of my newbie blogger status and mention a book that everyone should read. Really! It's Dr. Tatiana's Sex Advice to All Creation. The Definitive Guide to the Evolutionary Biology of Sex, by Oliva Judson. This is simply a fantastic book about the evolution of sex. I have now used it for two classes. The first was a graduate seminar where I used it to whet the appetite of the grad students for the primary literature (even though it is a "popular" science book, it is very well referenced). I am currently using it for my freshman seminar course "Sex: why we do it", where it is not only a great introduction to the evolution of sex, but also to evolution itself.For those that already have made Dr. Tatiana's acquaintance, who is your favorite correspondent?
Nice Post. Dr. Tatiana is certainly awesome. However, I'm a HUGE fan of "What We Can and Can't Learn about Sex from Animals" by Deborah Zuk. Zuk (an entomologist) does a great job of debunking all of the glib anthropomorphism that pervades biological research. READ IT!!
ReplyDeleteI also have Zuk's book and enjoy it, too. It's written at a level that is less conducive to 1st year undergrads, but I have been considering assigning a chapter or two to balance out Dr. Tatiana.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, its worth pointing out that both Zuk and Judson are former students of the late, great evolutionary biologist Bill Hamilton.
ReplyDeletethe moth ear mite :)
ReplyDeleteDr.Tatjana has been on my amazon wishlist for a while - perhaps it's time to actually buy it.
ReplyDeleteCoturnix (and anyone else):
ReplyDeleteYou will not be dissapointed - buy it!
WARNING: If you read in bed and you share that bed with someone else, be forwarned that you will very likely be laughing out loud. I suggest that you be prepared to read aloud to your partner!
I have been wanting to get that book for a long, long, time.
ReplyDeleteThanks for making me finally get it!
Judson is great! Good choice for a first post.
ReplyDeleteMy old eyes do not handle black backgrounds very well; any chance of switching it out to something more readable?
Bruce
When does your hair get cut???
ReplyDeletecolin:
ReplyDeletethe simple answer about the hair is: SHOW ME THE MONEY!!! Unfortunately, we didn't raise enough for our our fund drive (our goal was only $3000) to support the Iowa City Darwin Day organization. Our DD event this year got cancelled; our speaker could not get here due to snow...
[ When does your hair get cut???]
ReplyDeleteI don't think that would be a good idea.....
*evil grin*