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Annotated Bibliography
A. D. Darbishire. Vol. I: The Origin of Species by Mutation; Vol. II: The
Origin of Varieties by Mutation. Chicago: Open Court Publishing, 1909.
English translation of de Vries’s famous Die Mutationstheorie (1901), a
significant work in the development of the Neo-Darwinist synthesis.
de Vries argues that his mutation theory, based on the action of genes,
can solve the problem that Darwin could not—the precise mechanism
that makes natural selection occur.
Dobzhansky, Theodosius. Genetics and the Origin of Species. New York:
Columbia University Press, 1937. Groundbreaking book in the development
of the Neo-Darwinist synthesis. Argues that the mutation of
genes is an essential component of speciation.
Gray, Asa. Darwiniana: Essay and Reviews Pertaining to Darwinism. New
York: D. Appleton and Company, 1876. Collection of articles by the
foremost nineteenth-century American apologist for Darwin. Discusses
the connection between religious faith, Christianity, and the theory of
evolution. Argues that evolution is not antithetical to Christianity.
Gribbin, John, and Mary Gribbin. Fitzroy: The Remarkable Story of Darwin’s
Captain and the Invention of the Weather Forecast. New Haven, CT: Yale
University Press, 2004. Fascinating biography of Robert FitzRoy, the
captain of the Beagle, which highlights his contributions to the development
of marine safety and meteorology.
Huxley, Julian. Evolution: The Modern Synthesis. London: George Allen and
Unwin Ltd., 1942. First book to recognize the development of a Neo-
Darwinist synthesis. Describes the ways the theory of evolution
changed as a result of new research by biologists, particularly in the
area of genetics. Explains why Neo-Darwinism is a better explanation
of evolution than Darwin’s or Mendel’s theory.
King-Hele, Desmond. Erasmus Darwin. London: Giles de la Mare Publishers
Ltd., 1999. Very detailed and readable biography of Charles Darwin’s
grandfather. Explains the connection between Erasmus Darwin’s and
Charles Darwin’s ideas about evolution. Updated version of an earlier
biography (1977).
Knight, David, ed. The Evolution Debate, 1813–1870. 9 vols. London:
Routledge, 2003. Each volume is a reprint of a significant work of
nineteenth-century science. Noteworthy volumes: I—Georges
Cuvier, Essay on the Theory of the Earth; II/III—William Buckland’s
Bridgewater Treatise Geology and Mineralogy Considered with Reference
to Natural Theology; VII—Thomas Huxley, Man’s Place in Nature;
VIII—Charles Lyell, The Geological Evidences of the Antiquity of Man;
and XIV—Alfred Russel Wallace, Contributions to the Theory of Natural
Selection and the two papers presented jointly to the Linnean Society
by Wallace and Darwin entitled ‘‘On the Tendency of Species to Form
Varieties.’’ Each volume has a helpful introduction.