Average customer rating:
- Good as a refresher for the initiated, but not for beginners at all
- very complete reference book
- not well written
- More than what the title implies
- first print
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Inferring Phylogenies
Joseph Felsenstein
Manufacturer: Sinauer Associates
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Similar Items:
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Phylogenetic Trees Made Easy: A How-to Manual, Third Edition
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Molecular Markers, Natural History, and Evolution
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The Phylogenetic Handbook: A Practical Approach to DNA and Protein Phylogeny
-
Molecular Evolution and Phylogenetics
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Speciation
ASIN: 0878931775 |
Book Description
Phylogenies (evolutionary trees) are basic to thinking about and analyzing differences between species. Statistical, computational, and algorithmic work on them has been ongoing for four decades, with great advances in understanding. Yet no book has summarized this work until now. Inferring Phylogenies explains clearly the assumptions and logic of making inferences about phylogenies, and using them to make inferences about evolutionary processes. It is an essential text and reference for anyone who wants to understand how phylogenies are reconstructed and how they are used.
As phylogenies are inferred with various kinds of data, this book concentrates on some of the central ones: discretely coded characters, molecular sequences, gene frequencies, and quantitative traits. Also covered are restriction sites, RAPDs, and microsatellites.
Inferring Phylogenies is intended for graduate-level courses, assuming some knowledge of statistics, mathematics (calculus and fundamental matrix algebra), molecular sequences, and quantitative genetics.
Customer Reviews:
Good as a refresher for the initiated, but not for beginners at all.......2006-05-30
This new explanation of phylogenetic methods contains a good discussion of the merits and potential failings of many of the methods currently used to study phylogenetics. It may be very good for computer science students, who have a better grasp of the mathematics. It may also be good for biologists well versed in biostatistics, who want to know why systematists use certain, less easily handled, analytical methods. However, it is very difficult reading for other scientists who do not fully understand the complex math presented in the text. It also does not give a concinct summary of the assumptions and failings of each method. The bottom line is that this book is good for experts who easily understand algorithms, but not good for students who don't have a good handle on such things.
very complete reference book.......2005-01-17
Inferring phylogenies was much anticipated by the large audience which has used Felsenstein's programs, and his website which reviews and categorizes applied tree building and population genetics programs.
This book is very complete, and functions well as a reference book. It is not a book that would read from start to finish, and probably would not be the best text available for a general upper division course. We have used selected chapters for supplementary readings when appropriate in reading groups. However, due to its completeness, this would be one title that I would recommend that most people working with phylogenetics would require for their bookshelf.
not well written.......2004-07-23
This book, although apparently containing everything, is written in a very opaque style which makes it impossible to simply read through. It probably is a good reference to look in for particular topics, but it is not at all usable as an introduction.
More than what the title implies.......2004-07-05
As one would expect, the majority of this book deals with the various algorithms for phylogenetic analysis (such as the various versions of parsimony, distance based methods, and likelihood methods), but the book covers more topics that this. In particular, the book covers methods of tree comparison such as the KHT and SH tests, which I found particularly welcome because the current literature covering these tests often are rather opaque to those who haven't followed it since their conception.
The only weak thing about about the book (besides the many typos, which should be fixed in the new printing anyway), is Felsenstein's rather acrimonious treatment of Bayesian methods, in which the Bayesian use of priors is criticized on philosophical grounds.
I was annoyed by this not because I'm a card-carrying Bayesian (which I'm certainly not), but rather because I would have thought that Felsenstein of all people, whose primary opponents in the 1980's were the members of the philosophically-minded Willi Hennig crowd (who always claimed that parsimony was "philosophically right" even when it gave the wrong answer), would realize the futility of arguing scientific issues on philosophical grounds. Bayesian methods, as all scientific methods, will win or lose based on how well they work in practice, despite turgid philosophizing on both sides of the issue.
first print.......2004-05-25
The book I bought is first printing version. Lots of typo inside..... I should correct them myself.-:(
Book Description
Phylogenetic Trees Made Easy helps beginners get started in creating phylogenetic trees from protein or nucleic acid sequence data. Although aimed at molecular and cell biologists who may not be familiar with phylogenetic or evolutionary theory, it also serves students who may be familiar with phylogenetic theory but are unfamiliar with the tools used to apply that theory. The reader is led, step by step, through identifying sequences that are homologous to a sequence of interest, downloading these sequences from databases, creating multiple alignments, and using several different methods to construct trees. "Learn More" boxes present background on the various concepts and methods, and an accompanying CD and Website provide files needed for working through the tutorials in the text. Key changes to the Second Edition include:
* discussion and screen shots updated to reflect current software versions
* all software discussed available for Macintosh, PC, and UNIX platforms
* detailed discussion of PAUP* for both Macintosh and Windows
* inclusion of PHYLIP as an alternative to PAUP*
* addition of "Advanced Topics," including constructing deep phylogenies from protein structure comparisons, ancestral sequence reconstruction, and measuring positive selection as evidence of adaptive evolution Every copy of the Second Edition includes a CD with current Windows and Macintosh beta versions of PAUP*. These time-limited versions will allow semester-length use of this popular software, giving students hands-on experience in tree-building as they work through the text.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent but.......2007-10-04
Buy this if you must but there is a third edition. They complement each other to some extent but the third edition is more useful as it is more up to date and even slimmer and yet more powerful in that it totally obviates the need to pour over Paup. Here is a good treatment of Paup. Wonderful for beginners.
Book Description
Reconstructing phylogenetic trees from DNA sequences has become a popular exercise in many branches of biology, and here the well-known geneticist John Avise explains why. Molecular phylogenies provide a genealogical backdrop for interpreting the evolutionary histories of many other types of biological traits (anatomical, behavioral, ecological, physiological, biochemical and even geographical). Guiding readers on a natural history tour along dozens of evolutionary pathways, the author describes how creatures ranging from microbes to elephants came to possess their current phenotypes. Essential reading for college students, professional biologists and anyone interested in natural history and biodiversity, this book is packed with fascinating examples of evolutionary puzzles from across the animal kingdom; how the toucan got its enormous bill, how reptiles grow back lost limbs and why Arctic fish don't freeze.
Customer Reviews:
Great, but a little elementary .......2006-11-06
This a great book, well put together and an easy read. I would suggest it for those who are not familiar with phylogenetics. Otherwise it is a bit simplified for those who know and understand most of the concepts already. perfect for an undergraduate level class or advanced high school students.
Book Description
Our understanding of angiosperm relationships has changed dramatically during the past ten years. The big picture of angiosperm phylogeny emerged suddenly as a direct result of collaborative molecular analyses, and longstanding views of deep-level relationships required revision. Many major clades of angiosperms did not correspond to the classes, subclasses, and orders of modern classifications. Furthermore, a wealth of recent data coupled with current understanding of phylogeny permits reevaluation of many deep-rooted evolutionary hypotheses. Soltis et al. provide a comprehensive summary of current concepts of angiosperm phylogeny and illustrate the profound impact that this phylogenetic framework has had on concepts of character evolution. In so doing, they acknowledge inadequacies in both current understanding of phylogeny and knowledge of morphological characters, as well as the need for additional study.
Customer Reviews:
A long-awaited book by all those interested in plant evolution.......2005-11-03
The revolution brought about by Crick and Watson's discovery of the structure of DNA is still expanding in all fields of biology, and plant systematics and evolution are no exception to this. Researchers in the 1980's have started sequencing pieces of DNA from plants with the aim of comparing their sequences, hoping to get information about their past evolution. The results have largely exceeded the expectations, and hundreds of papers on plant molecular phylogeny have since been published, including the remarkable APG I & II papers, that present a new classification for plants, entirely based on what is known of their evolutionary history.
The present book is a most useful synthesis of all these pieces of work, and presents a well-documented image of what we know about plant evolution and diversity at the moment. The book starts with the earliest cases of divergence found in the flowering plants and proceeds towards the more recent diversification events, with detailed studies of families and some genera, and special chapters about the evolution of flowers, genome size and some cases of parallel evolution (parasitic and carnivorous plants, C4 photosynthesis). Many of the diagrams presented have been seen nowhere else, and provide striking pictures of how plant evolution can be inferred with the knowledge available nowadays (even though some of the details may still be questionable).
It is regrettable that so little is said about biogeography, but that could have made the subject of a new book altogether. Some of the conclusions presented are somewhat cursory. For example, the tendrils/hooks of Ancistrocladaceae, Dioncophyllaceae and Nepenthaceae are unlikely to be homologous, being twigs, leaf tips and petioles, respectively, although the book presents them as a possibly shared, "ancestral" trait (p. 263). Likewise, the leaf-borne flowers of Helwingia and Phyllonoma (p. 224) are quite different (the pedicel is distinctly fused with the leaf petiole and midrib in the former, whereas the latter shows no clue as to how this condition has evolved). This could have been explained in a few words. No doubt however that such imperfections will be improved in further versions of the book. Before this happens, I am much looking forward to new versions of the APG system, and all the projects that the present book will foster in the years to come.
Book Description
Owing its inspiration and title to On the Origin of Phlya, James W. Valentine's ambitious book synthesizes and applies the vast treasury of theory and research collected in the century and a half since Darwin's time. By investigating the origins of life's diversity, Valentine unlocks the mystery of the origin of phyla.
One of the twentieth century's most distinguished paleobiologists, Valentine here integrates data from molecular genetics, evolutionary developmental biology, embryology, comparative morphology, and paleontology into an analysis of interest to scholars from any of these fields. He begins by examining the sorts of evidence that can be gleaned from fossils, molecules, and morphology, then reviews and compares the basic morphology and development of animal phyla, emphasizing the important design elements found in the bodyplans of both living and extinct phyla. Finally, Valentine undertakes the monumental task of developing models to explain the origin and early diversification of animal phyla, as well as their later evolutionary patterns.
Truly a magnum opus, On the Origin of Phyla will take its place as one of the classic scientific texts of the twentieth century, affecting the work of paleontologists, morphologists, and developmental, molecular, and evolutionary biologists for decades to come.
"A magisterial compendium . . . . Valentine offers a judicious evaluation of an astonishing array of evidence."—Richard Fortey, New Scientist
"Truly a magnum opus, On the Origin of Phyla has already taken its place as one of the classic scientific texts of the twentieth century, affecting the work of paleontologists, morphologists, and developmental, molecular, and evolutionary biologists for decades to come."—Ethology, Ecology & Evolution
"Valentine is one of the Renaissance minds of our time. . . . Darwin wisely called his best-known work On the Origin of the Species; the origin of the phyla is an even stickier problem, and Valentine deserves credit for tackling it at such breadth . . . . A magnificient book."—Stefan Bengtson, Nature
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Review.......2006-09-04
This is an excellent review that follows current thinking in modern invertebrate taxonomy. The author does not take any controversial positions, and discusses the uncertainties where they are. He provides what i think is an excellent basic review of the biology necessary to understand the book, although when reading a book that is on a subject that is not unfamiliar it is always difficult to judge how easy it would be for someone with less knowledge on the subject. Even though the paperback version being sold is july 2006, it is impossible to have a review that is entirely to the date. If you read source articles you will realize that mitochondrial DNA studies fairly convincingly place placazoa basal to porifera, and a new molecular analysis places urochordates closer to craniata (vertebrata)than cephalochordata, but i am not aware of any summary that includes info that new.
Tough, but rewarding.......2006-03-15
The title says it all, this is a book about the evolution of phyla. It's a fairly advanced book, if you don't know what a phylum is or what natural selection is you'll probably find it a very rough go. However you don't have to be an expert, I'm certainly not, to enjoy it and learn from it.
The book starts off by covering a lot of background biology. The first chapter covers very basic topics relating to classifying animals such as: what phyla are, why it's useful to study homologues, the nature of hierarchies and cladistics.
The second chapter covers cellular biology. This quickly moves from the study of single cells to how cells aggregate to form tissues, organs and other body parts. This sets the stage for the following chapters that discuss body plans and how their development is determined by a system of regulatory genes, not just individual alleles.
Following this is a discussion of the fossil record, a high level view of the phyla and how they are related to each other. Much of the rest of the book is spent elaborating on this material.
The first section concludes with a discussion of the Cambrian Explosion. The main ideas he describes are: there was no explosion, it was due to physical changes in the environment, it was due to a biological changes in the environment or it was due to an intrinsic evolutionary change. Needles to say it's an open question and the author couldn't give a definitive answer. As more material is covered the question is addressed several times later in the book.
This first part of the book alone made it worth it to me.
The next six chapters form the heart of the book, they give a very detailed account of the phyla. More than just a catalog, it presents how the phyla are related to each other and how they are broken up into subphyla and classes. The evidence from the fossil record is continually presented and details of the body plans of the phyla are illustrated with specific examples. The level of detail is fantastic.
Give the title there probably isn't much of a chance that someone would pick this book up for a casual read. It's even more rigorous and complete than I expected. However, there is a lot of background material (which is quite interesting in its own right) and things are pretty much explained from the ground up. The bits of humor in the book were enjoyable, I especially appreciated the dig at postmodernism on page 78. A non-expert, like me, can benefit from reading this book and enjoy it too, but should be ready for a tough read (for me the most difficult part was the vast amount of terminology, but the glossary helped to offset that). I would expect that people with more expertise will likely enjoy it even more.
Fascinating topic.......2006-01-08
This is a fantastic book that discusses in great (sometimes excruciating) detail the morphological, developmental, fossil, molecular, and other evidence regarding the definitions, circumscriptions, origins, evolution, and interrelationships of the phyla. Mostly well and clearly written although the text is at times frustratingly redundant, and it will probably be difficult reading for anybody without an intense interest in, and some basic knowledge of, biology. However, it is a must-read for anybody who is interested in this topic.
A Remarkable Achievement.......2005-04-22
With new evidence from molecular sequencing, the study of evolutionary development and the discovery of exceptionally preserved fossils of Precambrian and Cambrian age, the reality of evolution cannot be denied. Valentine embraces these fields with his experience and authority as a professor emeritus of integrative biology at UCB, who has been publishing novel and provocative ideas on the origin and nature of phyla for more than 30 years. This book is essentially about the Cambrian radiation, the event that gave rise to most of the major animal groups. The book's particular strength is its integration of data from paleontology and biology. This book is a remarkable achievement, a timely synthesis of the current state of this exciting field. It may be a bit of a tedious read for many, but a must for anyone who wants to understand evolution at its core.
An important work, but hard going.......2004-12-31
I am a biologist yet found this book a hard study. No, I didn't READ it, I studied it. That's what is required. My little corner of biology is not evolutionary biology, so this book was a bit off my beaten track. For those with the determination, this is a very rewarding work, and may become a classic. It lacks a good glossary; the one it has seems to have been thrown together as an afterthought. The illustrations could benefit from serious upgrading. Yet with these minor faults, I still rate this book as 5 stars. A truly marvelous work.
Average customer rating:
- Nicely combine theory and practice
- very good and very practical
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The Phylogenetic Handbook: A Practical Approach to DNA and Protein Phylogeny
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
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Similar Items:
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Phylogenetic Trees Made Easy: A How-to Manual, Third Edition
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Inferring Phylogenies
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Molecular Evolution and Phylogenetics
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Molecular Evolution: A Phylogenetic Approach
-
Evolutionary Pathways in Nature: A Phylogenetic Approach
ASIN: 052180390X |
Book Description
The Phylogenetic Handbook is a broad introduction to the theory and practice of nucleotide and amino acid phylogenetic analysis. As an unique feature of this book, each chapter contains an extensive practical section, in which step-by-step exercises on real data sets introduce the most widely used phylogeny software including CLUSTAL, PHYLIP, PAUP*, DAMBE, TREE-PUZZLE, TREECON, SplitsTree, TreeView, SimPlot, MEGA2, PAML and BOOTSCANNING. The book provides a strong background in basic topics: the use of sequence databases, alignment algorithms, tree-building methods, estimation of genetic distances, and testing models of evolution.
Download Description
The Phylogentic Handbook is a broad introduction to the theory and practice of nucleotide and amino acid phylogenetic analysis. As an unique feature of this book, each chapter contains an extensive practical section, in which step-by-step exercises on real data sets introduce the most widely used phylogeny software including CLUSTAL, PHYLIP, PAUP*, DAMBE, TREE-PUZZLE, TREECON, SplitsTree, TreeView, SimPlot, and BOOTSCANNING. The book provides a strong background in basic topics: the use of sequence databases, alignment algorithms, tree-building methods, estimation of genetic distances, and testing models of evolution.
Customer Reviews:
Nicely combine theory and practice.......2005-11-22
I came across this book while doing some phylogenetic analysis and found it very useful.
The first two chapters give some background information on molecular evolution and sequence databases, as well as a downloadable dataset used throughout the book.
The real business starts from chapter 3--multiple sequence alignment (MSA). Problems and algorithms of MSA are briefly reviewed. Here you know how CLUSTALW and T-Coffee work. The presentation of the progressive alignment used in CLUSTALW is especially clear. However, other popular programs are not metioned, probably they are not available or not widely used at the time when the book was written. I recommend PROCONS and MUSCLE for protein alignment and DIALIGN-T for both dna and protein alignment. Check them out.
Chapter 4 reviews nucleotide substitution model, concise and not much math on continuous-time Markov chain(CTMC). A chart shows the relationship between popular models including GTR, TN93, HKY85, F84, F81, K80 and JC. I like it. To know more details of CTMC of these models, however, you need to consult other books. Exercises using PHYLIP and DAMBE can be found.
One someone have the sequence aligned, and genetic/evolutionary distance between them adjusted using say JC, she/he is ready to jump to the next chapter 5 -- Phylogeny Inferrence based on distance methods. Here the outdated UPGMA, mainstream NJ and Fitch-Morgoliash methods are presented by examples, effectively cleaning the fog before these ACRONYM. Bootstrapping and Jacknifing, the two methods for assessing quality of phylogeny, are briefly explained, then progress to exercise using PHYLIP.
The next two chapters are maximum-likelihood with TREE-PUZZLE, and Parimony* (* means MP+ML+Distance) in PAUP*.
Working on dna or protein sequences sometimes can mean a whole lot of difference, these topics are dealt in chapter 8--Phylogenetic analysis using protein sequences and chapter 9--analysis of nucleotide sequences using TREECON.
If you only need to get the tree, you can stop here. The remainign chapters either deal with dN/dS, detecting recomination, or centered on particular software packages including SplitsTree,LAMARC and DAMBE(A heavily used package in this book another is PHYLIP).
Overall, the book is comprehensive, well balanced between practice and theory. Though contributed by different authors, the two editors seamlessly wave these chapters into a nice book. Bravo to them!
My only concern is book does not cover many widely-used programs, but we, the arduous tree constructors, can find them out by ourselves, do we?
very good and very practical.......2005-10-19
it is very convenient and handy for a junior student.
Average customer rating:
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Neanderthals Revisited: New Approaches and Perspectives (Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology)
Manufacturer: Springer
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ASIN: 1402051204 |
Book Description
Recent years have witnessed exciting and important scientific breakthroughs in the study of Neanderthals and their place in human evolution which have transformed our appreciation of this group’s paleobiology and evolution. This volume presents cutting-edge research by leading scientists re-examining the major debates in Neanderthal research with the use of innovative state-of-the art methods and exciting new theoretical approaches.
Topics addressed include the re-evaluation of Neanderthal anatomy, inferred adaptations and habitual activities, developmental patterns, phylogenetic relationships, and the Neanderthal extinction; new methods include computer tomography, 3D geometric morphometrics, ancient DNA and bioenergetics. The diverse contributions offer fresh insights and advances in Neanderthal and modern human origins research.
This is a Volume in
The Max-Planck-Institute Subseries in Human Evolution coordinated by Jean-Jacques Hublin, Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Department of Human Evolution, Leipzig, Germany
Book Description
All living things on earth—from individual species to entire ecosystems—have evolved through time, and evolution is the acknowledged framework of modern biology. Yet many areas of biology have moved from a focus on evolution to much narrower perspectives.
Daniel R. Brooks and Deborah A. McLennan argue that it is impossible to comprehend the nature of life on earth unless evolution—the history of organisms—is restored to a central position in research. They demonstrate how the phylogenetic approach can be integrated with ecological and behavioral studies to produce a richer and more complete picture of evolution. Clearly setting out the conceptual, methodological, and empirical foundations of their research program, Brooks and McLennan show how scientists can use it to unravel the evolutionary history of virtually any characteristic of any living thing, from behaviors to ecosystems. They illustrate and test their approach with examples drawn from a wide variety of species and habitats.
The Nature of Diversity provides a powerful new tool for understanding, documenting, and preserving the world's biodiversity. It is an essential book for biologists working in evolution, ecology, behavior, conservation, and systematics. The argument in The Nature of Diversity greatly expands upon and refines the arguments made in the authors' previous book Phylogeny, Ecology, and Behavior.
Book Description
New methodological developments in morphological phylogenetics---including approaches for analyzing ontogenetic data, fossils, morphometric characters, intraspecific variation, and hybrid taxa---are summarized in this book. The actual practice of morphological phylogenetics is also evaluated, especially in regard to its controversial use in the study of the evolution of morphological characters.
Customer Reviews:
Phylogenetic Analysis of Morphological Data (Smithsonian Series in Comparative Evolutionary Biology) (Smithsonian Series in Comp.......2006-10-29
That's an important book for the users of morphological data in phylogenetic analisys. Problems and methods are explained in the several articles of the book.
Average customer rating:
- A little outdated
- More Taxonomy Than Evolution
- Not based on fact though
- Brilliant
- Clear, well done presentation of the latest information.
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Animal Evolution: Interrelationships of the Living Phyla
Claus Nielsen
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
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Invertebrates
ASIN: 0198506821 |
Book Description
Animal Evolution is a complete analysis of the evolutionary interrelationships and myriad diversity of the animal kingdom. Using modern phylogenetic reasoning based on characters from an extensive review of morphology, including ultrastructure, and embryology, each phylum is analysed to ascertain its monophyly and hence its ancestral characters. These ancestral characters are then used to construct a complete phylogenetic tree of the extant animal phyla. This new edition of Animal Evolution brings the subject fully up to date including some new ideas and emphases, as well as new bibliographic data. It also includes new chapters on the use of computer programmes and on the use of the new molecular techniques to create phylogenies, both techniques that have grown in prevalence in the field since the first edition was published. Illustrated throughout with finely detailed line drawings and clear diagrams. From reviews of the first edition of Animal Evolution: 'A clear and engaging style exemplified by a series of superbly concise descriptions of the phyla.... These are complemented by excellent illustrations.... The volume belongs on every biologist's bookshelf.' Simon Conway- Morris, Nature 'Texts like these constitute the very cream of taxonomic literature.... It really is a joy to read... and in my opinion it constitutes a highly recommended book for all zoologists. I think it is also particularly suited for seminars on animal classification for both undergraduate and graduate students.' JC von Vaupel Klein, Crustaceana 'I highly recommend this book as a fascinating theory of animal relationships, and an excellent summary of the phylogenetically informative aspects of the biology of the whole animal kingdom.' Maximilian J Telford, Systematic Entomology
Customer Reviews:
A little outdated.......2006-09-04
I bought this book when it first came out and quite enjoyed it. However Dr. Nielsen is not in the mainstream- he tends to reject most molecular data and bases his analysis on more traditional morphologic analysis, much of which is no longer accepted as being correct. I do not know his 2006 opinions, but as late as 2003 i think he was still arguing against the movement to ecdysozoa and lophotrochozoa. So if you want to know what the majority of biologists think- i would suggest james valentines book (on the origin of phyla) which is fairly close to the modern thoughts and i think easier reading with very good background info- or for a shorter version- just search the web for Halanych "the new view of animal phylogeny"- that article can be found in its entirety in pdf- but is not a book that gives background info- you have to have basic phyletic knowledge to understand it. Also keep in mind that whatever you read will be a bit out of date- 2006 data that seems to be fairly well accepted puts the urochordates closer to craniata(vertebrata) than cephalochordates and is not in any summary that i can find (not even wikipedia) and there is compelling evidence from mitochondrial DNA that argues that placazoa is basal to porifera.
More Taxonomy Than Evolution.......2006-06-12
I thought this book was a brilliant exposition about the taxonomy of the phyla but it gave one little feel for the evolutionary history of animals. By cutting much of the discussion at the level of the phyla, a lot that I was hoping to learn something about was completely missing. In addition I thought it odd that tardigrades and even more obscure phyla had as much discussion as vertebrates. The chapter on nucleic acid sequencing seemed disorganized with it difficult to follow why some trees were more relevant than others. The time lines of the processes were hardly mentioned.
Overall I thought it read like a taxonomy lecturer's notes. I suppose these are hard words for what is so obviously expert's comprehesive work. However popular synthesizers like Sagan or Gould never wrote a book like this. So it would seem if you what to know structural details, taxonomy, embryology, this is the great book, but I wanted the big picture with organizing themes, and came away a bit disappointed.
Not based on fact though.......2004-05-25
It's interesting how the imagination of this author of all the branchings of the animal kingdom can be taken seriously. Where's the beef though as far as physical proof? It's all based upon his imagination of what MAY be. Just because big words are used doesn't make it so. The evolutionists STILL have no physical proof of how a whale used to be cow used to be a whale, or whatever their ridiculous theory is to explain away one of God's beautiful sea mammals.
Also, if the earth was as old as the evolutionists say it is, the sun would have engulfed the earth due to the size the sun would have been that many billions of years ago. Also, the moon would have practically been scraping the earth. Our DNA is millions of times more complicated than the code contained in Windows software. Does anyone really believe mathematically it's possible for our DNA, much less ALL DNA, to have evolved over the supposed billions of years they claim the earth has been around? Time doesn't equal order. All of the different species of living things are much much too beautiful and complicated to have just luckily evolved. It's absurd. It's complete junk science.
I'm sorry evolutionists. Even me being a lay person can easily explain away your lies and deceit. There are hundreds and hundreds more examples I could give to destroy your myth which entire purpose is to try to explain that a God doesn't exist. I pray that God has mercy on your souls for perpetuating this horribly destuctive myth that a 5 year old can see through. It's so hilarious because the only physical proof the evolutionists can provide is some artists' rendition of how things MAY have evolved. Anyone can go down to their local museum of natural history and ask the curator to show some physical proof of ANY plant or animal evloving from one state to another. They'll have nothing to show you. All they can show is the micro-evolution that is programmed into our genes that allows for adaption in a minimal way, ie, breeding of dogs, etc etc. But they can't show any linkage from pond scum to human, pond scum to lion, pond scum to flower, etc.
If anyone wants the real truth about this subject, I suggest reading a book by James Perloff entitled "Tornado In A Junkyard".
Brilliant.......2001-08-31
I really enjoyed reading this book because it is detailed and up to date.
Clear, well done presentation of the latest information........1996-08-05
This book is an excellent presentation of one expert's
interpretation of the current known facts of morphologic
animal cladistics. He has studied the subject of the
relationships of the animal phyla and synthesized his
understanding into an interesting and well written book.
He presents some knew and potentially controversial
branchings of the evolutionary tree of the animals.
The only negative is that the book can be technical and
dense with facts at times. This should not inhibit the
interested reader from buying this book.
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