The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Evolution

I shall confess that I had no idea who Richard Dawkins was before reading the Tale so my review should bshow little bias. I believe I stumbled about it after someone mentioned it as the quasi-Bible of contemporary Darwinism and, while I tend to stay away from 'ists' and 'isms' I was curious to learn where evolutionists were today. Some nearly 700 pages later I can say that I'm happy Mr. Dawkins took his time writing what in my view is an essential contribution to the important topics of what we are and how we ended up being this way. We are all used to the evolutionary trees that show some shapeless blobs at the roots and 'man' right at the top on a branch that splits from 'ape' who don't rise nearly as high, dog and elephant on the lower branches, fish much lower, insect even lower still. It makes us feel good, well-evolved if we accept 'evolution' and at the conclusion of a process that began one or two billion years ago and culminated with our kids. But... Dawkins observes, it just happens that every single living organism today happens to be at the top of an evolutionary process that probably began one or two billion years ago (unless life came upon Earth through life-seeds carrying stardust). In other words, man, whale, butterfly, amoeba, starfish, we all happen to be the product of an unimaginably long process. In Ancestor's Tale, Dawkins writes one of 10 million possible books that go back in time, tracing the ancestry of our species not because we are 'the best' or 'the most' but for the same reason most of us are more interested in our own family's genealogy than we are in our neighbor's. The book begins with today's humans and goes back in time all the way to the beginning of life, stopping here and there at the points (he counts 40) where 'splits' took place. For example, humans and chimpanzees split from a common ancestor a couple million years ago, going farther back, there was a common ancestor to the branch that produced us (humans and chimps) and gorillas, prior to that we (future gorillas, chimps and humans) split from orangutans and so it goes, down to some primordial, self-replicating organic soup. But... wait... that would be too simple, right? There are 'genes' that tell the cells in our body (if we stay within the small branch of life that comprises multi-cellular forms) what to become and how to behave and, Dawkins observes, a totally different tale could be written from the point of view of any particular gene, many of them, present in almost identical form among many species. And it gets a lot more complicated than that when we begin trying to understand what's happening inside a cell, how cells ended up being that way, appreciating how unbelievably improbable both the complex cells that make up our bodies and their associations to form complex life forms happen to be. Whether you are a Darwinist or not, and Dawkins is one, the Ancestor's Tale should be an important to read book for anyone curious enough to explore the whats, hows and whys of existence. The author has the ability to present the outcomes of the incredibly clever and complex work biologists do these days. He presents it all in ways that those of us who couldn't tell DNA from RNA would understand if not in every single detail at least at a level for being able to form a 'big picture' of biological existence. And here comes the fair warning. Dawkins is a proud Darwinist and an atheist. He is fully convinced that 'evolution' is what made us to be the way we are and that there is nothing miraculous in the way 'matter' organized itself ti form 'life' way back then. And Dawkins is not an apologist. When scientific facts on his side he happily and sometimes harshly attacks what he views as the opposition - the intelligent designers. He views them as lazy and uncurious and he is not afraid to say so. And, like most of us humans, Dawkins has his own political and moral views. His occasional comments on issues such as 'war', mass entertainment or on contemporary politicians could make a reader laugh and nod in approval or throw the book away and vow to never again read anything 'Dawkins'. The latter would be a mistake because the parts that deal the the main topic of the book - walking back on the evolutionary path that brought us - are all well sourced and well presented. Not only a history book of the human species and its ancestors, Dawkins's is an excellent introduction to the scientific method. In dozens if not hundreds of instances Dawkins not only presents the facts and the conclusions but he brings us everything to the level of understanding expected from a reasonably well-read non-biologist. He gives us the connections, the research, how the scientists arrived at the conclusions they did, what the opposition had to say and so on. It's fascinating. I would not call The Ancestor's Tale a must read because nothing is but I would dare call it an essential read for biologists and non-biologists alike. Galileo changed the way we viewed our place in the Universe from 'central' to somewhere oh the periphery. Dawkins does something similar to our species, even better, to multi-cellular life, generally view as the top of existence or creation. And if you thought you knew for sure what 'species', 'cell' and 'life' where, read the book and expect to be surprised if not startled.

Ancestor's Tale is a renewal of acquaintance with an esteemed old friend - and a comprehensive review of our ancestral past. Dawkins takes us backwards through time to our original ancestors, passing through 38 branching points. Each intersection is represented by a creature, most of them now extinct. At each branching point, Dawkins searches for a lesson in evolution. For example: A certain gull that lives in England can't or won't interbreed with a somewhat similar gull that shares its geography. If you circled the globe observing this gull - going west and staying on latitude - the gull starts to change. From England to Greenland, Canada, Alaska, the Aleutians, Siberia, across Asia and back to England, that first gull gradually turns into the other. At every step along the way, they interbreed. When does this gull "become" one species and quit being the other? The salamanders that live on the ridge of mountains that surround the Central Valley of California (40 miles by 400 miles) are another example of the many "ring species" of the world. The term "species" more reflects the human drive to label things than it serves a useful function in nature. As evolution occurred, living things gradually turned into other living things. Lines of continuity connect whole groups of past and present living things. If they were all still alive today, attempting to separate cats from dogs would be a doomed enterprise. Instead of discrete names, we would need sliding scales, placing labels in the realm of fiction. We don't recognize evolution when it happens because it occurs too slowly - not something we could recognize in one (or 10) lifetimes. Species are sometimes defined as groups that can't interbreed with other groups. Sometimes, species can interbreed, but won't. The insects with the big red thoracic dot and the unadorned ones ignore each other - until the curious entomologist paints red dots on the plain ones. Immediately the orgy begins, creating normal progeny. Is it possible that human skin color and distinct superficial differences among races developed as a matter of sexual selection? There are very few differences among races as obvious as those of overt cosmetic appearance. Although races freely intermarry now, the Stone Age mind which evolved over the last several hundred thousand years was perhaps more selective about mixing their genes with outsiders. Dawkins presents us with evolutionary lessons throughout the book, but Darwinian pearls do not accompany all branching sites. This is a major flaw of "The Ancestor's Tale." I suspect I'm not alone in skipping over the descriptive biology of various living or extinct forms of life, as well-written as they may be. The book is still excellent. Evolution has been described as "the single best idea in science." Thomas Huxley, upon reading "Origin of the Species," said, "how stupid of me not to have thought of that." Someone else (I can't remember who) said, "Nothing in biology makes any sense outside of the theory of evolution." Today's premier public advocate for evolution solidifies the evidence for us in his usual clear prose. A definite 5 stars.

What a magnificent, wonderful book! I'd say this is Dawkins' best yet (and I have always been a big fan of his). Basically it tells a series of "pilgrims' tales", starting in the present with modern humans (the initial "pilgrims" in the story), then tracing back. Using all the available evidence from taxonomy, genetics, fossils, molecular microbiology, embryology etc., we work backwards. First we reach "rendezvous 1", with a "concestor" that is a shared ancestor of humans and our closest cousins among the great apes (chimps, bonobos, gorillas and orang utans, collectively the first "pilgrims" to "join us" in a "rendezvous", working backwards down the "tree of life"). Then we work backwards, to the next "rendezvous" with the next "concestor", the shared ancestor of us great apes and the lesser apes (gibbons etc.), then the "monkeys" etc..... Continuing backwards, we work through our successive ancestors or "concestors", as each major species, genus, or phyla "joins up", in a "rendezvous" with those who have already "joined". Along the way, some individual "pilgrims" or "concestors" get to "tell a tale" at appropriate moments, which is a vehicle for discussing some important issues.... like how the word "monkey" has no precise genetic meaning; or how "speciation" occurs gradually, as groups of a single species are isolated from each other and begin to diverge due to different selection pressures; or how animals migrate from one isolated landmass to another by hitching along on floating logs etc.; or how 2 different "species" of grasshopper are nearly identical, and fully capable of breeding together, yet seem to be kept apart by sexual preference, for slight differences in appearance and behavior, in a way that may reflect on the human phenomenon of "race" ... I am not quite finished reading it yet (I'm up to the dorsal-ventral top/bottom thing, after brine shrimp and bottom-up catfish, and the speculation that all vertebrates may have evolved from "worms that flipped over on their backs"). It has been thoroughly engrossing, and a most enjoyable read (keeping me up till after midnight, unable to put it down, for a few nights!). One of those books where I'm sure I will be sad, when I finally finish reading it, because I want it to never end! And with all the detailed references and notes etc., what a great tool this book will be, for research, teaching, etc. It also appears to be as up-to-date as possible, with some footnotes on new developments in genetics even added after the main text was already finished. Criticisms? Only slight and 2-edged: It's not a "pop" easy read. Perhaps some readers could get bored or overwhelmed, by the meticulous precision and detail with which Dawkins treats all the creatures we encounter along the way. Also, there are some funny colloquial Britishisms here and there, which have me scratching my head a bit as an American, but that just adds to the fun and makes sure I'm paying attention! for example, describing the process of "molting" as "losing your kit" ...

Good book. Worth reading. Would be excellent if it was not for the political statements made throughout.

Dawkins takes us back, step by step, to our earliest ancestors – and we do mean earliest, all the way to the beginning of life, although as we get more and more remote, there necessarily has to be more and more speculation. The insights are profound, e.g., that we’re all related – not meaning merely that all human beings are related to each other, but that all living things are related to each other. As he puts it, “it appears that all known life forms can be traced to a single ancestor which lived more than 3 billion years ago.” Dawkins takes us back to that distant place, with many fascinating stops and side journeys. We learn that “the most recent common ancestor of all living humans, lived only thousands or possibly a few tens of thousands of years ago, no more.” Some of this is a challenge for someone (like me) with no formal training in biology, but it’s well worth the trip.

A historic journey from modern day humans to the origins of life. This book will give you a much fuller and greater appreciation of the amazing diversity of living organisms. Complex and fascinating survival and reproductive strategies are exposed for numerous organisms along the journey. Some surprising revelations of kinship will be demonstrated, while other similar species will have been shown to converge on similar strategies, although not closely related. Richard Dawkins is the type of science writer who can utilize evolutionary biology to change the way you look at the world. Instead of a dry recitation of different species habits and ecologies, Professor Dawkins looks at the deeper questions and utilizes extant species to demonstrate how findings in biology have elucidated the answers to these questions. That was the fascinating aspect of the Selfish Gene. It wasn't a book simply about an analysis of species interactions, it presented a whole different picture of evolutionary biology that opened the readers eyes to our own history. I have read many of Professor Dawkins books and the Ancestor's Tale is my second favorite of course after the selfish gene. I have read many books about strange and fascinating creatures and the idiosyncratic ways that they survive and reproduce but this tour-de-force weaves them all in a fascinating tale like no other. This book is educational in a way that will give you much greater knowledge about almost all the species you will encounter. This book is inspirational in that it will give you a sense of awe at the deep connections we have with all living things and the deep history that has allowed them to survive to this day. While you would think that a 600 page book of this nature would get boring, Professor Dawkins has a way of imbuing even tales of bacteria with fascinating insight. This book is not too well-suited for somebody who doesn't have a strong interest in science but it is definitely written for people who are scientifically-literate but not evolutionary biologists. A fascinating read that I highly recommend.

This book has much useful information and is well written, although long. It seems it was written to support Dawkin's belief in the view that the natural forces of the universe can account for everything from the universe to life to intelligent humans (but one must ask, where did these natural forces come from?). In this work, Dawkins is more honest and rational then in some of his previous works. Creationists of all stripes love to read Dawkins because he makes many extreme and quotable statements, proving their contention that, logically, Darwinism leads to atheism. It seems Dawkins has of late toned down and is more honest such as in this book. Another example is in an article by Roger Highfield, Science Editor, titled "Science's scourge of believers declares his faith in Darwin." The article said that "Prof. Richard Dawkins, the scourge of those who maintain their belief in a god, has declared that he, too, holds a belief that cannot yet be proved." The Oxford University evolutionary biologist is among the 117 scientists, futurists and other creative thinkers who have responded to the question: "What do you believe is true even though you cannot prove it?" posed by John Brockman, a New York-based literary agent. Dawkins said: "I believe, but I cannot prove, that all life, all intelligence, all creativity and all 'design' anywhere in the universe is the direct or indirect product of Darwinian natural selection." I would love to see this statement in the public school textbooks, but I am sure the ACLU would challenge it in court. It looks like Dawkins has jointed the long list of less than true believers in Darwinism. And Gould used to call him a Darwin fundamentalist! I am sure Gould is now turning over in his grave!

This book wasn’t for me. It was requested. I never read it, but I was told it was a good book.

A must have for those who want to learn evolution

A really super story

ドーキンスによる書き下ろし大著．なんと600ページを越えていて和訳が出れば3巻セットに以上なるのではないかというヴォリューム感である． 中身は人類からはじめて進化を順番に過去にさかのぼっていき，どのぐらい前にどのような生物と分岐したかを分岐して分かれていった生物のグループとの合流の物語として語る．これをショーサーのカンタベリー物語に見立てて巡礼の旅とそれぞれの巡礼が語る物語を交互に綴っていくという趣向．具体的にはチンパンジーから原核生物まで39の分岐をたどり39の巡礼とめぐり合っていくことになる． 分子の証拠により最近のマクロ進化の系統分類は日進月歩の分野でありそこの紹介がこの本の縦糸，横糸としてそれぞれ分岐のところで，そこから分かれた現生生物にちなむ最近のトピックを楽しく語って聞かせるかたちをとっている． それぞれの巡礼の話として語られる各論は楽しい話が満載である．たとえばテナガザルの系統解析の話では系統分類と分子時計の基礎が語られるし，鳴き声により異種交配が防がれているバッタの話から「種」とは何か，そして「人種」とは何かを説明していく．各大陸の分裂と深く絡み合った進化史も各所で触れられ，クジャクの話からは性選択と人類の二足歩行性選択説も紹介される． 各論を楽しんでいくうちに進化と生命科学の深遠さに打たれるという趣向である．

I love all of Dawkins' books, but this is, I believe, his finest. In each of the "tales," he and Jan Wong reveal another facet of the edifice that is Darwinian evolution and of the processes that underlie it, and they do so in a way that is infectiously readable. For more specific and detailed analyses, I would recommend The Selfish Gene, The Extended Phenotype, The Blind Watchmaker, and Climbing Mount Improbable, but for a compendium of the entirety of Dawkins' Darwinian worldview, The Ancestor's Tale can't be beat.

L'histoire des ancêtres de tous les êtres vivants est un prétexte pour un voyage au coeur de la théorie de l'évolution. On est constamment émerveillé par une série d'histoires extraordinaires sur les animaux.