Once you’ve explored the Origin of the Species, read this. The introduction alone (co-authored by Desmond, one of the best Darwin scholars out there) is worth the price of the book. Penguin does a great job of collecting a chronology and other material not originally published with the book but that adds considerably to the context of the book.

And, it’s surprisingly uncontroversial given the Haeckles it raised (pun intended).

As a non-mainstream biologist and historian of biology, Sapp’s perspective is refreshing. Not too technical but not soap-opera stuff either. One of the few general biology books that explores why we think genes are material things and why that’s misguided.

meaty. boney. gristly.
it’s not a novel, though yes the title calls it that. or maybe better put: not just a novel. not just art, entertainment, etc. it’s past that, bigger yes, but without adornment. the spiritual language was the opposite of the language of the religious “right”: it was a gritty, baked in the earth sort of religiosity that is more in a person than laid on them like a garment. by the end, i felt there is something palpably different about the religion portrayed here than the kind i usually see or hear about. this is more about organism (and maybe orgasm too) and less about buildings or preachers.

plus the whole thing was so damn well written. i’ll finish it in two days, tops.