Further Suggested Readings
by Frank Mosca
The books and articles on this page have nothing specifically to do with pigeons. Rather, I've listed them for those who want to delve a tad more deeply into genetics and how selection works. I've purposely suggested works that even those without a scientific background can follow. These books may also be found in most bookstores and public libraries. Enjoy.
Dawkins, Richard, 1986, The Blind Watchmaker, W. W. Norton & Company.
Dawkins, Richard, 1989, The Selfish Gene (2nd ed.), Oxford Univ. Press.
Dawkins, Richard, 1995, River Out of Eden, Basic Books
Dawkins, Richard, 2005, The Ancestor's Tale, Mariner Books
Gould, Stephen, 1980, The Panda's Thumb, W. W. Norton & Company
Ward, Peter D. 2006, Out of Thin Air: Dinosaurs, Birds, and Earth's Ancient Atmosphere John Henry Press
When I was a boy back in the 50’s, I bumped into Alfred Wegener’s book on plate tectonics. I raced to school with it and showed it to my science teacher who pooh-poohed the idea. I remember walking away saying to myself that the teacher was wrong and that somehow what Wegener said just “felt” right and it made sense. I also remember feeling vindicated — as if I had anything to do with it :-) when plate tectonics was shown to actually exist.
After reading Peter D. Wards, Out of Thin Air, I have the same feeling I did as a boy with Wegener. This just “feels” right. This book though also has a lot of hard data suggesting the basic hypothesis-(that much of evolution -- including the evolution of the avian respiratory system -- has been shaped by oxygen levels in the air). This definitely is going to cause a paradigm shift in how we look at the evolution of life. Are all the author’s hypotheses going to be borne out in the way he suggests? Likely not. As evidence accumulates there will undoubtedly be some shifts and some new hypotheses, but I also have no doubt at all that the major theme: that much of life’s evolution was driven mainly by varying oxygen levels will be fully accepted.
I also am going to be VERY nice to my birds from now on. Heck, the avians may one day be the dominant phylum if O2 levels drop again and I’d want them to be very understanding of us poor oxygen deprived mammals.
Watson, James, 1968, The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA, Atheneum
Weiner, Jonathan, 1994, The Beak of the Finch: A Story of Evolution in Our Time, Knopf
Willett, Edward, 2006, Genetics Demystified: A Self Teaching Guide, McGraw-Hill