Remarkable Creatures: Epic Adventures in the Search for the Origin of Species,   ISBN:9780151014859

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Sean Carroll's book, Remarkable Creatures, was a finalist in the National Book Awards non-fiction category for 2009. It is such a great read. Not only did these brave men and women scientists make important discoveries in the field, they then had to work even harder to convince a doubting public of the importance of their work. This is a story of greatness and courage. Each of the people Dr Carroll writes about are themselves "Remarkable Creatures."Remarkable Creatures: Epic Adventures in the Search for the Origins of Species

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I borrowed the hardback edition from my local library on the recommendation of "best science books of" some year. There is much detail about the unfolding discovery of the limbs of the tree of life. With Darwin, Huxley, the Leakey's, and a host of others who found (and often defended) remarkable creatures which changed how we perceive the world. What I found amazing was the seemingly large number of coincidences, aha experiences, and just plain chance that enabled the entire venture.

This is not a 'light read', but it is fun.

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I appreciate any book that seeks to increase the public's awareness and fascination with evolution, a scientific theory that has come increasingly under attack in recent years -- to the horror of previous generations of Americans. I am not a fan of this cover, however, reminds me of Mark Ryden and his neo-apothecary / alchemy cartoon paintings which I thought were so cool a few years ago. I think a nice book (that I found at a thrift store) on the subject is "The Encyclopedia of Evolution' edited by Richard Milner: it covers much of the same material I would imagine but you do not have to wade through the literary aspirations of a guy who would choose such a cloying title as "remarkable creatures" -- ugh.

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In this book Sean B. Carroll takes you through time examining many of the fantastic discoveries that the history books pay little attention to. The author has managed to create an exciting trail through the science of life while providing the backdrop of a fairytale. Humans have gone from being astonished by the discoveries of giant dinosaur bones to the findings of DNA. Sean B. Carroll puts the fairytale into nonfiction with this highly recommended book.

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I bought this on cd because other people gave it 4 stars, surprise, It was very dissappointing. I expected unique anecdotes of Darwin and the other scientists. Instead it gives each a short chapter and in that one chapter tries to highlight their role in the development of their field. It read a great deal like a high school textbook. Trying to hit the headlines of each persons life. Makes for very boring reading. For the life of me I don't know why people gave it 4 stars.