The Greatest Show on Earth by Richard Dawkins

The Greatest Show on Earth by Richard Dawkins was written for two purposes.  The first was to provide evidence for the theory of evolution.  The second is to explore how creatures and the planet change during the long course of history and sometimes in only a lifetime. 

His writing on the evidence for plate tectonics provided the clearest explanation of the mechanism and the geologic evidence for the split of Africa and South America.  Igneous rock is created at roughly the midpoint between Africa and South America.  The youngest rock is at the middle and the oldest rock on the ocean floor is adjacent to the east coast of South America and the west coast of Africa.   Periodically over the course of the earth's history the north and south magnetic poles reverse.  The magnetic position is fixed when the rocks cool after being formed.  The bands of magnetic polarity form a mirror image of each other from the center point in the Atlantic as the ocean floor moves in opposite directions.

The ability for humans to force changes in the evolution of plants was fascinating.  I was unaware that a wild cabbage plant was the original source for  broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage.  Humans have been custom designing dog breeds for centuries starting from the wolf and then increasing the diversity to the wide number of breeds we have today.  An interesting Russian study started during the 1930's on grey foxes that selected for tameness transformed the foxes into very friendly animals that looked a lot more like dogs with their tails up instead of down.

Richard Dawkins reads from his book.  (17 minutes)

I appreciated his irreverence.  He directly quotes the Monty Python song All Things Dull and Ugly the parody of the British children's song All Things Bright and Beautiful.  The parody appeals to teenage boys everywhere for its comedic honesty and its unflinching willingness to not sugar coat the reality of our existence.  With this book Richard Dawkins largely succeeds in doing just that.  

All Things Dull and Ugly - Monty Python

The book, The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution is available from Amazon.com