The Growth of Biological Thought: Diversity, Evolution, and Inheritance

I read this book as part of my preparation for preliminary exams for my Ph.D.. It is largely written for biologists. Much of the parlance employed will be difficult to understand for the layperson without at least some biology education. If you are a biologist or biology student and would like a firm grounding in the historical development of the science, its philosophical underpinnings, and our current evolutionary paradigm, then this book is for you. Ernst Mayr is a very proficient, clear writer. Some of the thinking about certain subfields and some concepts have changed somewhat in the 30 years since this book was published, but for the most part the book holds up incredibly well. Mayr is both a scientist and a historian of science, so familiarity with important ideas in the study of the history of science is helpful (Kuhn, Popper, etc...), but not essential.

excellent summation of history of evolutionary thought. high-IQ writing. great memorial preserving the brilliant thoughts of this scientist of the past.

I read this book 20 years ago and I still remember it. It is one of the best works of non-fiction I have ever read. Mayr makes clear the fundamental difference between the physical sciences and the biological sciences, and provides an outstanding introduction (more than an introduction) to the history of biological thought. Read Darwin, read Gould, but read Mayr first.

Fast delivery. Product quality as stated.

Very good quality. It seems like a new book.

A bit dated in parts, but Mayr is a great writer. His conversational style (for history of science) makes what could be a very dull topic into an interesting read. Learned a lot.

Very good, but too long. However, I stuck with it mostly

An outstanding book involving monumental coverage of growth of conceptual frameworks in biological sciences. I think it would be useful to have it as a mandatory read for PhD students in different fields and sub-fields of biology, as the science becomes progressively more entrenched and sometimes mis-directed due to lack of understanding of a bigger picture.

Whilst it is a long read, this book should be on the bookshelf of every scientist, young or old. It offers an interesting detailed and highly interesting history of the main areas of Biology. These areas are covered very fully with pretty much every scientist who had an impact in the various fields of Biology having mention. The book also covers well the structure of science, going from the Inductivist approach of Bacon to the modern Hypothetico-deductive method of science.Mayr covers a wealth of subjects with ease for an engaging and highly stimulating read, this book couldn't be more recommended!

a detailed analysis of the history of some areas of biological thought.

Excellent, though a little dated now.

It is a long, complicated monograph in academic language that I was required to read for PhD comps (twice). It is unquestionably a classic, and an authoritative account on early biology from one of its key participants, but if you are not a biologist or a historian I would recommend opting for one of Mayr's shorter overviews on the topic.