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rymdkejsaren's review against another edition
5.0
A little dry at times, but utterly fascinating for anyone interested in evolutionary biology. It even ended up with speculation about what aliens might look like based on the ideas and studies presented in the book. This sci-fi writer approves!
tinyshedtia's review against another edition
3.0
3.5/5 - I am rating this as a semi-knowledgeable but ultimately lay person perspective. This book was really interesting and provided points or examples I had never heard of and I thought the premise was an intriguing one. I think the author makes their point well (that although evolution can be predictable in the short term, it is an enigma on the large scale). However, some examples became so technical I found myself zoning out. This from the perspective I mention earlier reduced the rating on this, however, if I was assigned this for a college or graduate level course, this wouldn’t hurt it.
It is a very well written, engaging, mostly accessible, and informative book on a very difficult topic. Overall I would recommend to the biology and/or evolution nerd.
It is a very well written, engaging, mostly accessible, and informative book on a very difficult topic. Overall I would recommend to the biology and/or evolution nerd.
bechols's review against another edition
3.0
I didn't know how common convergent evolution is - lots of interesting examples, but got repetitive.
slim_oysterhiatus's review against another edition
4.0
Using accessible language and an entertaining style, Improbably Destinies explores the ways evolutionary biology is studied and tested. It doesn't introduce too much information at once but builds upon itself to create a coherent picture of the studies and theories that lead to what is now known about evolution, and the reasoning behind predictions about further evolution on this planet and possibilities of life beyond it.
davidsteinsaltz's review against another edition
5.0
This book takes on some of the biggest questions -- how predictable is evolution, how inevitable is the existence of humanity -- in a mostly small-bore way, talking about the details of particular experiments that add up to some real insights. The book is not perfect, the philosophical speculation doesn't have a real philosopher's careful touch, the writing is good but not impressive, but it does a rare job of showing how science works to break down vast problems into small, manageable pieces, where the temptation might be to just throw up your hands at the impossible gulf between the ambition and the available tools, and how those pieces do accumulate to advance the understanding in profound ways.
bookslifeandeverythingnice's review against another edition
3.0
Improbable Destinies is very informative about evolution, especially the genetics of it. I found the sections about the similarities between cross continental evolution very interesting. I appreciated that the experiments were explained in a fairly easy to understand manner. It makes scientific studies more accessible to someone not working in the field. Certain sections were more interesting than others. And some sections were boring and redundant. There were pages and pages of experiments with lizards and guppies in detail. Informative, yes. A little dry, also yes. I learned new information from this book, but wished it was a bit more captivating.
irohnic's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
A good read for anyone interested in evolutionary biology at all. It was really fun to read until I got to the micro-biology sections. They felt very repetitive and drawn out to me