On my other weblog someone is asking about genetics & evolution texts. Specifically they were wondering about the order in which to read Principles of Population Genetics, Evolutionary Genetics and Quantitative Genetics. That was actually the order I suggested, the first book is more basic and broader, while the two latter texts are more specific. In fact the last book is to some extent an elaboration of just one chapter in Principles of Population Genetics. Additionally, I recommended Evolutionary Quantitative Genetics if you want to take the "next step" in specialization (the author is a G-matrix fiend).
But, we're only exploring one dimension of biospace here. Does anyone have a good recommendation for a text on molecular genetics with a slant toward evolution? I have Molecular Evolution, but that's getting a bit out of date now. I've started to check out Human Molecular Genetics, but the focus is obviously a bit narrow.
Also, I do think it is worthwhile for people to be familiar with the "classics," from R.A. Fisher's Genetical Theory of Natural Selection to Sewall Wright's Evolution and the Genetics of Populations. Although I guess you could just read Robert Skipper....
Addendum: For the Homo obsessed Evolutionary Human Genetics is the way to go, but I think the reading experience will be a lot richer if you have a less specialized and more basic work under your belt.
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I just recently snapped up a first edition of Mark Ridley's Evolution textbook for $7. I haven't cracked Smith's Evolutionary Genetics yet, but I'm thinking it might be better to read the Ridley one first. What say you?
Hedrick's Genetics of Natural populations is a good alternative to Hartl and Clark. Gillespie's Concise Guide is good if you're more math inclined (mostly simple probability), but I find it too sparse and it lacks any treatment of molecular population genetics.
Other molecular evolution texts include:
*Graur and Li, which I have sitting on my bookshelf, although I have only skimmed it. I've seen it as the required text in a couple different molecular evolution courses (including one I've taken, although I did not crack the book), so some folks really like it.
*Page & Holmes provides a phylogenetic slant, as the title implies. I find it to be a good book even without an accompanying course.
*Nei & Kumar's book is excellent if you actually want to apply the material to real sequences/data. It is essentially a comprehensive manual for MEGA.
I did not provide links, but the texts can all be found on Amazon by searching for the author names. I recommend Page and Holmes as the best book for someone with some knowledge of molecular biology and some understanding of evolution.
matt, skim through ridley's. i found a lot of the macroevo stuff uninteresting. smith's book is a narrower focus, so i think getting a broader background is important to really appreciate.
re: RPM's comments, i would recommed hedrick's book too, and to some extent i like it because it seems more mathematical (the math isn't as condensed into boxes as in hartl & clarke). also, it is a newer book, the latest edition of hartl and clark is '97 and i believe hedrick's latest edition came out in 2004, and that makes a big difference today re: molecular stuff. nevertheless, i like the organization of the hartl & clark chapters, it seems more thorough and expansive to me, IOW, more "canonical."
Sean Rice, Evolutionary Theory, Sinauer 2004.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0878937021/sr=8-1/qid=1144443046/ref=p…
graur & li and jobling are as good as it gets right now. also agree with the sean rice recommendation.
rice is an interesting read. i wouldn't have thought it possible to publish something interesting on evolutionary theory in **June 2004** without a single mention of DNA in the whole book.
i'm not saying that this decision should be emulated; i also don't think it was conscious on his part (rice is kind of a fossil, i guess). it's sort of like writing an article without using the letter e.
...anyway, molecular evolution is probably the fastest moving field in all of science right now. there is no textbook that comes close to the state of the art. you have to read the literature.