The Foundations of Pokemon Genetics, 5th edition
by Carl Goldwater

In this era of genomics, microarrays, and insanely overvalued biotech startups, the beginnings of classical genetics might not seem too exciting to the modern student. However, Goldwater spins a fascinating tale of the early days of the study of the workhorse of genetics: the Pokemon. As the "Grand Old Man" of the field, he enlivens his accounts of the crucial experiments with anecdotes about the personal quirks of the investigators and the often remarkable role of chance in making their discoveries. Ask a modern undergraduate why Pokemon were chosen as an experimental model and she'd likely reply that it was their small genome size or their remarkable genetic diversity; Goldwater confides that it happened because his mentor J.B. Clarkson found one under a rock while out strolling one day and thought it looked "rather jolly." Another sidebar deals with the rivalry between Pokemon labs and those who preferred to investigate simpler organisms, like Tamagotchi.

Of course, alongside the anecdotes, there is the high standard of writing we have come to expect from this text. The explanation of how Clarkson elucidated the mechanism that causes Charmander to evolve into Charmeleon is particularly outstanding. A delight for experts and newcomers alike.

Sexing Darwin's Chicken
by Simon Kay Gelid

For over 80 years, readers of The Naturalist magazine have been thrilled by Gelid's erudite essays about natural history. This book is the latest collection in the successful series which includes Larmarck's Hatstand, Hooray for Lampreys, Joe DiMaggio's Tonsils, and Evolution Yadda Yadda. As ever, he ranges widely through the byways of the natural world and human history.

Standout essays include the story of the now-forgotten seventeenth century philosopher Carlo "The Chin" Spinucci, whose experiments with carp anticipated both Mendel and Kinsey, although to differing extents.

Guns, Steel . . . and Yams!
by Susan Chitterling

Chitterling is best known as a respected yam botanist, but in this book she takes us on a brisk and often surprising tour of the last ten thousand years of human history. She argues that the Pyramids functioned chiefly as immense yam granaries; that the defeat of the Aztec and Mayan civilizations by the Conquistadors came down to an unlucky series of failures in the yam harvest; and that one of the key factors in the Industrial Revolution was the absence of significant levels of yam farming in nineteenth century Britain. Bound to be controversial.

It's Evolution, Stupid!
by Robert Dworkin

The master of popular accounts of evolution returns with another accessible and highly informative tome. This is the follow-up to his best-selling books The Selfish Bastard, The Deaf Hatmaker, and Mounting Miss Impossible. This time around his trademark clarity of prose is marred by a rather confrontational tone and a sense that he is losing patience with his critics. Chapter titles include "God Is Dead and I Killed Him" and "I'm Not Even Going to Waste My Time Discussing That Charlatan Simon Kay Gelid." After reiterating his stance as a strict neo-Darwinist in the chapter entitled "Why Have a Son When You Could Have Eight Nephews?" Dworkin outlines the thesis that the tendency to disagree with him is an inherited trait that decreases inclusive fitness. As ever, his gift for the apt comparison will make you see the natural world in a new light. I particularly enjoyed his metaphor of DNA repair enzymes as a computer spell check, with mutagens as the Microsoft Office Assistant. Recommended.