Library§
The books behind the theory, graded section by section.
Each work is read in full, one chapter or section at a time, with the same six-step rubric and reasoning check used on every claim card. Then the work is judged as a whole. Historical books are judged by the evidence their authors had; textbooks by whether what students are shown supports what they are told.
Books
The classic works that built the theory, from Darwin and Wallace to Huxley, Haeckel and Lyell. All are in the public domain, so the full text is loaded from Project Gutenberg and evaluated chapter by chapter.
- On the Origin of SpeciesCharles Darwin · 1859 · 1st editionThe book that launched the theory: variation, the struggle for existence and natural selection, offered as "one long argument" for descent with modification.Not yet evaluated≈ $3 to evaluate
- The Origin of SpeciesCharles Darwin · 1872 · 6th editionDarwin's final revision, with a new chapter answering his critics ("Miscellaneous Objections") and the first use of the word "evolution" in the book.Not yet evaluated≈ $4 to evaluate
- The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to SexCharles Darwin · 1874 · 2nd editionDarwin applies the theory to human beings: anatomical and embryological similarities with other animals, mental and moral faculties, and sexual selection.Not yet evaluated≈ $6 to evaluate
- The Variation of Animals and Plants under DomesticationCharles Darwin · 1875 · 2nd edition (first published 1868)Darwin's detailed evidence from breeders, pigeons to cabbages, and his provisional theory of inheritance, "pangenesis".Not yet evaluated≈ $8 to evaluate
- The Foundations of the Origin of Species: Two Essays Written in 1842 and 1844Charles Darwin (ed. Francis Darwin) · 1909Darwin's private sketches of the theory, written fifteen years before the Origin and published by his son for the centenary.Not yet evaluated≈ $3 to evaluate
- Darwinism: An Exposition of the Theory of Natural SelectionAlfred Russel Wallace · 1889The co-discoverer of natural selection restates the theory thirty years on, defending selection as the main cause and arguing for its limits in the case of the human mind.Not yet evaluated≈ $4 to evaluate
- Contributions to the Theory of Natural SelectionAlfred Russel Wallace · 1870Wallace's essays, including the 1855 "Sarawak Law" paper and the 1858 Ternate essay sent to Darwin.Not yet evaluated≈ $3 to evaluate
- Man's Place in Nature, and Other EssaysThomas Henry Huxley · 1863 · Everyman's Library collection, 1906Huxley's 1863 comparative anatomy of humans and apes and his discussion of the Neanderthal skull, the first book-length case for human evolution, with later essays.Not yet evaluated≈ $3 to evaluate
- Lectures on Evolution (New York, 1876)Thomas Henry Huxley · 1876Three public lectures, including Huxley's famous presentation of the fossil horse series as "demonstrative evidence" of evolution.Not yet evaluated≈ $1 to evaluate
- The Evolution of ManErnst Haeckel · 1912 · Joseph McCabe's translation of the 5th German editionHaeckel's popular account of human ancestry through embryology, built on his "biogenetic law" that development recapitulates evolutionary history.Not yet evaluated≈ $6 to evaluate
- The Last Link: Our Present Knowledge of the Descent of ManErnst Haeckel · 1898Haeckel's Cambridge lecture on human ancestry, given shortly after Dubois's discovery of "Pithecanthropus" (Java Man).Not yet evaluated≈ $1 to evaluate
- The Riddle of the UniverseErnst Haeckel · 1900Haeckel's best-selling case for "monism": that evolution answers the great questions of philosophy and religion.Not yet evaluated≈ $5 to evaluate
- Vestiges of the Natural History of CreationRobert Chambers (published anonymously) · 1844The anonymous best-seller that made "development" a public controversy fifteen years before Darwin, from the nebular hypothesis to the origin of life.Not yet evaluated≈ $3 to evaluate
- Principles of GeologyCharles Lyell · 1853 · 9th edition (first published 1830–1833)The work that established uniformitarianism: present causes, acting at present rates, over immense time. Darwin read the first edition on the Beagle.Not yet evaluated≈ $10 to evaluate
- The Geological Evidences of the Antiquity of ManCharles Lyell · 1863Lyell's survey of the evidence for the great age of the human race, and his cautious acceptance of Darwin's theory.Not yet evaluated≈ $5 to evaluate
- The Scientific Evidences of Organic EvolutionGeorge John Romanes · 1882A short, systematic summary of the evidence for evolution as it stood in the year of Darwin's death, organised by line of evidence.Not yet evaluated≈ $1 to evaluate
- Darwiniana: Essays and Reviews Pertaining to DarwinismAsa Gray · 1876The Harvard botanist and Darwin's leading American ally argues that natural selection is compatible with design and with Christian faith.Not yet evaluated≈ $3 to evaluate
- Essays upon Heredity and Kindred Biological ProblemsAugust Weismann · 1889 · English translationWeismann's germ-plasm theory: inheritance passes only through the germ line, so acquired characters cannot be inherited.Not yet evaluated≈ $4 to evaluate
- Species and Varieties: Their Origin by MutationHugo de Vries · 1906 · 2nd edition (first published 1905)De Vries's lectures on the "mutation theory": new species arising in single large steps, based on his work with the evening primrose.Not yet evaluated≈ $5 to evaluate
- Facts and Arguments for DarwinFritz Müller · 1869 · English translationMüller tests Darwin's theory on the development of crustaceans, an early attempt to use embryology as evidence of ancestry.Not yet evaluated≈ $2 to evaluate
- The Story of EvolutionJoseph McCabe · 1912A popular history of the universe and of life from the nebula to humankind, written for general readers in the early twentieth century.Not yet evaluated≈ $4 to evaluate
Textbooks
How the theory is taught today. Openly licensed textbooks are loaded and evaluated section by section; for textbooks in copyright, paste a passage with its edition and page.
- Biology 2e, Unit 4: Evolutionary Processes (ch. 18–20)Mary Ann Clark, Matthew Douglas, Jung Choi (OpenStax) · 2018A widely used, free college textbook for biology majors. Its evolution unit is a clear example of how the theory is taught at university level today.Not yet evaluated≈ $1 to evaluate
- Biology for AP® Courses, ch. 18–20Julianne Zedalis, John Eggebrecht (OpenStax) · 2018The high-school (Advanced Placement) adaptation of Biology 2e: the evolution unit as many American high-school students meet it.Not yet evaluated≈ $2 to evaluate
- Concepts of Biology, ch. 11–12Samantha Fowler, Rebecca Roush, James Wise (OpenStax) · 2013An introductory college text for non-majors. Section 11.3, "Evidence of Evolution", is a compact version of the standard textbook case.Not yet evaluated≈ $1 to evaluate
- Introduction to Anthropology, ch. 4–5Jennifer Hasty, David G. Lewis, Marjorie M. Snipes (OpenStax) · 2022How human evolution is taught in a current college anthropology course, from primate classification to the genus Homo and ancient genomes.Not yet evaluated≈ $2 to evaluate
- Astronomy 2e, ch. 30: Life in the UniverseAndrew Fraknoi, David Morrison, Sidney C. Wolff (OpenStax) · 2022How a physical-science textbook presents the chemical origin of life and the prospects for life elsewhere.Not yet evaluated≈ $1 to evaluate
- Text-Book of Biology, Part 1: VertebrataH. G. Wells · 1893Yes, that H. G. Wells: before his novels he trained under T. H. Huxley and wrote this student textbook of zoology.Not yet evaluated≈ $1 to evaluate
- First Course in BiologyL. H. Bailey and Walter M. Coleman · 1908An American high-school biology textbook from 1908, from the generation of textbooks that preceded the Scopes trial.Not yet evaluated≈ $6 to evaluate
- Campbell BiologyLisa A. Urry, Michael L. Cain, Steven A. Wasserman, Peter V. Minorsky, Rebecca B. Orr (Pearson) · various editionsThe most widely used introductory college biology textbook. In copyright: paste a passage and tell us the edition and page.Paste a passage
- Miller & Levine BiologyKenneth R. Miller, Joseph S. Levine (Savvas, formerly Pearson Prentice Hall) · various editionsOne of the most widely used high-school biology textbooks in the United States. In copyright: paste a passage with edition and page.Paste a passage
- Biology (Raven & Johnson)Peter H. Raven, George B. Johnson, Kenneth A. Mason, Jonathan B. Losos, Tod Duncan (McGraw Hill) · various editionsA standard college biology text for majors. In copyright: paste a passage with edition and page.Paste a passage
- Evolution (Futuyma & Kirkpatrick)Douglas J. Futuyma, Mark Kirkpatrick (Oxford University Press / Sinauer) · various editionsThe standard upper-level university textbook on evolutionary biology. In copyright: paste a passage with edition and page.Paste a passage
- Any other textbookBiology, chemistry, earth science or anthropology · various editionsPaste a passage from any textbook, school or college, with its title, edition and page, and it will be evaluated the same way.Paste a passage
Websites
The pages people actually read: teaching sites, museum pages and the most cited online case for common descent.
- 29+ Evidences for Macroevolution: The Scientific Case for Common DescentDouglas L. Theobald (TalkOrigins Archive) · 1999–2012Probably the most cited online case for universal common descent, organised as 29 predictions each paired with a potential falsification.Not yet evaluated≈ $1 to evaluate
- Understanding Evolution: Evolution 101University of California Museum of Paleontology, Berkeley · currentA teaching resource from UC Berkeley's Museum of Paleontology, widely recommended to teachers and students.Not yet evaluated≈ $2 to evaluate
- Introduction to Human EvolutionSmithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Human Origins Program · currentThe Smithsonian's public introduction to the evidence for human evolution, the companion to its Hall of Human Origins.Not yet evaluated≈ $1 to evaluate
- Evidence of common descent (Wikipedia)Wikipedia contributors · currentThe encyclopedia article many readers consult first. Long enough that it is evaluated in parts.Not yet evaluated≈ $1 to evaluate
Is a book, textbook or website missing? Suggest it. Works on every side of the debate are welcome; the rubric is the same for all of them.