Science · Similar reads

Books like On the Origin of Species

The best books like On the Origin of Species are The Selfish Gene, The Ancestor's Tale, and The Blind Watchmaker. On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin is about evolution, natural selection, biodiversity. If that's what drew you in, here are 12 books that share its DNA — each summarized on Superbook, and ready to chat with in the app.

  1. The Selfish Gene
    The Selfish Gene

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    The Selfish Gene

    Richard Dawkins · Science

    The Selfish Gene reframes evolution from the organism's point of view to the gene's.

    Shares evolution and natural selection with On the Origin of Species.

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  2. The Ancestor's Tale
    The Ancestor's Tale

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    The Ancestor's Tale

    Richard Dawkins · Science

    The Ancestor's Tale is Richard Dawkins's account of the history of life on Earth, told backwards: beginning with humans and traveling back in evolutionary time to meet successive ancestors at the points where different lineages join.

    Shares evolution and biodiversity with On the Origin of Species.

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  3. The Blind Watchmaker
    The Blind Watchmaker

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    The Blind Watchmaker

    Richard Dawkins · Science

    The Blind Watchmaker is Richard Dawkins's argument that natural selection — cumulative, non-random selection acting on random variation — is sufficient to explain the apparent design in biological organisms.

    Shares evolution and natural selection with On the Origin of Species.

    Read the summary →
  1. The Extended Phenotype
    The Extended Phenotype

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    The Extended Phenotype

    Richard Dawkins · Science

    The Extended Phenotype is Richard Dawkins's most technical and, by his own account, most important book.

    Shares evolution and adaptation with On the Origin of Species.

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  2. The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History
    The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History

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    The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History

    Elizabeth Kolbert · Science

    The Sixth Extinction is Elizabeth Kolbert's account of the mass extinction event currently underway — the sixth in Earth's history, and the first caused by a single species.

    Shares evolution and biodiversity with On the Origin of Species.

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  3. Climbing Mount Improbable
    Climbing Mount Improbable

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    Climbing Mount Improbable

    Richard Dawkins · Science

    Climbing Mount Improbable is Richard Dawkins's response to the persistent intuition that complex biological structures — the vertebrate eye, insect wings, spider webs — are too improbable to have evolved by chance.

    Shares evolution and natural selection with On the Origin of Species.

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  4. Life Ascending
    Life Ascending

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    Life Ascending

    Nick Lane · Science

    Life Ascending is Nick Lane's examination of what he calls evolution's ten greatest inventions: the origin of life itself, DNA, photosynthesis, the complex cell, sex, movement, sight, hot blood, consciousness, and death.

    Shares evolution and natural selection with On the Origin of Species.

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  5. The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution
    The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution

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    The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution

    Richard Dawkins · Science

    The Greatest Show on Earth is Richard Dawkins's systematic presentation of the evidence for evolution by natural selection.

    Shares evolution and natural selection with On the Origin of Species.

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  6. Why Evolution Is True
    Why Evolution Is True

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    Why Evolution Is True

    Jerry A. Coyne · Science

    Why Evolution Is True is evolutionary geneticist Jerry Coyne's systematic case for evolution, written for readers who want a rigorous but accessible treatment of the evidence.

    Shares evolution and natural selection with On the Origin of Species.

    Read the summary →
  7. A Crack in Creation: Gene Editing and the Unthinkable Power to Control Evolution
    A Crack in Creation: Gene Editing and the Unthinkable Power to Control Evolution

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    A Crack in Creation: Gene Editing and the Unthinkable Power to Control Evolution

    Jennifer A. Doudna and Samuel H. Sternberg · Science

    A Crack in Creation is Jennifer Doudna and Samuel Sternberg's account of how CRISPR-Cas9 works, what it can do, and why its possibilities should give everyone pause.

    Both dig into evolution.

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  8. A Short History of Nearly Everything
    A Short History of Nearly Everything

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    A Short History of Nearly Everything

    Bill Bryson · Science

    A Short History of Nearly Everything is Bill Bryson's attempt to understand the scientific story of everything — from the Big Bang to the emergence of modern humans — by spending three years talking to scientists and reading science history.

    Both dig into evolution.

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  9. Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?
    Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?

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    Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?

    Frans de Waal · Science

    Frans de Waal's central argument is that we've spent most of the last century asking the wrong questions about animal intelligence.

    Both dig into evolution.

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Books like On the Origin of Species: quick answers

What are the best books like On the Origin of Species?

The best books like On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin are The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins, The Ancestor's Tale by Richard Dawkins, The Blind Watchmaker by Richard Dawkins, The Extended Phenotype by Richard Dawkins, The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert, plus 7 more below. Each was chosen for themes it shares with On the Origin of Species, such as evolution, natural selection, biodiversity.

What should I read after On the Origin of Species?

A natural next read after On the Origin of Species is The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins. Shares evolution and natural selection with On the Origin of Species. Other strong choices are The Ancestor's Tale by Richard Dawkins, The Blind Watchmaker by Richard Dawkins, The Extended Phenotype by Richard Dawkins.

What books are similar to On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin?

On the Origin of Species centers on evolution, natural selection, biodiversity. Books with a similar feel include The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins, The Ancestor's Tale by Richard Dawkins, The Blind Watchmaker by Richard Dawkins, The Extended Phenotype by Richard Dawkins, The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert, Climbing Mount Improbable by Richard Dawkins — all free to read and chat with on Superbook.

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