Evolution

This is an excellent textbook-style introduction to its topic. Although a few of the more nuts-and-bolts chapters were pretty tough going for a Humanities guy like myself, overall the book is quite readable, amply illustrated, and very broad in its coverage. The topics include biological (heredity, genetics, mutation, selection) aspects of evolution, both in terms of internal mechanics and of large-scale case-studies, as well as political and religious considerations. It also includes an appendix with biographies of the major figures in evolutionary thought, a glossary, and a brief annotated bibliography. Although Richard Dawkins' _River out of Eden_ is shorter and more user-friendly, this is the most comprehensive brief introduction to the topic that I've seen.