杏吧原创

Your next book? Why We Do It: Rethinking sex and the selfish gene is out this month (W. W. Norton). From Charles Darwin鈥檚 On the Origin of Species (John Murray, 1859) onwards, Eldredge says, 鈥渋t is blindingly obvious that a major portion of the progress made in understanding evolution has come through books, rather than through the more conventional scientific papers in journal literature. This is more true of evolutionary theory, I think, than any other branch of science.鈥� Current read? He is enjoying Randal Keynes鈥檚 Annie鈥檚 Box (Fourth Estate, 2001). 鈥淜eynes has pulled off the near-impossible,鈥� he says, 鈥渁 thoroughly fresh treatment of Darwin.鈥� Escapist reading? His current favourites are Elmore Leonard and Donald Westlake, of whom he says, 鈥淚 inhaled his Dortmunder novels.鈥� Favourites? Man-Eaters of Kumaon by Jim Corbett (Oxford, 1946). 鈥淪uperb stories of hunting man-eating tigers in northern India in the early 20th century by the man who later championed the conservation of tigers.鈥� And Good Morning Blues (Random House, 1986), Albert Murray鈥檚 鈥渋ncredible鈥� narration of jazz icon Count Basie鈥檚 story, 鈥淚t鈥檚 the best book I have ever read.鈥�