Evo/bio books 2005 and before

Here's some reading in evo/biology with collapsed, polarised reviews.

The illustration shows concentrations of homeobox proteins within a blastula, gradients of which appear to responsible for the miracle of embryonic development. Such gradients also participate in producing some of the aesthetically pleasing phenotypic patterns seen in so many animals and plants. Evo/devo is a relatively new science that is (for me) making huge bounds in explaining how the selective expression of protein synthesis at different stages of development can make huge differences in phenotypic 'kinds' produced. This is how the leopard acheived its spots and the zebra its stripes.

Critics may take pleasure in describing this little miracle as reductionist, but the maths show how tiny changes in the expression or timing of expression of 'organising' genes can make macroscopic differences in output from a cascade of 'instructions'. Truly beautiful.

Evo/bio
Pharyngula blog: red-hot
Trilobite: enduringly well-written
A Secret Life of Lobsters: synthetic and syncretic
Mutants: brilliant human embryology
Collapse: worthy but tired
1491: brilliant pre-Columbian history, genetics and ecology
Cosmic Serpent: crap
Endless Forms Most Beautiful: brilliant - on protein gradients and their interactions
The Mind in the Cave: mostly crap
Emperor of Scent: intriguing
On Growth and Form: maths limelit for the blind
How the Leopard Changed his Spots: more 'organiser' embryology- pure beauty

Addendum:
Pharyngula's recommendations for evo books here, some as yet unread.