Sewall Wright and Evolutionary Biology

by William B. Provine

Traces the life and career of the American scientist and discusses his contributions to the study of evolution and genetics

Genres: Evolution, Biology

560 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 1986

Reviews

[Avempace]

This is very admirable and thorough intellectual biography of Sewall Wright written by William B. Provine. Together with R.A. Fisher and J.B.S. Haldane, Sewall Wright was a founder of the modern evolutionary consensus and a pioneer of the concept of genetic drift and its role in evolution. Overall, I was impressed by the early background of our subject, coming from an academically oriented family, his rise as a scientist through his work with the US Department of Agriculture on cattle, and the development of his ideas on genetic drift. I was very interested to read on his interaction later in his career with Motoo Kimura, author of the neutral theory of evolution, who spent some time at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, where Wright worked. As a scientist, I am impressed by his modesty, his work with his students and his championing of Kimura's work. Sewall Wright is a scientist's scientist, something reflected in the depth at which his ideas and work are engaged with by Provine. My only regret on leaving this book is the lack of a similarly thorough biography of J.B.S.Haldane. Recommended for those interested in evolutionary biology and the history of evolutionary ideas.