Evolution in Four Dimensions

Steven Rose reviewed Evolution in Four Dimensions favorably for the Guardian, describing it as "a lucid book that restores subtlety to evolutionary theory".[2] Andrew Lloyd of St. Vincent's University Hospital reviewed the book favorably as well, describing it as "engagingly well-written" and praising the cartoon illustrations.[3] Stuart Newman also reviewed Evolution favorably, calling it "gracefully written, in a tone that is unusually relaxed and confident given the complexity and broad range of its subject matter and the iconoclastic ideas of the authors."[4] Michael Benton praised it as "one of the best written [books] that I have read in years: clear, succinct, thoroughly signposted, and with ample summaries and reviews of difficult areas."[5] In a more mixed review of the 2017 revised edition, Russell Bonduriansky of the University of New South Wales argued, "Jablonka and Lamb do not quite pull off the Herculean feat of clarifying how all of these dimensions and processes [referring to the "four dimensions"] fit together into a coherent picture of evolution. Yet, this book certainly succeeds in a more modest but still important objective—to compel readers to ponder new evidence and question long-held assumptions."[6] Similarly, Aaron D. Blackwell argued that Jablonka and Lamb propose a new theory of evolution based on the four dimensions they describe, but fail to detail what exactly such a theory would look like. Blackwell acknowledges, however, that "it is hard to fault them for this one" because "[o]ur understandings of epigenetics and cultural inheritance are still limited".[7]