Best books explaining evolution?

[Kaitlyn]

Hello, I'm looking for some books that can explain both the theory of evolution and its progression through society/influence, along with thorough argument in its favor.

Background: I'm 16 so please don't recommend something that would be beyond my understanding, and I want it to be pretty thorough because my schooling so far has all been parochial (uber religious) so I've really never had a good explanation of evolution (unless my teachers were trying to disprove it).

Thankyou!!!

[Paul B]

Why Evolution is True. By Jerry A Coyne 2009.

The Greatest Show on Earth. By Richard Dawkins 2006

[Batlow]

A great question! And a great answer from Paul B, as usual; please give him 'best answer'. Those are excellent books: scientifically solid yet suitable for the general reader. You don't need to be a brainiac to understand and enjoy them. See the reader reviews on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Why-Evolution-True...0143116649
http://www.amazon.com/The-Greatest-Show-...1416594795
and some other reviews:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40053...on-is-true
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16...coyne.html

Since you're probably surrounded by folks pushing a very 'creationist' view, you might also find this book, published by the US National Center for Science Education, useful:

'Evolution vs. Creationism: An Introduction' by Eugenie C. Scott
http://ncse.com/media/evc1

This book is designed for teachers, students and parents. It's thorough, easy to read and enjoyable - certainly within the grasp of a normal 16 year old reader. Ultimately the book comes down on the side of evolution (hey, it is 'Science Education' after all) but aims to present a balanced picture of both sides; it was reviewed by some creationist organisations for accuracy and fairness before it was published. Buy it as a physical book from Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Evolution-vs-Creat...0520261879
... or download it as a free PDF, from the NCSE website:
http://ncse.com/resources/free-evolution-book-downloads

Finally I'd mention there's no inherent contradiction between evolution and religion. Around the world lots of church-going, Bible-believing Christians have no difficulty accepting the theory of evolution as a normal part of modern science. Only a specific minority of Christians find evolution a problem: mostly Fundamentalists; and Evangelical churches which have been influenced by Fundamentalist ideas (for example, the Missouri Synod of the US Lutheran Church). These groups are much more common and prominent in the United States than in other countries - for interesting social and historical reasons. Lutherans in Denmark or Germany would give you a radically different view of evolution, compared to Lutherans in St Louis! You can choose to accept or reject religion, according to your own conscience; but don't be swayed by arguments that you're deserting God by accepting evolution - that's just nonsense.

Hope it helps!