Ethan Bier: The Coiled Spring* - a nice introduction to developmental biology
Henry Gee: Across the Bridge Understanding the Origin of the Vertebrates
John Gerhart, Marc Kirschner: Cells, Embryos, and Evolution* Towards a Cellular and Developmental Understanding of Phenotypic Variation and Evolutionary Adaptability
Stephen Jay Gould: Ontogeny and Phylogeny** - the history of recapitulation; developmental timing and evolution
Kenneth J. McNamara: Shapes of Time* The Evolution of Growth and Development
Clara Pinto-Correia: The Ovary of Eve* Egg and Sperm and Preformation