Funnily enough, I just started The Ecological Rift by Foster, Clark, and York (MR Press), and I thought, this would be a good example of dialectical materialism. The preface states,

We have also benefited from the support of Richard Levins and Richard Lewontin, and from their dialectical approach to biology.

It sounds like others have found Lewis and Lewontin helpful, too. Might have to add them to my list after working through Foster and Burnett.

Sometimes I like to work forwards, starting with the oldest author and reading chronologically. There's nothing quite like seeing the debate unfold like that. But when I'm shorter on time or the subject is less familiar, I like to work backwards as the examples of more modern writers can be easier to get on with; and reading the previous work with some background knowledge can make the task a bit easier.