Evolution

by Zimmer, Carl; Gould, Stephen Jay; Hutton, Richard

• ISBN13: 9780060199067
• ISBN10: 0060199067
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-08-16
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publications

Summary

This dazzling companion volume to one the most important series in PBS history tells the compelling story of the theory of evolution -- from Darwin to twenty-first-century science. Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species was breathtaking, beautifully written, staunchly defended, defiantly radical. Yet it emerged long before paleontologists and geologists worked out the chronology of life on Earth, long before biologists uncovered the molecules that underlie heredity and natural selection. Not until the late twentieth century was the true scope of its power revealed. This remarkable new book, featuring more than 150 color illustrations, presents a rich and up-to-date view of evolution that explores the far-reaching implications of Darwin's theory and emphasizes the power, significance, and relevance of evolution to our lives today. After all, we ourselves are the product of evolution, and we can tackle many of our gravest challenges -- from the lethal resurgence of antibiotic-resistant diseases to the wave of extinctions that looms before us -- with a sound understanding of the science. It can help us see our lives in connection to everything that has come before and to every form of life on Earth today. Filled with rich narrative, award-winning science writing, and the most up-to-date information on topics ranging from Darwinian medicine and sexual selection to the origins of language, evolutionary psychology, and the controversies surrounding creationism, Evolution tells in riveting detail the story of a remarkable scientific journey, from the emergence to the triumph of an idea.

Author Biography

Carl Zimmer is a former senior editor at Discover, he writes a regular column on evolution for Natural History. He also contributes articles to magazines such as National Geographic, Audubon, and Science. He lives in New York City

Table of Contents

Introduction	ix
Stephen Jay Gould
Foreword	xv
Richard Hutton
Acknowledgments	xix
PART 1 SLOW VICTORY: DARWIN AND THE RISE OF DARWINISM
Darwin and the Beagle	3	(24)
``Like Confessing a Murder'': The Origin of Origin of Species	27	(30)
Deep Time Discovered: Putting Dates to the History of Life	57	(16)
Witnessing Change: Genes, Natural Selection, and Evolution in Action	73	(28)
PART 2 CREATION AND DESTRUCTION
Rooting the Tree of Life: From Life's Dawn to the Age of Microbes	101	(16)
The Accidental Tool Kit: Chance and Constraints in Animal Evolution	117	(26)
Extinction: How Life Ends and Begins Again	143	(46)
PART 3 EVOLUTION'S DANCE
Coevolution: Weaving the Web of Life	189	(22)
Doctor Darwin: Disease in the Age of Evolutionary Medicine	211	(18)
Passion's Logic: The Evolution of Sex	229	(30)
PART 4 HUMANITY'S PLACE IN EVOLUTION AND EVOLUTION'S PLACE IN HUMANITY
The Gossiping Ape: The Social Roots of Human Evolution	259	(34)
Modern Life, 50,000 B.C.: The Dawn of Us	293	(20)
What about God?	313	(32)
Further Reading	345	(8)
Index	353