Evolutionary Wars--A Three-Billion-Year Arms Race The Battle of Species on Land, at Sea, and in the Air

by Levy, Charles Kingsley; Nicholson, Trudy

• ISBN13: 9780716737759
• ISBN10: 0716737752
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-10-04
• Publisher: W. H. Freeman

Summary

It is an airborne death machine, capable of taking off backward, accelerating in a fraction of a second, making unbanked turns or even a somersault at full speed, and stopping on a dime in mid-air. It's able to lift double its own weight, and is capable of making up to 400 kills a day. No, it's not the Pentagon's newest high-tech helicopter, but a dragonfly. This winged warrior is just one of the many battle-scarred creatures that fly, swim, and walk through the pages of Evolutionary Wars, an extensively illustrated guide to nature's most ingenious means of attack and defense. Here on the front lines of the war of natural selection, early warning systems, sonar, stealth technology, chemical agents, and deadly weapons clash in the ultimate Darwinian struggle for superiority and survival. Participants include whales that can blast ultrasonic sound intense enough to kill, frogs able to secret lethal toxins that attack the nervous system, lizards who distract predators by shedding a piece of tail that continues to wiggle, and, finally, the ultimate weapons system which no other species has been able to compete with-- the human brain. From the earliest bacteria and viruses through parasites, plants, and fungi to all creatures great and small, Evolutionary Wars is the story of an arms race that's been raging in the air, on land, and at sea for the last three billion years. Full of fascinating facts and anecdotes, it is perfect reading for natural history buffs, science lovers, and armchair generals.

Author Biography

Charles Kingsley Levy is Professor of Biology at Boston University and Research Professor at Boston University Medical School. During World War II he earned both aerial gunner's wings and navigator's wings and served in North Africa and Europe. Since then, he has consulted for the Department of Defense, the Air Force, NASA, and the CIA, and worked as a park ranger and a safari leader in Africa.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xiii
In the Beginning	p. 1
The War at Sea	p. 35
The Terrestrial Battleground	p. 91
The Vertebrate Landing	p. 119
The Wild Blue Yonder	p. 161
Eating from the Table of Others	p. 209
How Plants and Fungi Make War	p. 235
The Ultimate Weapon System	p. 251
Index	p. 279
Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved.