The theory of evolution unites the past, present, and future of living things. It puts humanity’s place in the universe into necessary perspective. Despite a history of controversy, the evidence for evolution continues to accumulate as a result of many separate strands of amazing scientific sleuthing.
In The Story of Evolution in 25 Discoveries, Donald R. Prothero explores the most fascinating breakthroughs in piecing together the evidence for evolution. In twenty-five vignettes, he recounts the dramatic stories of the people who made crucial discoveries, placing each moment in the context of what it represented for the progress of science. He tackles topics like what it means to see evolution in action and what the many transitional fossils show us about evolution, following figures from Darwin to lesser-known researchers as they unlock the mysteries of the fossil record, the earth, and the universe. The book also features the stories of animal species strange and familiar, including humans—and our ties to some of our closest relatives and more distant cousins. Prothero’s wide-ranging tales showcase awe-inspiring and bizarre aspects of nature and the powerful insights they give us into the way that life works.
Brisk and entertaining while firmly grounded in fundamental science, The Story of Evolution in 25 Discoveries is a captivating read for anyone curious about the evidence for evolution and what it means for humanity.
- Table of Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Part I: In the Beginning: Everything Evolves, and Earth Is Very Old
- 1. Everything Evolves and Changes: Discovery of the Evolving Universe
- 2. The Abyss of Time: The Immense Age of the Earth
- Part II: Darwin’s Evidence for Evolution
- 3. Evolution in Action: Transformation in Real Time
- 4. Our Common Body Plan: Homology
- 5. Ontogeny Recapitulates Phylogeny: Evidence in Embryos
- 6. The Sinking of Noah’s Ark: Biogeography
- 7. The Branching Tree of Life: Phylogeny
- 8. The Case of the Cruel Wasps: Nature Is Not Moral
- 9. Jury-Rigged Contrivances: Nature Is Not Optimally Designed
- Part III: Great Transitions in the History of Life
- 10. A Whale of a Tale: Vestigial Organs and Walking Whales
- 11. Invasion of the Land: Amphibians Crawl Out of the Water
- 12. Missing Links Found: Macroevolution and Transitional Fossils
- 13. Birds with Teeth: The Dinosaurs Among Us
- 14. A Horse! A Horse! My Kingdom for a Horse! The Evolution of Equines
- 15. How the Giraffe Got Its Neck: Lamarck, Darwin, and the Left Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve
- 16. How the Elephant Got Its Trunk: The Evolution of the Proboscideans
- Part IV: Eyes and Genes
- 17. A Warm Little Pond: How Did Life Originate?
- 18. Genetic Junkyard: Most of Our DNA Is Useless
- 19. Legs on Their Heads: Homeotic Mutants and Evo-Devo
- 20. The Eyes Have It: The Evolution of Photoreception
- Part V: Humans and Evolution
- 21. A Tinkerer, Not an Engineer: Are Humans Well Designed?
- 22. The Third Chimpanzee: Are We Really 99 Percent the Same?
- 23. The Ape’s Reflection: Are Humans Really That Different from Other Animals?
- 24. Bones of Our Ancestors: The Human Fossil Record
- 25. The Once and Future Human: Are Humans Still Evolving?
- Index
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