Evolution: The Triumph of an Idea“This brilliant book is a virtual Voyage of the Beagle! Carl Zimmer shows, with the benefit of a hundred and fifty years of hindsight, how right Darwin was.” —Steve Jones, author of Darwin’s Ghost Darwin’s The Origin of Species was breathtaking—beautifully written, staunchly defended, defiantly radical. Yet it emerged long before modern genetics, molecular biology, and contemporary findings in paleontology. In this remarkable book, a rich and up-to-date view of evolution is presented that explores the far-reaching implications of Darwin’s theory. At a time when controversies surrounding creationism and education are bursting into public consciousness, this book’s emphasis on the power, significance, and relevance of evolution will make it a catalyst for public debate. Evolution marks a turning point in the 150-year debate and will be an indispensable asset to any serious reader with an interest in the life sciences, a passion for truth in education, or a concern for the future of the planet. “The evolution of life over four billion years is a grand narrative, full of plots, intrigues, surprises and deaths. Carl Zimmer tells the tale with zest and style.” —Matt Ridley, New York Times–bestselling author “Proceeding from the flurry of preparations for Darwin’s famous voyage, Carl Zimmer leads us off on a journey of our own, tracking the development—and the implications—of one of the most powerful ideas in the biological sciences.” —Scientific American “Science writer Zimmer does a superb job of providing a sweeping overview of most of the topics critical to understanding evolution, presenting his material from both a historical and a topical perspective.” —Publishers Weekly “Popular science that will truly be popular.” —Booklist |
Contents
3 | |
12 | |
The Origin of Origin | 32 |
Putting Dates to the History | 68 |
Genes Natural Selection | 85 |
From Lifes Dawn to | 119 |
Chance and Constraints | 136 |
How Life Ends and Begins Again | 168 |
Disease in the Age of Evolutionary | 254 |
The Evolution of | 274 |
The Social Roots | 313 |
The Dawn of Us | 358 |
What About God? | 381 |
Further Reading | 424 |
Acknowledgments | 453 |
Weaving the Web of Life | 227 |
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Common terms and phrases
adapted Africa animals antibiotics apes argued bacteria barnacles Beagle became become beetles began biological biologists birds body bones bonobos brains Cambrian explosion carbon CCR5 cells chimpanzees chimps cichlids coevolution common ancestor complex created creation creationists creatures Darwin dinosaurs discovered Earth eggs embryos emerged evolution evolutionary evolved eyes female finches fish FitzRoy flies forests fossil record fruit Galápagos genetic Geoffroy geologists geology giant God’s hominids Hox genes Huxley insects Intelligent Design islands isotopes Lamarck lancelet land layers life’s lineages living looked Lyell male mammals mass extinctions mate mesonychids microbes million years ago modern humans molecules mutations natural selection naturalist Neanderthals ocean offspring organisms Origin of Species Owen paleontologists parasites percent pesticides plants pollen population primates produce proteins researchers rocks scientific scientists sexual sperm spread survive synapsids theory thousands tree triploblasts turn University uranium vertebrates whales wrote York