Evolution: The Whole Story
Evolution: The Whole Story provides an in-depth and up-to-the- minute account of evolution, one of the ultimate keystone theories in modern science. Ten esteemed experts thoroughly survey how each of Earth's major groups of living things diversified and evolved through time and using visual features that make the story comprehensible, the book gives readers, even those with no previous knowledge of the topic, a clear understanding of evolution and how it brought us to the present day.
Each of seven chapters takes one of Earth's major living groups and describes the evolution of its subgroups and how they diversified and evolved. The stories are fascinating. In some cases, a subgroup fell off the evolutionary chain, like the dinosaurs that were part of the Early Reptiles group, and which became extinct by the second extinction event. In other cases, a living subgroup may contain a life form virtually the same as its evolutionary ancestors, such as the horseshoe crab from the Invertebrates group, which is a "living fossil" closely related to prehistoric sea scorpions.
Along with profiles of the most important scientists that have influenced evolutionary theory, the book reveals how these advances have added to and often changed the story. For example, the now-extinct Pederpes, formerly thought to be a fish, was restudied and reclassified in 2002 and is now known to be the first four-limbed vertebrate to evolve to a life on land.
Evolution: The Whole Story makes the story of evolution comprehensible, straightforward and stimulating. The introduction provides an important overview. It includes:
- Modern evolutionary theory
- Terms such as convergent evolution and speciation; time charts and their eras, periods and epochs
- Explanations of graphic devices such as phylogenies and cladograms that depict evolutionary relationships
- How we know or surmise about long-gone animals, plants, habitats, and ecosystems
- Factors and pressures that drove evolution
- How fossils formed and are studied.
Having laid the base for readers, the story begins. Important features include:
- Thematic essays that provide a complete account of all the major life groups, explaining in detail their comparative anatomy and evolutionary legacies.
- Photographic features that investigate the characteristics of individual organisms, including living species, fossils and skeletons, and how they are direct ancestors or relatives to members of modern life groups.
- 160 Key Focus features that investigate topics of particular interest.
- Stimulating lifelike reconstructions of past habitats and ecosystems.
- Historical timelines highlighting key evolutionary events and discoveries.
- In-depth coverage of 20 eminent scientists that have made major contributions to our understanding of evolution.
- Coverage of Mass Extinctions in their chronological position on the evolutionary timescale.
The 160 Key Focus features investigate topics that add color while they reveal important developments in evolution and its study. Examples are:
- Hallucigenia, a wormlike creature so odd that a scientist thought he was hallucinating.
- Flowers, insects and co-evolution -- how organisms can progress "hand-in-hand"
- Peripatus, today's walking worm with stumpy legs, which may show how arthropods evolved
- Eurypterus, at almost 5 feet long it was a real monster for its time.
- Arthropleura, a giant millipede-like arthropod the size of a sports car.
- Othniel Charles Marsh, Edward Drinker Cope and the Bone Wars, as rivals competed to find the biggest, best dinosaur fossils.
- Hobbits, an amazing discovery in 2003 of 3-feet-tall fossil humans -- are they a distinct species?
- Reversing evolution and de-extinction -- will we be able to "de-extinct" long-gone species?
- Gigantopithecus, a 10-feet-tall close cousin of humans living in Asia up to 100,000 years ago.
- Today's sea eagle -- what modern eagles tell us about the evolution of their group.
- Are new species evolving?
Evolutionary theorists, paleontologists, paleoecologists, molecular biologists, geneticists, climatologists, the occasional amateur fossil-hunter, and many more people, have contributed to our understanding of evolution. Their passion and work will continue to unravel the complex and challenging story, but in the meantime, Evolution: The Whole Story reveals the compelling evidence we have today.
This book is ideal for all general readers and anyone working in or interested in fields related to the study of evolution. It is an essential selection.
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Steve Parker gained a BSc Honors First Class in Zoology and is a Senior Scientific Fellow of the Zoological Society of London. His passion for animals, plants, and life sciences such as ecology and ethology is reflected in the more than 300 books that he has written, contributed to, or acted as consultant for. They include The Encyclopedia of Sharks and as co-author Planet Ape, both published by Firefly Books.
Alice Roberts is a clinical anatomist and Professor of Public Engagement in Science at the University of Birmingham. She has presented several BBC science series including The Incredible Human Journey, Origins of Us, Prehistoric Autopsy and Ice Age Giants. She writes a regular science column for The Observer, and has authored five popular science books.
(starred review) This accessible volume takes a pictorial look at all aspects of evolution, organizing the progression of species chronologically by group ("Earliest Life," "Plants," "Invertebrates," "Fish and Amphibians," "Reptiles," "Birds," and "Mammals"). Each section contains a narrative essay and historical time line of key events. The individual snapshot entries both show and describe the characteristics of individual organisms (such as Dunkleosteus, a four-ton, vampire-fanged fish) and how they are ancestors of or relatives to modern species. Each entry is a two-page spread, filled with color illustrations and photographs--more than 1,000 illustrations in all. There is also coverage of noted scientists as well as important places worldwide. In addition, numerous sidebars further elucidate topics of particular interest. The coverage here is exhaustive, but the writing is easy to follow, and the short-entry format makes for a very readable book. This is an important work and is highly recommended for all types of libraries, where it will serve both general readers and students.-- (12/01/2015)
(starred review) This book is a gorgeously illustrated and utterly fascinating history of the planet Earth and the millions of life forms that have called it home. Parker, a prolific science writer, synthesizes the most up-to-date knowledge of evolutionary science for educated general readers in this accessible, chronological guide. Evolution encompasses "the changes undergone by living things through time," and it is therefore the story of our world. Parker divides the book into seven chapters that cover eons, during which life very gradually evolved from primordial microbes into invertebrate creatures, plants, fish and amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Every single page contains full-colour images of fossils and living animals, as well as superb artistic renderings of long-extinct creatures great and small. Parker provides vital information on each species--sea floor--crawling trilobites, flesh-tearing terrestrial dinosaurs, ape-like early human ancestors, and more--including scientific names, life cycles, habitats, taxonomic groups, and fossil records. Modestly priced for such a richly detailed hardcover, this book is the essential story of life on earth, and it belongs on the shelf of everyone who is interested in that story.-- (10/01/2015)
Editor Parker has assembled the work of 20 contributing scientists in "Evolution," an approachable and interesting 576 page study of life on Earth, now and then. Diagrams, photos, charts and text all add up to a fascinating study.-- (01/28/2016)
Monoplacophorans are not particularly showy, but they are part of Earth's evolutionary story. As might be expected in this colorful, well-laid out, methodical presentation of the history of life on this planet, monoplacophorans are there--even if one has never heard of them--along with Tiktaalik, spirobranchus, and of course, trilobites, dinosaurs, and people. This book gives readers a profound sense of time, a sense of awe at the great variety of life that has lived and is living on Earth, and an encyclopedic view of evolution that is unequalled. By replicating portions of the photographs as areas of special interest mentioned in the text and using regularly occurring, way-finding icons and inserts, the authors have created a sense of animation and of "being there" while the story is told. With 1,288 carefully selected photographs and illustrations, 123 time lines and phylogenies, a 94-entry glossary, an index of more then 1,600 entries, and 11 contributing authors, this book earns its subtitle "the whole story." Highly recommended. All library collections.-- (03/01/2016)
