Table of Contents

Foreword by Lewis Thomas (1986) Preface (1997) Acknowledgments Introduction: The Microcosm 1. Out of the Cosmos 2. The Animation of Matter 3. The Language of Nature 4. Entering the Microcosm 5. Sex and Worldwide Genetic Exchange 6. The Oxygen Holocaust 7. New Cells 8. Living Together 9. The Symbiotic Brain 10. The Riddle of Sex 11. Late Bloomers: Animals and Plants 12. Egocentric Man 13. The Future Supercosm Notes Index

About the Author

Lynn Margulis is Distinguished University Professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and a member of the National Academy of Sciences. Dorion Sagan is the author of Biospheres and coauthor, with Lynn Margulis, of What Is Life? (1996).

Reviews

"A luminous prose style. . . . Clear, evocative, and, at its best, dense with realities rather than concepts or opinions, [Microcosmos] grips the serious reader in a way that transcends both science and science journalism."
*New York Times Book Review*

"Microcosmos is a book for all to read. Although the ideas expressed with such clarity and enthusiasm in this enthralling volume are soundly based on current scientific research they are couched in a language that anyone with a smattering of biology can easily grasp. . . . Microcosmos is a book packed with information and fascinating detail, but all of it to the purpose of demonstrating how life forms are interwoven with each other." 
*The Ecologist*

"A fascinating, engrossing, superbly written account. . . . Makes the story of evolution—including very recent findings—accessible."
*Los Angeles Times*

"A stunning, complex chronicle . . . proposing that only an understanding of the microcosm from which life sprang can make possible our ultimate leap beyond Earth into a human-devised supercosm." 
*Publishers Weekly*

"First published in 1986, Microcosmos is already regarded as a seminal book in its field." 
*Hartford Courant*