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
Donald R. Prothero is a paleontology and geology researcher, teacher, and author. He is adjunct professor of geological sciences at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, and research associate in vertebrate paleontology at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. His Columbia University Press books include The Story of Life in 25 Fossils: Tales of Intrepid Fossil Hunters and the Wonders of Evolution (2015), The Story of the Earth in 25 Rocks: Tales of Important Geological Puzzles and the People Who Solved Them (2018), and The Story of the Dinosaurs in 25 Discoveries: Amazing Fossils and the People Who Found Them (2019).
This compelling presentation of the undeniable evidence for
evolution offers stunning and engaging reading for the enormous
explanatory power of Darwin’s great idea. Written by Donald R.
Prothero, a leading paleontologist of our times, this book promises
to enlighten even the staunchest skeptics of the theory of
evolution.
*Don Johanson, discoverer of Lucy and founder of the Institute of
Human Origins*
A hallmark of a truly great scientific insight is its ability to
make sense of wildly different kinds of evidence, even kinds
undreamed of when the insight first originated. Evolution is such
an insight, and Prothero's survey of the field, in 25 short and
lively chapters, illustrates the many lines of evidence for
evolution from Darwin's day to our own, debunking misconceptions
galore along the way. The Story of Evolution in 25 Discoveries is a
fine introduction for any reader who wants to appreciate the
evidence behind the science.
*Ann Reid, executive director, National Center for Science
Education*
This is an informative and engaging work about the discovery
process, mainly centered around evolution. Readers will be well
informed about why biologists think evolution is not only real but
also important for discovering who we are. Prothero provides a
useful service in clearing up many misconceptions about
evolution.
*Norman Johnson, author of Darwinian Detectives: Revealing the
Natural History of Genes and Genomes*
Donald Prothero has emerged as our foremost defender of
evolutionary theory against creationists and intelligent design
theorists and our most articulate expositor of the theory to the
general public since Stephen Jay Gould, his mentor. The Story of
Evolution in 25 Discoveries is the best single volume I have read
that captures the reality and grandeur of this grand theory of who
we are, where we came from, and how we know all this about our
species. A tour de force of science and reason.
*Michael Shermer, publisher, Skeptic magazine*
An outstanding update on evolution.
*Kirkus [Starred Review]*
Accessible overview of the history of the idea of evolution.
Prothero is skilled at translating specialist material into
entertaining stories.
*Publishers Weekly*
With 'The Story of Evolution in 25 Discoveries,' Donald Prothero
provides a masterful, lively primer on the abundant evidence for
evolution, including the latest fossil findings at digging sites
and laboratories around the world—all furthering to close this
case, once and for all.
*Foreword Reviews*
Don’t Miss ‘The Story of Evolution in 25 Discoveries.’ [It] is
palaeontologist and geologist Donald Prothero’s entertaining guide
to the past, present and future of living things – with nature’s
more bizarre aspects to the fore.
*New Scientist*
This book accomplishes a nearly impossible double-task: it conveys
enough information to serve as an introductory undergraduate text
in evolution while also fascinating the general reader. In the
light of Mr. Prothero’s fine book, the reading public is better
equipped than ever before to make sense of evolution itself.
*The Wall Street Journal*
An engaging style that is accessible to anyone.
*Choice*
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