The Evolution Revolution - Softcover

Ken McNamara; John Long

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0471974072 ISBN 13: 9780471974079

Publisher: Wiley, 1998

Synopsis

In the last two decades the study of fossils has come of age, taking a central role in the formulation of ideas on evolution. The unravelling of the fossil record by continual new discoveries has played a major role in stimulating new ideas on patterns and rates of evolution, and on our understanding of the underlying processes and mechanisms of evolution. The Twentieth Century has seen an extraordinary increase in the rate and the range of palaeontological research worldwide. Fossil specimens in world collections have increased a million-fold since Charles Darwin’s day. These new fossil finds have filled in many pieces in the great jigsaw of life . We are now experiencing a revolution in the way in which the fossil record is contributing to our understanding of the patterns and processes that have crafted the living world as we see it today. Witty vignettes on the "lucky" rise of the vertebrates, polar dinosaurs, and many other interesting narratives ... a fun but educational excursion throughout the history of life. Michael L. McKinney, University of Tennessee, Knoxville ... immensely enjoyable ... a fascinating book, nicely illustrated, exciting and often humorous on the one hand, but seriously scientific on the other. I would recommend it to anyone interested in the fossil record and what it has to tell us. Euan N. K. Clarkson, University of Edinburgh Popular Science

About this title

Review

The past 20 years has seen a revolution in the understanding of the history of life on Earth. McNamara and Long round up the latest ideas on the very beginnings of microbial life over three billion years ago to the evolution of humans. Included are the first fish, the$ land-going vertebrates and plants, and the evolution of the dinosaurs and of birds.

As professional palaeontologists at the Western Australian Museum in Perth, they are well placed to "cherry-pick" the best stories as soon as they appear in the academic press. Not many of these discoveries get into the public domain because the media tends to think that the$ public only wants dinosaur stories. McNamara and Long have had a personal involvement in some of the discoveries, notably ones involving fish, arthropods and dinosaurs. They fulfil their aim of sharing "the excitement and fascination that comes ... from making fossil discoveries" and write with an authority that is not always found in such books. When attractively written like this and suitably illustrated with simple but effective black-and-wh$ drawings, even quite complex palaeontological stories can be explained for the general reader. References are provided for the more dedicated enthusiast.

In particular, McNamara and Long present a welcome antipodean slant to the history of life. Australia, along with India and the great southern continents of South America, Africa and Antarctica formed the Gondwanan supercontinent for many millions of years, and yet they contain some of the most geologically unexplored territory in the world. Their final thoughts mention the discovery of the oldest fossil ants and feathered dinosaurs--so rapid is the prese$ rate of palaeontological discovery that within a few years any new edition would be able to present a whole new collection of stories. For now, though, this edition represents a fine summation of the current state of the art. -- Douglas Palmer

From the Publisher

This book presents new finds in an overall evolutionary context, starting with new ideas on the evolution oflife on this planet, and progressing through the fossil record. It shows how the study of fossils is at the cutting edge of major new scientific discoveries and tackles all the current controversies in paleontology in an entertaining and informative manner.

Edition details

• Publisher: Wiley
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0471974072
• ISBN 13: 9780471974079
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 312