Evolution: A Little History of a Great Idea

With more than half the population of the US not believing that humans are descended from apes, and to prepare the way for the 150th anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin's The Origin of the Species throughout 2009, Wooden Books proudly presents the smallest, most up to date little book on evolution ever assembled. Covering the story of Darwin's great idea, science writer Gerard Cheshire explores the evolutionary path of neo-Darwinism itself and shows how Lamarckian ideas still have a role to play in evolutionary theory.

With a rich array of rarely published period prints from the Jennings Collection in Bath, and examples of the the latest genetic research this book asks some huge questions about life in the universe and includes the following topics:

- The causes of genetic variation: from Mendel to mitosis.

- Sexual selection - how the peaock got its tail.

- Mimicry and camouflage, miracles made easy over time.

- Simple biotics, prions, viruses and bacteria - examples of adaptive DNA.

- Unlike outcomes - the success of altruistic strategies.

- Convergent evolution. Why sharks are the same shape in different seas.

- Natural selection, the reason for death, and modern systems designs.

- The cosmological anthropic principle, and how the entire universe could be an evolved system.

Gerard Cheshire, has been a successful science writer for more than a decade and written on many topics in that time. He developed a particular interest in evolutionary theory while studying human evolution at University College London. He lives in Bath with his wife and three sons.