Am I a Monkey?: Six Big Questions about Evolution

Despite the ongoing cultural controversy in America, evolution remains a cornerstone of science. In this book, Francisco J. Ayala―an evolutionary biologist, member of the National Academy of Sciences, and winner of the National Medal of Science and the Templeton Prize―cuts to the chase in a daring attempt to address, in nontechnical language, six perennial questions about evolution:

• Am I a Monkey?
• Why Is Evolution a Theory?
• What Is DNA?
• Do All Scientists Accept Evolution?
• How Did Life Begin?
• Can One Believe in Evolution and God?

This to-the-point book answers each of these questions with force. Ayala's occasionally biting essays refuse to lend credence to disingenuous ideas and arguments. He lays out the basic science that underlies evolutionary theory, explains how the process works, and soundly makes the case for why evolution is not a threat to religion.

Brief, incisive, topical, authoritative, Am I a Monkey? will take you a day to read and a lifetime to ponder.

An eminent scientist, Francisco J. Ayala is the University Professor and Donald Bren Professor of Biological Sciences, Ecology, and Evolutionary Biology and a professor of logic and the philosophy of science at the University of California, Irvine. He is the author of more than 30 technical books and hundreds of scientific papers and a recipient of numerous awards, including the National Medal of Science and the 2010 Templeton Prize.