Monkey to Man: The Evolution of the March of Progress Image [Hardcover] Dawson, Gowan

Dawson, Gowan

ISBN 10: 0300270623 / ISBN 13: 9780300270624

Published by Yale University Press, 2024

About this Item

Seller Inventory # W25-028Medicine20

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Monkey to Man: The Evolution of the March of Progress Image [Hardcover] Dawson, Gowan
• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Publication Date: 2024
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0300270623
• ISBN 13: 9780300270624
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: As New

About this title

Synopsis

The first book to examine the iconic depiction of evolution, the “march of progress,” and its role in shaping our understanding of how humans evolved
 
“Dawson wears his considerable learning and his deep research into previously underused archives lightly. He has written a wonderful book.”—Greg Priest, Journal of the History of Biology
 
We are all familiar with the “march of progress,” the representation of evolution that depicts a series of apelike creatures becoming progressively taller and more erect before finally reaching the upright human form. Its emphasis on linear progress has had a decisive impact on public understanding of evolution, yet the image contradicts modern scientific conceptions of evolution as complex and branching.
 
This book is the first to examine the origins and history of this ubiquitous and hugely consequential illustration. In a story spanning more than a century, from Victorian Britain to America in the Space Age, Gowan Dawson traces the interconnected histories of the two most important versions of the image: the frontispiece to Thomas Henry Huxley’s Evidence as to Man’s Place in Nature (1863) and “The Road to Homo Sapiens,” a fold-out illustration in the best-selling book Early Man (1965). Dawson explores how the recurring appearances of this image pointed to shifting scientific and public perspectives on human evolution, as well as indicated novel artistic approaches and advancements in technology.

About the Author

Gowan Dawson is professor of Victorian literature and culture at the University of Leicester and honorary research fellow at the Natural History Museum, London. His work combines the history of science with cultural, literary, and art history. He lives in Leicestershire, UK.