Trees of Life: A Visual History of Evolution

Pietsch, Theodore W.

ISBN 10: 1421404796 / ISBN 13: 9781421404790

Published by Johns Hopkins University Press, 2012

About this Item

A former library book with all the expected stamps, stickers and markings. Excellent condition for a former library book. Some shelf, storage or usage wear present. The binding is tight and all pages are present. The dustjacket is covered in protective plastic. The pages appear unmarked. Light staining on the page edges. Pictures available upon request. Individually inspected by Shay. Thanks for supporting an independent bookseller!

Seller Inventory # FBV.1421404796.G

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Trees of Life: A Visual History of Evolution
• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Publication Date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1421404796
• ISBN 13: 9781421404790
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: good

About this title

Synopsis

For the past 450 years, tree-like branching diagrams have been created to show the complex and surprising interrelationships of organisms, both living and fossil, from viruses and bacteria to birds and mammals. This stunning book celebrates the manifest beauty, intrinsic interest, and human ingenuity of these exquisite trees of life.

Theodore W. Pietsch has chosen 230 trees of life—from among thousands of possible contenders—dating from the sixteenth century to the present day. His arrangement gives readers a visual sense of the historical development of these diagrams and shows how, in Darwin’s words, "from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved."

Pietsch’s brief, accessible prose accompanies the diverse trees to fully reveal the engrossing history of human theories of evolution. Over the centuries, trees of life appeared in a wide variety of forms; some were revered as iconic while others incited intense controversy. The earliest examples were meant to portray the imagined temporal order in which God created life on Earth. More recent scientific trees represent hypothetical histories of life.

Never before has the full spectrum of trees of life been brought together in a single volume. Pietsch has spent decades collecting and researching the origin and meaning of these evolutionary trees and presents a visually breathtaking and intellectually brilliant history of the form.

About the Author

Theodore W. Pietsch is Dorothy T. Gilbert Professor in the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences and Curator of Fishes at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture at the University of Washington in Seattle. He is the author of more than a dozen books, including The Curious Death of Peter Artedi: A Mystery in the History of Science and Oceanic Anglerfishes: Extraordinary Diversity in the Deep Sea.