The Theory of Evolution
Foreword by Richard Dawkins
3rd Edition
Published on 30. July 1993
Book
Paperback/Softback
380 pages
978-0-521-45128-4 (ISBN)
Description
All living plants and animals, including man, are the modified descendants of one or a few simple living things. A hundred years ago Darwin and Wallace in their theory of natural selection, or the survival of the fittest, explained how evolution could have happened in terms of processes known to take place today. In this book John Maynard Smith describes how their theory has been confirmed, but at the same time transformed, by recent research, and in particular by the discovery of the laws of inheritance. This reissue reprints the third edition of John Maynard Smith's classic account, adding a substantial new introduction covering recent developments. A new foreword, by the author of The Selfish Gene and The Blind Watchmaker, commends the book to a fresh generation of readers.
Reviews / Votes
'Few people in the world are better qualified than John Maynard Smith to explain evolution to us, and no subject more than evolution deserves such a talented teacher. Like Darwin himself, Maynard Smith knows that his story if intrinsically interesting and important enough to need no more than clear, patient, honest exposition. The new Introduction is an elegant essay which can be recommended in its own right as a summary of important recent developments in evolutionary theory. This book is the best general introduction to the subject now available.' Richard Dawkins, from the Foreword to the Canto editionMore details
Series
Edition
3rd Revised edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Edition type
Revised edition
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
37 Line drawings, unspecified
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 140 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Weight
535 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-521-45128-4 (9780521451284)
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Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Content
List of figures; Preface; Preface to the second edition; Preface to the third edition; Foreword to the Canto edition by Richard Dawkins; Introduction to the Canto edition; 1. Adaptation; 2. The theory of natural selection; 3. Heredity; 4. Weismann, Lamarck and the central dogma; 5. Molecular evolution; 6. The origin and early evolution of life; 7. The structure of chromosomes and the control of gene action; 8. Variation; 9. Artificial selection: some experiments with fruitflies; 10. Natural selection in wild populations; 11. Protein polymorphism; 12. Altruism, social behaviour and sex; 13. What are species?; 14. The origins of species; 15. What keeps species distinct?; 16. The genetics of species differences; 17. The fossil evidence; 18. Evolution and development; 19. Evolution and history; Further reading; Index.