Evolution
The First Four Billion Years
The Belknap Press
Published on 1. February 2009
Book
Hardback
1008 pages
978-0-674-03175-3 (ISBN)
Description
Spanning evolutionary science from its inception to its latest findings, from discoveries and data to philosophy and history, this book is the most complete, authoritative, and inviting one-volume introduction to evolutionary biology available. Clear, informative, and comprehensive in scope, "Evolution" opens with a series of major essays dealing with the history and philosophy of evolutionary biology, with major empirical and theoretical questions in the science, from speciation to adaptation, from paleontology to evolutionary development (evo devo), and concluding with essays on the social and political significance of evolutionary biology today.A second encyclopedic section travels the spectrum of topics in evolution with concise, informative, and accessible entries on individuals from Aristotle and Linneaus to Louis Leakey and Jean Lamarck; from T. H. Huxley and E. O. Wilson to Joseph Felsenstein and Motoo Kimura; and on subjects from altruism and amphibians to evolutionary psychology and Piltdown Man to the Scopes trial and social Darwinism.
Readers will find the latest word on the history and philosophy of evolution, the nuances of the science itself, and the intricate interplay among evolutionary study, religion, philosophy, and society.Appearing at the beginning of the Darwin Year of 2009 - the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin and the 150th anniversary of the publication of the Origin of Species - this volume is a fitting tribute to the science Darwin set in motion.Long essays in "Evolution" include: The History of Evolutionary Thought - Michael Ruse; The Origin of Life - Jeffrey L. Bada and Antonio Lazcano; Paleontology and the History of Life - Michael Benton; Adaptation - Joseph Travis and David Reznick; Molecular Evolution - Francisco J. Ayala; Evolution of the Genome - Brian Charlesworth and Deborah Charlesworth; The Pattern and Process of Speciation - Margaret B. Ptacek and Shala J. Hankison; Evolution and Development - Gregory Wray; Social Behavior and Sociobiology - Daniel Rubenstein; Human Evolution - Henry McHenry; Evolutionary Biology of Disease and Darwinian Medicine - Michael F.
Antolin; Alternative Evolutionary Paradigms - Brian Goodwin; Philosophy of Evolutionary Thought - Kim Sterelny; Evolution and Society - Manfred D. Laubichler and Jane Maienshein; Evolution and Religion; David N. Livingstone; and, American Antievolutionism: Retrospect and Prospect - Eugenie C. Scott.
Readers will find the latest word on the history and philosophy of evolution, the nuances of the science itself, and the intricate interplay among evolutionary study, religion, philosophy, and society.Appearing at the beginning of the Darwin Year of 2009 - the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin and the 150th anniversary of the publication of the Origin of Species - this volume is a fitting tribute to the science Darwin set in motion.Long essays in "Evolution" include: The History of Evolutionary Thought - Michael Ruse; The Origin of Life - Jeffrey L. Bada and Antonio Lazcano; Paleontology and the History of Life - Michael Benton; Adaptation - Joseph Travis and David Reznick; Molecular Evolution - Francisco J. Ayala; Evolution of the Genome - Brian Charlesworth and Deborah Charlesworth; The Pattern and Process of Speciation - Margaret B. Ptacek and Shala J. Hankison; Evolution and Development - Gregory Wray; Social Behavior and Sociobiology - Daniel Rubenstein; Human Evolution - Henry McHenry; Evolutionary Biology of Disease and Darwinian Medicine - Michael F.
Antolin; Alternative Evolutionary Paradigms - Brian Goodwin; Philosophy of Evolutionary Thought - Kim Sterelny; Evolution and Society - Manfred D. Laubichler and Jane Maienshein; Evolution and Religion; David N. Livingstone; and, American Antievolutionism: Retrospect and Prospect - Eugenie C. Scott.
Reviews / Votes
"One of the first and likely to be the most comprehensive in scope of the many books occasioned by the 2009 sesquicentennial of Darwin's Origin." - E. O. Wilson"More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge, Mass.
United States
Publishing group
Harvard University Press
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
With printed dust jacket
Reinforced binding
Illustrations
145 figures
Dimensions
Height: 254 mm
Width: 162 mm
ISBN-13
978-0-674-03175-3 (9780674031753)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
11/2011
1st Edition
Harvard University Press
€102.99
Available for download
Persons
Michael Ruse is Lucyle T. Werkmeister Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Program in the History and Philosophy of Science, and Joseph Travis is Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor of Biological Science, both at Florida State University.
Content
* Foreword Edward O. Wilson * Introduction Michael Ruse and Joseph Travis * The History of Evolutionary Thought Michael Ruse * The Origin of Life Jeffrey L. Bada and Antonio Lazcano * Paleontology and the History of Life Michael Benton * Adaptation Joseph Travis and David Reznick * Molecular Evolution Francisco J. Ayala * Evolution of the Genome Brian Charlesworth and Deborah Charlesworth * The Pattern and Process of Speciation Margaret B. Ptacek and Shala J. Hankison * Evolution and Development Gregory A. Wray * Social Behavior and Sociobiology Daniel I. Rubenstein * Human Evolution Henry M. McHenry * Evolutionary Biology of Disease Michael F. Antolin and Darwinian Medicine * Beyond the Darwinian Paradigm: Understanding Biological Forms Brian Goodwin * Philosophy of Evolutionary Thought Kim Sterelny * Evolution and Society Manfred D. Laubichler and Jane Maienschein * American Antievolutionism: Retrospect and Prospect Eugenie C. Scott * Alphabetical Guide * Contributors * Index