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Darwin’s theory of evolution was for more than a century dogged by a major problem: the evidence proving the connections between the main groups of organisms was nowhere to be found.
By the 1970s this absence of ‘transitional fossils’ was hotly debated; some palaeontologists wondered if these ‘missing links’ had been so quick that no trace of them was left. However, during the past three decades fossils of walking whales from Pakistan, feathered dinosaurs from China, fish with feet from the Arctic Circle, ape-like humans from Africa, and many more bizarre creatures that fill in crucial gaps in our understanding of evolution have all been unearthed.
The first account of the hunt for evolution’s ‘missing links’, Written in Stone shows how these discoveries have revolutionised palaeontology, and explores what its findings might mean for our place on earth.
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About the Author:
Brian Switek is a science writer and research associate at the New Jersey State Museum who has done fieldwork on fossils in Utah, Montana, and Wyoming. He has been a frequent guest on the BBC and has written about paleontology for the Smithsonian magazine, London Times, Wired Science, Eureka and elsewhere. He is also the author of the acclaimed science blog Laelaps and Smithsonian magazine’s Dinosaur Tracking.
From Publishers Weekly:
Starred Review. Beginning with a recently discovered 47-million-year-old primate fossil, Switek effectively and eloquently demonstrates the exponential increase in fossils that have been found since Darwin first published On the Origin of Species. In delightful prose, he blends information about fossil evidence with the scientific debates about how that evidence might be best interpreted. Switek, who writes the Smithsonian's Dinosaur Tracking blog, focuses on evidence for the evolution of major lineages, from reptiles to birds and from fish to tetrapods. He also explains at length how whales, horses, and humans evolved, marshaling compelling fossil evidence and combining it with information from molecular biology; at every step, he makes clear what is still unknown. He underscores that life forms have not "progressed" through evolution to end with Homo sapiens as the highest life form; rather, evolution has produced "a wildly branching tree of life with no predetermined path or endpoint." He superbly shows that "f we can let go of our conceit," we will see the preciousness of life in all its forms. 90 b&w illus. (Nov.) (c)
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(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
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- PublisherIcon Books Ltd
- Publication date2017
- ISBN 10 1785782010
- ISBN 13 9781785782015
- BindingPaperback
- Edition number2
- Number of pages320
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Book Description Paperback. Condition: new. Paperback. The first book on the hunt for evolution's 'missing links' over the last three decades - and what palaeontologists' findings mean for our place on earth. Darwin's theory of evolution was for more than a century dogged by a major problem: the evidence proving the connections between the main groups of organisms was nowhere to be found. By the 1970s this absence of 'transitional fossils' was hotly debated; some palaeontologists wondered if these 'missing links' had been so quick that no trace of them was left. However, during the past three decades fossils of walking whales from Pakistan, feathered dinosaurs from China, fish with feet from the Arctic Circle, ape-like humans from Africa, and many more bizarre creatures that fill in crucial gaps in our understanding of evolution have all been unearthed. The first account of the hunt for evolution's 'missing links', Written in Stone shows how these discoveries have revolutionised palaeontology, and explores what its findings might mean for our place on earth. AUTHOR: Brian Switek is a science writer and research associate at the New Jersey State Museum. He writes the blog Laelaps for Wired Science ('Brilliant writing about palaeontology and evolution' - The Times) and Dinosaur Tracking for Smithsonian. He has been a guest on BBC Radio's Material World and written for The Times and The Guardian as well as the Wall Street Journal and Scientific American. This is his first book. The first book on the hunt for evolution's 'missing links' over the last three decades - and what palaeontologists' findings mean for our place on earth. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9781785782015
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