A dazzling tour of evolution in action that sheds light on one of the greatest debates in scienceThe natural world is full of fascinating instances of convergence: phenomena like eyes and wings and tree-climbing lizards that have evolved independently, multiple times.
The Biology of Sharks and Rays is a comprehensive resource on the biological and physiological characteristics of the cartilaginous fishes: sharks, rays, and chimaeras.
By investigating a simple question, a philosopher of science and a molecular biologist offer an accessible understanding of microbial communities and a motivating theory for future research in community ecology.
Prior to the First World War, more people learned of evolutionary theory from the voluminous writings of Charles Darwin's foremost champion in Germany, Ernst Haeckel (1834-1919), than from any other source, including the writings of Darwin himself.
Paleobiology struggled for decades to influence our understanding of evolution and the history of life because it was stymied by a focus on microevolution and an incredibly patchy fossil record.
In this lavishly illustrated, first-ever book on how spider webs are built, function, and evolved, William Eberhard provides a comprehensive overview of spider functional morphology and behavior related to web building, and of the surprising physical agility and mental abilities of orb weavers.
From eminent biologists like Alfred Russel Wallace and Charles Darwin to famous authors such as Rudyard Kipling in his Just So Stories, many people have asked, "e;Why do zebras have stripes?
The Evolution of Vertebrate Design is a solid introduction to vertebrate evolution, paleontology, vertebrate biology, and functional, comparative anatomy.
All organisms live in clusters, but such fractured local populations, or demes, nonetheless maintain connectivity with one another by some amount of gene flow between them.
Victorian Scientific Naturalism examines the secular creeds of the generation of intellectuals who, in the wake of The Origin of Species, wrested cultural authority from the old Anglican establishment while installing themselves as a new professional scientific elite.
Paleobiology struggled for decades to influence our understanding of evolution and the history of life because it was stymied by a focus on microevolution and an incredibly patchy fossil record.
A place of exceptional diversity, rapid change, and high energy, Europe has literally been at the crossroads of the world ever since the interaction of Asia, North America and Africa formed the tropical island archipelago that would become the continent of today.
'Required reading for anyone remotely curious about how they came to be remotely curious' Observer'Enthralling' Spectator What is human consciousness and how is it possible?
Acclaimed as the most influential work on evolution written in the last hundred years, The Blind Watchmaker offers an inspiring and accessible introduction to one of the most important scientific discoveries of all time.
Charles Darwin transformed our understanding of the world with the idea of natural selection, challenging the notion that species are fixed and unchanging.
This biography of Charles Darwin attempts to capture the private unknown life of the real man - the gambling and gluttony at Cambridge, his gruelling trip round the globe, his intimate family life, worries about persecution and thoughts about God.
One of the key works in the nineteenth-century battle between science and Scripture, Charles Lyell's Principles of Geology (1830-33) sought to explain the geological state of the modern Earth by considering the long-term effects of observable natural phenomena.
"e;Not since Darwin has an author so lifted the science of ecology with insight and delightful imagery"e; - Richard Dawkins In this book a master scientist tells the great story of how life on earth evolved.
Published in 1872, The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals was a book at the very heart of Darwin's research interests - a central pillar of his 'human' series.
In The Universe Within, Neil Shubin, one of the world's leading experts, reveals to us the extraordinary cosmic and evolutionary adventure of our own bodies.
In this remarkable book Adrian Desmond and James Moore, world authorities on Darwin, give a completely new explanation of how Darwin came to his famous view of evolution, which traced all life to an ancient common ancestor.
With his revolutionary work The Origin of Species Charles Darwin overthrew contemporary beliefs about Divine Providence and the beginnings of life on earth.
How Cold War America came to attribute human evolutionary success to our species' unique capacity for murderAfter World War II, the question of how to define a universal human nature took on new urgency.
'The vessel drove before her bows two billows of liquid phosphorus'A selection of Darwin's extraordinary adventures during the voyage of the Beagle Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books for Penguin's 80th birthday.
Why Penguins Communicate: The Evolution of Visual and Vocal Signals is a comprehensive and condensed review of several hundred publications on the evolution of penguin behaviors, particularly signaling, linking genetics and ecology via such behavioral adaptations as nuptial displays.
Natural resources and associated biological diversity provide the basis of livelihood for human population, particularly in the rural areas and mountain regions across the globe.
An essential introduction to microbiome science, a new cutting-edge discipline that is transforming the life sciencesThis book provides an accessible and authoritative guide to the fundamental principles of microbiome science, an exciting and fast-emerging new discipline that is reshaping many aspects of the life sciences.
How our ability to learn from each other has been the essential ingredient to our remarkable success as a speciesHuman beings are a very different kind of animal.
Why Penguins Communicate: The Evolution of Visual and Vocal Signals is a comprehensive and condensed review of several hundred publications on the evolution of penguin behaviors, particularly signaling, linking genetics and ecology via such behavioral adaptations as nuptial displays.
Mixed-Species Groups of Animals: Behavior, Community Structure, and Conservation presents a comprehensive discussion on the mixed-species groups of animals, a spectacular and accessible example of the complexity of species interactions.
