Evolution

What the Fossils Say and Why It Matters

Donald R. Prothero, Carl Buell

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Hardback

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English

Columbia University Press
22 August 2017

Mathematics & Sciences; Popular science; Evolution; Palaeontology

Donald R. Prothero’s Evolution is an entertaining and rigorous history of the transitional forms and series found in the fossil record. Its engaging narrative of scientific discovery and well-grounded analysis has led to the book’s widespread adoption in courses that teach the nature and value of fossil evidence for evolution.

Evolution tackles systematics and cladistics, rock dating, neo-Darwinism, and macroevolution. It includes extensive coverage of the primordial soup, invertebrate transitions, the development of the backbone, the reign of the dinosaurs, and the transformation from early hominid to modern human. The book also details the many alleged “missing links” in the fossil record, including some of the most recent discoveries that flesh out the fossil timeline and the evolutionary process.

In this second edition, Prothero describes new transitional fossils from various periods, vividly depicting such bizarre creatures as the Odontochelys, or the “turtle on the half shell”; fossil snakes with legs; and the “Frogamander,” a new example of amphibian transition. Prothero’s discussion of intelligent design arguments includes more historical examples and careful examination of the “experiments” and observations that are exploited by creationists seeking to undermine sound science education.

With new perspectives, Prothero reframes creationism as a case study in denialism and pseudoscience rather than a field with its own intellectual dynamism. The first edition was hailed as an exemplary exploration of the fossil evidence for evolution, and this second edition will be welcome in the libraries of scholars, teachers, and general readers who stand up for sound science in this post-truth era.

By: Donald R. Prothero
Illustrated by: Carl Buell
Imprint: Columbia University Press
Country of Publication: United States
Edition: 2nd Revised edition
Dimensions: Height: 254mm, Width: 178mm,
Weight: 454g
ISBN: 9780231180641
ISBN 10: 0231180640
Pages: 416
Publication Date: 22 August 2017
Audience: Professional and scholarly , College/higher education , General/trade , Undergraduate , Further / Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Foreword: Why People Do Not Accept Evolution To the Reader: Is Evolution a Threat to Your Religious Beliefs? Prologue: Fossils and Evolution Preface to the Second Edition Acknowledgments Part I: Evolution and the Fossil Record 1. The Nature of Science 2. Science and Creationism 3. The Fossil Record 4. The Evolution of Evolution 5. Systematics and Evolution Part II: Evolution? The Fossils say YES! 6. Life's Origins 7. Cambrian Explosion -or Slow Fuse? 8. Spineless Wonders of Evolution 9. Fish Tales 10. Fish Out of Water 11. Onto the Land and Back to the Sea: The Amniotes 12. Dinosaurs Evolve-and Fly 13. Mammalian Explosion 14. Bossies and Blowholes 15. The Ape's Reflection? 16. Why Does It Matter? Bibliography Index

Donald R. Prothero has taught college paleontology and geology for almost four decades at the California Institute of Technology, Columbia University, Occidental College, Vassar College, and Knox College. He is adjunct professor of geological sciences at California State Polytechnic University at Pomona, adjunct professor of astronomy and earth sciences at Mt. San Antonio College, and research associate in vertebrate paleontology at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. His Columbia University Press books include The Story of Life in 25 Fossils: Tales of Intrepid Fossil Hunters and the Wonders of Evolution (2015) and Abominable Science! Origins of the Yeti, Nessie, and Other Famous Cryptids (2013).

Reviews for Evolution: What the Fossils Say and Why It Matters

If you're one of these people who likes to read Dawkins, Gould and Darwin, I would highly recommend this book. If you doubted that evolution was true before, and then you looked at this book, I don't see how you could possibly continue to question it. -- Jerry Coyne, author of Faith Versus Fact: Why Science and Religion Are Incompatible