eShop USA > Books > Evolution: What the Fossils Say and Why It Matters
Evolution: What the Fossils Say and Why It Matters
List Price: $29.50Our Price: $23.60 You Save: $5.90 (20%)Prices subject to change.
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Save $10.00 when you spend $50.00 or more on Qualifying Items offered by Amazon.com. Enter code BMLSAVES at checkout.
Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 576.8
EAN: 9780231139625
ISBN: 0231139624
Label: Columbia University Press
Manufacturer: Columbia University Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 408
Publication Date: October 11, 2007
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Studio: Columbia University Press
Related Items: Featured Listmania!
Editorial Review:Over the past twenty years, paleontologists have made tremendous fossil discoveries, including fossils that mark the growth of whales, manatees, and seals from land mammals and the origins of elephants, horses, and rhinos. Today there exists an amazing diversity of fossil humans, suggesting we walked upright long before we acquired large brains, and new evidence from molecules that enable scientists to decipher the tree of life as never before.The fossil record is now one of the strongest lines of evidence for evolution. In this engaging and richly illustrated book, Donald R. Prothero weaves an entertaining though intellectually rigorous history out of the transitional forms and series that dot the fossil record. Beginning with a brief discussion of the nature of science and the "monkey business of creationism," Prothero tackles subjects ranging from flood geology and rock dating to neo-Darwinism and macroevolution. He covers the ingredients of the primordial soup, the effects of communal living, invertebrate transitions, the development of the backbone, the reign of the dinosaurs, the mammalian explosion, and the leap from chimpanzee to human. Prothero pays particular attention to the recent discovery of "missing links" that complete the fossil timeline and details the debate between biologists over the mechanisms driving the evolutionary process. Evolution is an absorbing combination of firsthand observation, scientific discovery, and trenchant analysis. With the teaching of evolution still an issue, there couldn't be a better moment for a book clarifying the nature and value of fossil evidence. Widely recognized as a leading expert in his field, Prothero demonstrates that the transformation of life on this planet is far more awe inspiring than the narrow view of extremists.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - One of my biology books
Evolution: What the Fossils Say...is a thorough examination of science and religion. The first chapter of the book I felt a bias coming off of the author (which made me want to stop reading), but about half way through the second chapter he discusses the in's and out's of religion and science. The author also discusses his background, which gives me insight as to why he can speak on such topics so confidently. I am very pleased w/ this book, and I recommend it.
Rating: - This Book Serves Many Purposes and Does So Exceptionally
Evolution: What the Fossils Say and Why It Matters, by Mr. Prothero is one of the best books I've read on the subject of evolution. It is also one of the most complete.
The way I see it this book serves three purposes:
1. It provides excellent information about the fossil record.
2. It debunks many common creationist/intelligent design claims.
3. It gives an excellent overview of evolution in general, including some information on the findings regarding origin ... Read More
Rating: - Solid science counters creationist mumbo-jumbo
The author, Donald R. Prothero is a professor of geology at Occidental College and lecturer in geobiology at the California Institute of Technology. He is the author, or co-author, of more than 20 books and about 200 research papers.
Published in October, 2007, by Columbia University Press, Evolution: What the Fossils Say and Why It Matters is Prothero's latest work and has two objectives. The first is to illustrate the abundance of fossil evidence for evolution, much of it discovered in ... Read More
Rating: - I LOVE IT: In-Your-Face Paleontology, Biology, & Rationalism
I'm not even finished with this book yet, but I just could not wait to comment on how GREAT this book is. If you appreciate books involving the beauty of true science and candid rationalism [like The God Delusion, no less] you HAVE to get this book. Prothero breaks everything down in a straightforward fashion: Evolution and its history, Geology and its history, and a detailed explanation of the fossil record [of course]. But along with this he includes the obsurd assertions of creationists as it relates ... Read More
Rating: - A logical book on the reality and truth of evolution. A 'must read'!
This is a SUPERB and utterly FASCINATING book on the logic and proof of evolution, presented in more or less easy to grasp 'laymans terms'. It is a perfect marriage of undisputed science and fact coupled with superb charts and photos that bolster the beauty and truth of evolution. Most of the latest discoveries and science are discussed as well, in regards to further cementing the proof of evolution. Sadly, the extreme, fanatical, 'out of touch' elements of Christianity have desperately used religion/God ... Read More
Related Categories:
| |
 |
