In the Light of Evolution: Essays from the Laboratory and Field
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In the Light of Evolution: Essays from the Laboratory and Field presents findings from some of the most interesting and eminent researchers in evolutionary biology. Writing in clear and engaging prose, the authors provide not only details of their research, but also the backstory: how the research began, what went wrong, even what led the authors to choose a life in science. With topics ranging from laboratory microbes to how humans evolved to walk on two legs, in locales as diverse as San Francisco pumpkin patches and tropical rainforests, from dung beetles to lizards to the first fish to conquer land, this volume reveals the truth of the maxim that “nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution.”
Praise for the book
“In the Light of Evolution is exactly what both other scientists and the public need in the quest for understanding of this vitally important subject: a dispatch from the front, by scientists directly engaged in research on evolution, accompanied by a leading historian and the most knowledgeable journalists.”
— Edward O. Wilson, Harvard University
“In the Light of Evolution: Essays from the Laboratory and Field … is a wonderfully rich and diverse collection of essays that illustrate the way evolutionary biologists think and work. … The authors of the essays present a wide range of exploration of several major areas of evolutionary biology, and of research on a great diversity of organisms. The essays are fast-paced and clearly written, accessible to any interested reader, no matter the level of either training in or skepticism about evolution.”
— Marvalee Wake, Education Reports of the National Center for Science Education
“Leading experts in evolution report from the field in this collection of plainspoken essays, providing a valuable resource for non-specialists wanting to improve their understanding of this vital topic.”
— Nature
“Jonathan Losos has assembled a remarkably accessible, highly readable, informative and entertaining series of 17 essays by prominent evolutionary biologists, historians, science writers and paleontologists … What’s most impressive in this book is how the essays are delivered. Most of the chapters are so captivating that you find yourself wanting them not to end. My favourite four or five essays made me feel that I’d just come home from a delightful chat with the authors over drinks.”
— Michelle Tseng, Evolutionary Applications
