Arrival of the Fittest

Solving Evolution's Greatest Puzzle

By: Andreas Wagner

Narrated by: Sean Pratt

Darwin's theory of natural selection explains how useful adaptations are preserved over time. But the biggest mystery about evolution eluded him. As genetics pioneer Hugo de Vries put it, "natural selection may explain the survival of the fittest, but it cannot explain the arrival of the fittest." Can random mutations over a mere 3.8 billion years really be responsible for wings, eyeballs, knees, camouflage, lactose digestion, photosynthesis, and the rest of nature’s creative marvels? And if the answer is no, what is the mechanism that explains evolution’s speed and efficiency?

In Arrival of the Fittest, renowned evolutionary biologist Andreas Wagner draws on over 15 years of research to present the missing piece in Darwin's theory. Using experimental and computational technologies that were heretofore unimagined, he has found that adaptations are not just driven by chance, but by a set of laws that allow nature to discover new molecules and mechanisms in a fraction of the time that random variation would take. Consider the Arctic cod, a fish that lives and thrives within six degrees of the North Pole, in waters that regularly fall below zero degrees. At that temperature, the internal fluids of most organisms turn into ice crystals. And yet, the arctic cod survives by producing proteins that lower the freezing temperature of its body fluids, much like antifreeze does for a car's engine coolant. The invention of those proteins is an archetypal example of nature’s enormous powers of creativity.

Meticulously researched, carefully argued, evocatively written, and full of fascinating examples from the animal kingdom, Arrival of the Fittest offers up the final puzzle piece in the mystery of life's rich diversity.

©2014 Andreas Wagner (P)2014 Gildan Media LLC

spectacular

Great overview of contemporary biological evolution in an approachable format. The author also did a good job of making this dry subject interesting.

NATURE'S LIBRARY

Andreas Wagner suggests molecular life is nature’s library. He believes Darwin’s theory of natural selection is recorded and accessible in the cellular history of life; i.e. a coded library buried, and partly indecipherable, in the molecules of life.

In “Arrival of the Fittest”, Wagner explains the vast distance between Darwin’s theory of evolution and the mechanics of evolution. Darwin’s theory does not explain the cellular mechanics of life because science had not reached that level of observation and measurement. The nearest Darwin comes to explanation is based on natural selection which only infers there is some mechanism, without identifying it. In other words, there is no examination of the mechanics of evolutionary change in Darwin’s theory.

Andreas Wagner reveals the immense complexity of human evolution by associating organic molecules with enough information to fill all libraries of the world. Access to this immense library is being decoded and organized with biological research and computer technology. Wagner’s book makes one wonder–is this research a harbinger of earth’s infinite or finite organic life?

Answers questions I did not know to ask

Arrival of the Fittest is a well written description of the evolution of complex life. Dr. Wagner describes how scientists categorize complex organizisms by their metabolism, how an organism's robustness is quantified and how difficult it is to predict how a mutation will effect a protein. He is among the best of the popular science writers and in this book he has hit the mark, assuming the reader is familiar with basic genetics and evolution to give the reader the next level of information.

Sean Pratt does an excellent job of reading the book.

Jaw dropping stuff!

I'm so glad I listened to this book, because it was so illuminating. But I certainly could not write a report on it because it was so very challenging intellectually that I kept having to go back to get some concepts into my tiny little mind! If I reread it, I will do so in print, because there are some terms I would like to look up.

Brings New Wonder to the Miracle of Life

I was pleasantly surprised by how broader spectrum this book covered.

He jumped effortlessly from topic to topic and illuminated so much that I never knew anything about.

For anyone curious to learn about alternate explanations for the evolution of life, this book is a treasure.

I highly recommend this book!

Fascinating story of analyzing biological net.

This author has tried everything to explain our incredible biological world in terms that life is an inevitable process.

But after reading it through multiple times I am still left with the impression that there is a creator who has invented all these special and minute laws of physics and math.

Wonderful new insights

Book does a marvelous job of illuminating critical area of evolutionary biology. Answers many questions that have persisted for decades

Great research story, well written

5 stars all around for author's content, importance of subject, and organization.

Audio version have been nicer if narrator had researched how to pronounce people's names beforehand.

groundbreaking

I loved the new insights and sound thinking. Fascinating how the book explains how innovations in nature happen.

Biochemical Evolution

The book focuses on the biochemical mechanisms that drive and sustain life. If you're interested in getting beyond a Jurassic Park understanding of DNA as life's code and want to explore how DNA and the rest of life's molecules interact and replicate, this book is worth a listen.

It can be slow going on audio. The author necessarily builds large, complex analogies for explaining molecular interactions. If you become distracted, let your mind wander, or stop and start the audio throughout the day or week, it's relatively easy to lose the author's argument. The narrator presents the text at a methodical pace that draws out these sections even more.

I have a decent background knowledge of biochemistry and genetics, but I think the text is a little technical without this background. There are a fair number of examples, and historical anecdotes, but much of the book felt like a dressed down textbook on the current state of biochemistry. That might be exactly what you're looking for, but if you want a more relaxed take on evolution, genetics and development, one of the Great Courses on the Origin of Life or Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin might be a better place to start. Then come back to this book with that background.