Evolution

What the Fossils Say and Why it Matters: Adapted for Audio

By: Donald R. Prothero

Narrated by: John Bishop

Over the past 20 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 audiobook, 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.

This captivating downloadable audio version of Evolution has been specially adapted from the print version by the author.

©2007 Columbia University Press (P)2014 Audible Inc.

systematically destroyed every creationist idea

it was good, the guy is wonderfully condescending to creationism. he logically and scientifically backs his statements and explains it in digestible points. great for those looking for logical arguments.

A real scientific mind, a beautiful world.

me gusta
, el científico es un ser humano como todos, no es el demonio.

really enjoyable read

I am generally very interested in reading about progressive perspectives in evolution (providing the most up to date evidence) and generally not very interested in reading about the creationist - evolution debate. We spend too much time allowing creationist myths to be an anchor that keeps us from furthering a real scientific discussion. Even though the backdrop is answering to creationists, I still enjoyed the great summary of evidence for evolution. I would like to have seen him spend more time on genetic switches and address epigenetic changes. But, this brief read was definitely worth it. The thing I enjoyed most was his focus on how gene-centered evolution is far too myopic. It's time to expand the discussion.

For those interested in the creationist - evolution debate, this is must read.

Needs more fossils and less ID debate.

First, this is a well written and largely accessible book. A fine place to start for any reader yet undecided about the facts of evolution and the debate around intelligent design. That being said, and a career paleobiologist and historical ecologist, it was a pretty tired story, rehashed in half a dozen other books. What i had hoped for was a much stronger defense, history, and science of the fossil record. The author uses Darwin's chapters on the fossil record as a jumping off point, but hardly does any better a job explaining why the patterns we see are what we'd expect, and to the less informed reader, this nuance may pass completely overhead. The fossil record is full of amazing stories, both about the history of life on earth and the people who discover and reconstruct it. But this book fails to bring them to life. It's fine for what it is, easy to read and well reasoned. But not particularly exciting.

OUTSTANDING

I only wish that this Audible book was unabridged version of the 2nd edition of this book