Donald R. Prothero

PrefaceAcknowledgmentsPart I: In the Beginning: Everything Evolves, and Earth Is Very Old1. Everything Evolves and Changes: Discovery of the Evolving Universe2. The Abyss of Time: The Immense Age of the EarthPart II: Darwin's Evidence for Evolution3. Evolution in Action: Transformation in Real Time4. Our Common Body Plan: Homology5. Ontogeny Recapitulates Phylogeny: Evidence in Embryos6. The Sinking of Noah's Ark: Biogeography7. The Branching Tree of Life: Phylogeny8. The Case of the Cruel Wasps: Nature Is Not Moral9. Jury-Rigged Contrivances: Nature Is Not Optimally DesignedPart III: Great Transitions in the History of Life10. A Whale of a Tale: Vestigial Organs and Walking Whales11. Invasion of the Land: Amphibians Crawl Out of the Water12. Missing Links Found: Macroevolution and Transitional Fossils13. Birds with Teeth: The Dinosaurs Among Us14. A Horse! A Horse! My Kingdom for a Horse! The Evolution of Equines15. How the Giraffe Got Its Neck: Lamarck, Darwin, and the Left Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve16. How the Elephant Got Its Trunk: The Evolution of the ProboscideansPart IV: Eyes and Genes17. A Warm Little Pond: How Did Life Originate?18. Genetic Junkyard: Most of Our DNA Is Useless19. Legs on Their Heads: Homeotic Mutants and Evo-Devo20. The Eyes Have It: The Evolution of PhotoreceptionPart V: Humans and Evolution21. A Tinkerer, Not an Engineer: Are Humans Well Designed?22. The Third Chimpanzee: Are We Really 99 Percent the Same?23. The Ape's Reflection: Are Humans Really That Different from Other Animals?24. Bones of Our Ancestors: The Human Fossil Record25. The Once and Future Human: Are Humans Still Evolving?Index

In The Story of Evolution in 25 Discoveries, Donald R. Prothero explores the most fascinating breakthroughs in piecing together the evidence for evolution. In twenty-five vignettes, he recounts the dramatic stories of the people who made crucial discoveries, placing each moment in the context of what it represented for the progress of science. He tackles topics like what it means to see evolution in action and the distance between species in space and time, following figures from Darwin to lesser-known researchers as they unlock the mysteries of the fossil record, the earth, and the universe. The book also features the stories of animal species strange and familiar, including humans--and our ties to some of our closest relatives and more distant cousins. Prothero's wide-ranging tales showcase awe-inspiring and bizarre aspects of nature and the powerful insights they give us into the way that life works. Brisk and entertaining while firmly grounded in fundamental science, The Story of Evolution in 25 Discoveries is a captivating read for anyone curious about the evidence for evolution and what it means for humanity.