- Hardcover: 288 pages
- Publisher: Profile Books (16 April 2009)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1861978480
- ISBN-13: 978-1861978486
- Product Dimensions: 23.8 x 15.4 x 3.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 325,050 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Life Ascending: The Ten Great Inventions of Evolution
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Review
'This is a science book that doesn't cheat: the structure is logical, the writing is witty, and the hard questions are tackled head on'
--Guardian
'The most coherent and convincing summary of the dawn of life and of DNA that I have ever read.' --Michael Le Page, New Scientist
'With clarity and vigor Lane smoothly pulls in evidence from genetics to show how complex life could have developed.' --New York Times
'The structure is logical, the writing is witty, and the hard questions are tackled head on.' --Tim Radford, Guardian
'Wonderful... Lane does a masterful job... an elegant, fully satisfying whole.' --Starred Review, Publishers Weekly
'This is an exhilarating tour of some of the most profound and important ideas in biology.'
--New Scientist
--Guardian
'The most coherent and convincing summary of the dawn of life and of DNA that I have ever read.' --Michael Le Page, New Scientist
'With clarity and vigor Lane smoothly pulls in evidence from genetics to show how complex life could have developed.' --New York Times
'The structure is logical, the writing is witty, and the hard questions are tackled head on.' --Tim Radford, Guardian
'Wonderful... Lane does a masterful job... an elegant, fully satisfying whole.' --Starred Review, Publishers Weekly
'This is an exhilarating tour of some of the most profound and important ideas in biology.'
--New Scientist
Review
'If Charles Darwin sprang from his grave, I would give him this fine book to bring him up to speed. It's a breathless bulletin from the accelerating rush of news about the secrets of life on planet earth.' - Matt Ridley
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
62 of 63 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Bigger Picture,
By
This review is from: Life Ascending: The Ten Great Inventions of Evolution (Hardcover)
I don't think it is an overstatement to say that every one of these ten chapters could be expanded to fill ten books! This book is therefore very fast moving, absolutely packed with information and bang up to date.It is a tribute to the writing skills of the author, that the ten separate inventions follow from each other so smoothly and logically. Particularly outstanding chapters included the subjects of DNA, photosynthesis, sight, hot blood and death. Here, the level of understanding conferred far exceeded the average poular science book. A few of the chapters proved quite a challenge, notably the origin of life and conciousness. Whilst these subjects arguably deserve their status in the top ten, the difficulty is possibly that they are less well understood by the current status of science. Overall, if you really want an inspiring, deeper understanding of the mechanics of evolution, I can't fault this book. If however you are fairly new to the subject, then Richard Dawkins classic "The Selfish Gene" still lays the foundations of understanding without dumbing down. Some subjects really are more complex than a post-it note explanation, intellectual effort is required, but Life Ascending makes the quest both accessible and richly rewarding. An awesome read!
22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Suberb Science,
By
This review is from: Life Ascending: The Ten Great Inventions of Evolution (Hardcover)
This is one of the best scientific books I have ever read and understood,and written for the non-scientist!! Lane takes the reader beautifully from the origins of life to the finality of death. The chapter on the origins and evolution of sight stands out especially, while the one on photosynthesis isn't far behind.I will reread it endlessly.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A bit of everything,
By
This review is from: Life Ascending: The Ten Great Inventions of Evolution (Paperback)
This book is well worth a read, as unlike many others in this field, the author discusses in detail, a variety of different topics. These topices range from basic cell structure, to muscles, sight, consciousness and death to name a few. For me, some chapters were fasinating (Consciousness)and not long enough, while a couple of others (muscles), were a bit on the long side. It is almost like ten different books in one, and if it were not for a couple of chapters, which I found repetitive, then it would be a definite 5 stars.Having said that, if you are at all interested in the evolution of life, buy this book.
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