The first book on the hunt for evolution's 'missing links' over the last three decades - and what palaeontologists' findings mean for our place on earth. Darwin's theory was for more than a century dogged by a major problem: the evidence proving the connections between the main groups of organisms was nowhere to be found. By the 1970s this absence of 'transitional fossils' was hotly debated; some palaeontologists wondering if these 'missing links' had been so quick that no trace of them was left. However, during the past three decades fossils of walking whales from Pakistan, feathered dinosaurs from China, fish with feet from the Arctic Circle, ape-like humans from Africa, and many more bizarre creatures that fill in crucial gaps in our understanding of evolution have all been unearthed. These discoveries have revolutionised the way in which the fossil record is read to make sense of life on Earth, including the evolution of human beings. WRITTEN IN STONE - a hugely compelling scientific history by an up-and-coming star of popular science - is the first account of the remarkable discovery of these gap-fossils and of the new stories they tell about the evolution of life.
Written in Stone: The Hidden Secrets of Fossils
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'Magisterial ... part historical account, part scientific detective story. Switek's elegant prose and thoughtful scholarship will change the way you see life on our planet.' Neil Shubin, author of Your Inner Fish 'Well researched and beautifully written' BBC Focus
--This text refers to an alternate
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About the Author
BRIAN SWITEK writes a blog for Wired magazine which has been featured in the Guardian, Daily Mail, New Scientist, The New York Times and The Times ('Brilliant writing about palaeontology and evolution, with great daily photos'). He has been a guest on BBC Radio 4's Material World and written for The Times and the Guardian.
--This text refers to an alternate
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40 of 40 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
Brian Switek is a science writer with a flint axe to grind! The book opens with his outrage at a recent 'Missing Link' claim, then takes a deep breath and sets the context for the book, with Lyell's work on geology and Darwin's theory of evolution. Successive chapters deal with particular issues in evolutionary history: what evidence is there for fishes emerging from the oceans onto land?; where did birds come from?; how did a mammal become a whale?; how did elephants evolve?; what do horse fossils tell us about evolution?; and what are the missing links between man and apes?
His answers are detailed and entertaining. The earliest fossils were shoe-horned into proving the veracity of the Bible; later fossils were equally misinterpreted to comply with a belief in directed evolution. The truth, as Switek demonstrates, is that we never have enough bones to fill in all the gaps, but we do have enough evidence to show that species expand and contract according to environmental changes. There is no 'progress', no 'ascent' or 'descent' - there is simply 'best fit'.
The Kindle edition suffers slightly in that a few of the detailed diagrams are hard to decipher; and, as usual, Kindle seems to create typos. The book is heavily annotated - 25% of the book is linked footnotes and references (some of the web references can be accessed directly - how cool is that?).
I enjoyed it. It is well-researched and written with humour and enthusiasm.
His answers are detailed and entertaining. The earliest fossils were shoe-horned into proving the veracity of the Bible; later fossils were equally misinterpreted to comply with a belief in directed evolution. The truth, as Switek demonstrates, is that we never have enough bones to fill in all the gaps, but we do have enough evidence to show that species expand and contract according to environmental changes. There is no 'progress', no 'ascent' or 'descent' - there is simply 'best fit'.
The Kindle edition suffers slightly in that a few of the detailed diagrams are hard to decipher; and, as usual, Kindle seems to create typos. The book is heavily annotated - 25% of the book is linked footnotes and references (some of the web references can be accessed directly - how cool is that?).
I enjoyed it. It is well-researched and written with humour and enthusiasm.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Rat Breath
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is an easy, pleasant book to read.
The book is structured in an episodic way looking at different aspects of paleontology, for example the evolution of whales, or the evolution of horses, by first looking at the history of the science in these areas over the last couple of centuries or so showing how knowledge of the science has gradually built up followed by a summary description of current knowledge on the subject.
The structure of this book is what makes it a comfortable (but not shallow) read. By focusing to start with on the history of an aspect of evolution, the author takes the opportunity to include a large number of entertaining anecdotes about early scientists and their quirks, which keep you interested and entertained, whilst the way that he describes there understanding of what the science is takes you from the intuitive assumptions that you initially had on the subject to the more counter intuitive facts that are the modern day view on an easy to climb learning curve. This is impressive science writing.
The book is modern enough that if you haven't took much notice of the science over the last four or five years, like me, you'll find that things have moved on......e.g. Previous reading made me aware that birds had evolved from dinosaurs, I wasn't aware that many dinosaurs that we traditionally think of as scaled were in fact feathered.
I really enjoyed this book, and would recommend reading it.
The book is structured in an episodic way looking at different aspects of paleontology, for example the evolution of whales, or the evolution of horses, by first looking at the history of the science in these areas over the last couple of centuries or so showing how knowledge of the science has gradually built up followed by a summary description of current knowledge on the subject.
The structure of this book is what makes it a comfortable (but not shallow) read. By focusing to start with on the history of an aspect of evolution, the author takes the opportunity to include a large number of entertaining anecdotes about early scientists and their quirks, which keep you interested and entertained, whilst the way that he describes there understanding of what the science is takes you from the intuitive assumptions that you initially had on the subject to the more counter intuitive facts that are the modern day view on an easy to climb learning curve. This is impressive science writing.
The book is modern enough that if you haven't took much notice of the science over the last four or five years, like me, you'll find that things have moved on......e.g. Previous reading made me aware that birds had evolved from dinosaurs, I wasn't aware that many dinosaurs that we traditionally think of as scaled were in fact feathered.
I really enjoyed this book, and would recommend reading it.
19 of 23 people found the following review helpful
By Paul
Format:Paperback
This is an excellent book for anyone interested in Palaeontology. It is written in a very easy style, clear and concise without being over technical. A lot of new information covering latest finds.
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