Amazon.co.uk Review
Since 1869, when its inaugural issue appeared, the international journal
Naturehas been at the forefront of research in the life sciences, publishing sometimes controversial, even revolutionary work in such fields as genetics, molecular biology and evolutionary theory. Its first issue included T H Huxley's report on Triassic dinosaurs, which brought public attention to the then-new discipline of palaeontology; subsequent issues, among other things, helped rehabilitate the reputation of Gregor Mendel and to revise the human fossil record. Lately, through exponents like senior editor Henry Gee, Nature has advocated work in cladistics, a taxonomic system that considers ecological relationships as well as evolutionary lineages in classifying living things, which Gee has elsewhere called "a revolution in thought as profound as that of Darwinian evolution by natural selection."
In Shaking the Tree, useful as both reference and survey text, Gee offers 19 review articles from recent issues of Nature, addressing issues such as the theory of punctuated equilibrium, the origin of terrestrial plants, the evolution of birds from carnivorous dinosaurs and the manifold causes of mass extinction in distant geological epochs. The contributors include Stephen Jay Gould, John Maynard Smith, Caro-Beth Stewart and other leading scientists, all of whom fulfil Gee's promise to "provide added spice to nourishing-but-bland textbook fare." --Gregory McNamee
Product Description
"Nature" has published news about the history of life ever since its first issue in 1869, in which T.H. Huxley ("Darwin's bulldog") wrote about Triassic dinosaurs. In recent years, the field has enjoyed a tremendous flowering due to new investigative techniques drawn from cladistics (a revolutionary method for charting evolutionary relationships) and molecular biology. "Shaking the Tree" brings together 19 review articles written for "Nature" over the past decade by many of the major figures in paleontology and evolution, from Stephen Jay Gould to Simon Conway Morris. Each article is brief, accessible and opinionated, providing "shoot from the hip" accounts of the latest news and debates. Topics covered include major extinction events, homeotic genes and body plans, the origin and evolution of the primates, and reconstructions of phylogenetic trees for a wide variety of groups. The editor, Henry Gee, gives new commentary and updated references. "Shaking the Tree" is a one-stop resource for engaging overviews of the latest research in the history of life on Earth.
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