by Prof Richard Dawkins (Author), Yan Wong (Author)
The Ancestor's Tale is a pilgrimage back through time; a journey on which we meet up with fellow pilgrims as we and they converge on our common ancestors. Chimpanzees join us at about 6 million years in the past, gorillas at 7 million years, orang utans at 14 million years, as we stride on together, a growing band. The journey provides the setting for a collection of some 40 tales. Each explores an aspect of evolutionary biology through the stories of characters met along the way or glimpsed from afar - the Elephant Bird's Tale , the Marsupial Mole's Tale , the Lungfish's Tale . Together they give a deep understanding of the processes that have shaped life on Earth: convergent evolution, the isolation of populations, continental drift, the great extinctions. The tales are interspersed with prologues detailing the journey, route maps showing joining lineages, and life-like reconstructions of our common ancestors. The Ancestor's Tale represents a pilgrimage on an unimaginable scale: our goal is four billion years away, and the number of pilgrims joining us grows vast - ultimately encompassing all living creatures. At the end of the journey lies something remarkable in its simplicity and transformative power: the first, humble, replicating molecules.
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 528
Edition: 1st
Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
Published: 02 Sep 2004
ISBN 10: 0297825038
ISBN 13: 9780297825036
Book Overview: Richard Dawkins consistently demonstrates a rare ability to make technical subjects come alive. 'The sort of popular science writing that makes the reader feel like a genius'. NEW YORK TIMES. This will be the most authoritative book on the history of life. New computer modelling techniques bring long-extinct species to life. Bestselling author: THE SELFISH GENE has sold over a million copies worldwide.