Darwin'S Ghost

CharlesDarwin'sTheOriginofSpeciesisprobablythebest-known,least-readbook.Oneofthemostimportantachievementsofthepastmillennium,itdidforbiologywhatGalileodidforastronomy:madeitintoasinglescienceratherthanacollectionofunrelatedfacts.ImportantthoughOriginremains,itsexamplesandintricateVictorianprosearenowacenturyandahalfold.Theyareripeforrenewalandreaffirmation.Writingas"Darwin'sghost,"eminentgeneticistSteveJonesupdatesthisseminalwork--andrestatesevolution'scaseforthe21stcentury.Jonesisawriterofengagingwitanddazzlingeruditionandhasbeencalled"theBritishCarlSagan."Usingmodernexamples--theAIDSvirus,thepuzzlesofsexualselection,thephysiologyandpsychologyofpets,andtheunparalleledgeneticsuccessofourownspecies--heshowsthepowerandimmediacyofDarwin'sgreatargumentandmakesusappreciatehowitmakeslifemakesense.Eye-openingandentertaining,filledwithastonishingfacts,amusinganecdotes,andtheverylatestresearch,Darwin'sGhostiscontemporarysciencewritingatitsverybest.