Eldredge's groundbreaking work is now accepted as the definitive statement of how life as we know it evolved on Earth. This book chronicles how Eldredge made his discoveries and traces the history of life through the lenses of paleontology, geology, ecology, anthropology, biology, genetics, zoology, mammalogy, herpetology, entomology and botany. While rigorously accurate, the text is accessible, engaging and free of jargon.

"A Peter N. Névraumont book."

Introduction / by Carl Zimmer -- The past as prologue -- Adaptation -- Origin of species -- Human evolution -- Living fossils -- Extinction -- Macroevolution -- Epilogue : Old and new pictures.