A broad overview of the science of evolution, and why understanding it matters in our everyday lives. Explaining Life through Evolution tells the origin story of life on this planet and how we arrived at the tremendous diversity among organisms that we see around us today.
Prosanta Chakrabarty explains evolution in a concise, accessible, and engaging way, emphasizing the importance of understanding evolution in everyday contemporary life. Weaving his own lived experience among discussions of Darwin and the origins of evolutionary thought, Chakrabarty also covers key concepts to our understanding of our current condition, including mutation; the spectrum of race, sex, gender, and sexuality; the limitations of ancestry tests; and the evolution of viruses like SARS-CoV-2, the virus at the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Offering a contemporary update to classic popular evolution books by Stephen Jay Gould, Jerry Coyne, and others,
Explaining Life through Evolution is not only an illuminating read, but also an essential guide to the kind of scientific literacy that we need in order to face the challenges of our collective future.
Author: Prosanta Chakrabarty
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: MIT Press
Published: 08/08/2023
Pages: 280
Weight: 0.6lbs
Size: 8.00h x 5.20w x 0.90d
ISBN: 9780262546256
Review Citation(s): Kirkus Reviews 06/01/2023
Publishers Weekly 06/12/2023
Choice 01/01/2024
About the AuthorProsanta Chakrabarty is Professor of Evolutionary Biology and Curator of Fishes at Louisiana State University. He is a TED Senior Fellow, an Elected Fellow of AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science), a Fulbright Distinguished Chair, and a National Geographic Certified Educator.