Blueprints: Solving the Mystery of Evolution - Softcover

To readers who enjoyed Lucy: The Beginnings of Humankind ( LJ 2/1/81), another book by the same authors is a welcome event. This new collaboration is a recounting of evolutionary theory from its roots in the 18th century, through Darwin's and Wallace's revolutionary interpretation of natural selection as evolution's moving force, to the 20th-century unraveling of the genetic code. As in the authors' earlier book, clear writing, clever analogies from the everyday world, and portrayal of scientists as living personalities help make a complex subject approachable for the thoughtful lay reader. The authors are best at telling the genetic story, a sequel to the more often-told Darwinian history and essential to today's understanding of evolution as a well-established scientific dogma.
- Margery C. Coombs, Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

"In this wonderfully engaging book, the researches of Lamarck, Mendel, Darwin, Alfred Russel Wallace and modern evolutionary biologists add up to an intriguing human drama," maintained PW . "It would be hard to imagine a more readable, comprehensive survey of the story of evolution." Illustrated.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.