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Binding: HardcoverDewey Decimal Number: 576.8 EAN: 9780231139625 ISBN: 0231139624 Label: Columbia University Press Manufacturer: Columbia University Press Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 408 Publication Date: October 11, 2007 Publisher: Columbia University Press Studio: Columbia University Press Related Items:
Browse for similar items by category: Click to Display Editorial Review: Product Description: Over the past twenty years, paleontologists have made tremendous fossil discoveries, including fossils that mark the growth of whales, manatees, and seals from land mammals and the origins of elephants, horses, and rhinos. Today there exists an amazing diversity of fossil humans, suggesting we walked upright long before we acquired large brains, and new evidence from molecules that enable scientists to decipher the tree of life as never before. The fossil record is now one of the strongest lines of evidence for evolution. In this engaging and richly illustrated book, Donald R. Prothero weaves an entertaining though intellectually rigorous history out of the transitional forms and series that dot the fossil record. Beginning with a brief discussion of the nature of science and the "monkey business of creationism," Prothero tackles subjects ranging from flood geology and rock dating to neo-Darwinism and macroevolution. He covers the ingredients of the primordial soup, the effects of communal living, invertebrate transitions, the development of the backbone, the reign of the dinosaurs, the mammalian explosion, and the leap from chimpanzee to human. Prothero pays particular attention to the recent discovery of "missing links" that complete the fossil timeline and details the debate between biologists over the mechanisms driving the evolutionary process. Evolution is an absorbing combination of firsthand observation, scientific discovery, and trenchant analysis. With the teaching of evolution still an issue, there couldn't be a better moment for a book clarifying the nature and value of fossil evidence. Widely recognized as a leading expert in his field, Prothero demonstrates that the transformation of life on this planet is far more awe inspiring than the narrow view of extremists. Average Rating:
 Rating:  - The Big Lie ContinuesThis book is the latest attempt by Big Science to put forth the Big Lie of evolution. Humble believers, the only real skeptics left, are supposed to simply cower in the face of the evidence. But here's why you shouldn't believe the Big Lie: 1) The Bible says that God created all earth's creatures. Since the Bible is the word of God, I think it has slightly more authority than a goofy looking dingus named Prothero. 2) No one has ever seen evolution in action. Dogs don't turn ... Read More Rating:  - Deal with it!"What the fossils say and why it matters." It is hard to live in the U.S. without hearing or hearing of so-called Creationists claiming things like there are no fossils transitional between species, but I was not well aware until recently of how well funded and how damaging to our school system that they are. They are unabashed with their ignorance and dishonesty and the serious extent to which they are harming the education of our children. Nearly all legitimate scientists ignore them, but not vast ... Read More Rating: - An Excellent Book for learning about Fossils and how they evolvedThis is an excellent book, with very good illustrations, that is an excellent introduction to paleontology for any age. The information is up to date, and the author makes a case that we should not abandon reason and evidence to hang on to select sentences in the Bible as being literally true. To me there is no problem with the belief that there is a God as well as the belief in Evolution, as seen from the fossil record. Who is to say that evolution was not the way creation was started, while ... Read More Rating: - Will this book prove effective?A society driving an eminent scientist to produce a book such as this is in need of some serious reflective thinking. Prothero's account is not the first such investigation of the clash of science and superstition, but it ranks as one of the most thorough and revealing. Although this is a work of science, it is also a campaign manifesto. The author is eager to expose the fallacies of "Christian" creationism and the duplicitous methods used to foster it. The account may appear strident in some places, but ... Read More Rating: - One of the best!There are a few recent books on religion, science, skepticism, and evolution that will probably go down in history as the "great ones". In that mix I include Carl Sagan's The Demon-Haunted World and Sam Harris's The End of Faith. Donald Prothero's book should certainly be included among such prestigious company! 
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