Understanding Evolution Author:Herbert H. Ross Fifteen billion years ago,according to most accepted theories, the continuous yet often baffling chain f events we call evolution began with the formation of galaxies. Understanding Evolution is an abundantly illustrated, lucid, relatively nontechnical account of this panorama of evolutionary change, from its beginnings in swirling masses of hy... more »drogen gas, to the origin of life itself over three billion years ago, and since then to the evolution of such highly complex organisms as trees, invertebrates, and man himself.
In this book, Herbert H. Ross identifies the processes that have led to the increasing complexity of life and to the evolution of the vast number of different kinds of living things, and explains the interplay of various causal factors in the course of evolution, including heredity, mutation and natural selection. The author describes not only the evolution of living organisms - including a discussion of such basic cellular components as proteins and the DNA molecule- but also points out the unique evolutionary role played by climactic and topographic changes of the world, and explains each of these stages in terms of the natural phenomena and laws that govern the complex, yet inexorable processes underlying all evolution.« less