Synopses & Reviews
When John Maynard Smith and Eors Szathmary published
The Major Transitions in Evolution, it was seen as a major work in biology.
Nature hailed it as a book of "grand and daunting sweep.... A splendid and rewarding
tour de force." And
New Scientist wrote that it captured "the essence of modern biology," calling it "an extremely significant book which, as a bonus, is very readable."
Now, in The Origins of Life, Maynard Smith and Szathmary have completely rewritten Transitions to bring their ideas to a wider audience of general readers. Here is a brilliant, state-of-the-art account of how life evolved on earth, focusing primarily on six major transitions--dramatic breakthroughs in the way that information was passed between generations. The authors offer illuminating explorations of the origin of life itself, the arrival of the first cells with nuclei, the first reproduction by sexual means, the appearance of multicellular plants and animals, the emergence of cooperation and of animal societies, and the birth of language.
The Origins of Life represents the thinking of two leading scientists on questions that engage us all--how life began and how it gradually evolved from tiny invisible cells into whales and trees and human beings.
Synopsis
When John Maynard Smith and Eörs Szathmary published
The Major Transitions in Evolution, it was seen as a major work in biology.
Nature hailed it as a book of "grand and daunting sweep...A splendid and rewarding tour de force." And
New Scientist wrote that it captured "the essence of modern biology," calling it "an extremely significant book which, as a bonus, is very readable." Now, in
The Origins of Life, Maynard Smith and Szathmary have completely rewritten
Transitions to bring their ideas to a wider audience of general readers. Here is a brilliant, original picture of how life evolved on earth, focusing primarily on six major transitions dramatic breakthroughs in the way that information was passed between generations. The authors offer illuminating explorations of the origin of life itself, the arrival of the first cells with nuclei, the first reproduction by sexual means, the appearance of multicellular plants and animals, the emergence of cooperative animal societies, and the birth of language.
The Origins of Life represents the thinking of two leading scientists on questions that engage us all how life began and how it gradually evolved from tiny invisible cells into whales and trees and human beings.
Synopsis
"Moving speedily from epoch to epoch, fueled by a few important concepts (such as the division of labor) and explaining all the genetics they use, Smith and Szathmary show 'just how difficult it has been to evolve complex organisms whose genes cooperate rather than compete'....Compact, dense, formidable yet accessible, this book exposes readers to the cutting edge in theoretical evolutionary biology." Publishers Weekly
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. [171]) and index.
About the Author
John Maynard Smith is an internationally renowned biologiest, widely respected for the originality of his ideas and quality of his thinking. He is a Professor in the School of Biological Sciences, University of Sussex.
Eors Szathmary is a Professor at the Collegium Budapest, in Hungary.
Table of Contents
Preface
Life and Information
The major transitions
From chemistry to heredity
From the RNA world to the modern world
From heredity to simple cells
The origin of eukaryotic cells
The origin of sex
Genetic conflict
Living together
The evolution of many-celled organisms
Animal societies
From animal to human societies
The origin of language
Glossary
Notes
Further reading
Index