Shaking the Tree: Readings from "Nature" in the History of Life Book

Since 1869, when its inaugural issue appeared, the international journal Naturehas been at the forefront of research in the life sciences, publishing sometimes controversial, even revolutionary work in such fields as genetics, molecular biology and evolutionary theory. Its first issue included T H Huxley's report on Triassic dinosaurs, which brought public attention to the then-new discipline of palaeontology; subsequent issues, among other things, helped rehabilitate the reputation of Gregor Mendel and to revise the human fossil record. Lately, through exponents like senior editor Henry Gee, Nature has advocated work in cladistics, a taxonomic system that considers ecological relationships as well as evolutionary lineages in classifying living things, which Gee has elsewhere called "a revolution in thought as profound as that of Darwinian evolution by natural selection." In Shaking the Tree, useful as both reference and survey text, Gee offers 19 review articles from recent issues of Nature, addressing issues such as the theory of punctuated equilibrium, the origin of terrestrial plants, the evolution of birds from carnivorous dinosaurs and the manifold causes of mass extinction in distant geological epochs. The contributors include Stephen Jay Gould, John Maynard Smith, Caro-Beth Stewart and other leading scientists, all of whom fulfil Gee's promise to "provide added spice to nourishing-but-bland textbook fare." --Gregory McNameeRead More