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42 Tales from Life: A Modern Bestiary

by Richard Dawkins

Evolution’s many forms

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AlbakiReads Editorial

Evolution’s many forms

Across 42 animal-focused accounts, the book connects distinctive features and behaviors with the evolutionary processes behind them. Its subjects range from fish locomotion and rhinoceros horns to the resemblance between horses and lizards and the vivid colors of hummingbirds. Darwinian analysis is paired with illustrations by nineteenth-century German scientist Ernst Haeckel, whose images include plants, sea creatures, and other animals. The combination gives the volume two complementary points of entry: explanations of biological form and a visual record of the diversity of life.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in evolution and popular science
  • Those curious about animal anatomy, behavior, and adaptation
  • Readers who appreciate historical scientific illustration

Themes

Evolution and natural selectionAnimal form and behaviorBiodiversityScientific illustration

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

A dazzling celebration of Earth's strangest, most extraordinary life forms--where science, art, and evolutionary wonder meet

From the world's greatest popular science writer, this wonderfully accessible new book takes us on a romp through a menagerie of ingenious tales about how animals evolved into such intricately beautiful, intriguing forms.

Richard Dawkins delightedly explains the galloping of fish, the shape of the rhinoceros's horn, the surprising similarities between horses and lizards, and why hummingbirds glow in such brilliant hues.

This is popular science and incisive Darwinian analysis at its best. Dawkins delights in the surreal and incredible moments that make up the fabric of our world, finding the extraordinary in every creature and revealing the fundamental truths behind even the most unfathomable animal behaviors. His tales are accompanied by the astonishingly beautiful art of the nineteenth-century German scientist Ernst Haeckel, whose colorful illustrations of plants, sea creatures, and other animals have fascinated Dawkins all his life. This is a book to learn from, to delight in, and to treasure.

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