Description
About the Author
John Tyler Bonner is professor emeritus of ecology and evolutionary biology at Princeton University. His books include The Social Amoebae: The Biology of Cellular Slime Molds and Why Size Matters: From Bacteria to Blue Whales (both Princeton).
Reviews
"[I]ncredibly useful ... refreshingly honest ... witty and engaging."--Tiffany Taylor, Times Higher Education "[F]orthright, informal, and humorous. His reminder that not every trait has a biologically adaptive function is a welcome lesson, as is his self-deprecating description of his ideas as just another 'just-so' story... [A] call to the biologists who take over from him to do more research to confirm or to refute the often surprising ideas here."--Rob Hardy, Commercial Dispatch "[Bonner] provides a well-written, well-documented collection of evidence suggesting randomness as a primary engine behind natural selection... This is an excellent essay, valuable to a wide audience. Evolution is an important, timely topic, making Bonner's work a worthy contribution."--Choice "[T]he book provides a careful analysis of the relationship between randomness and size in evolution and makes a good case for neutral morphologies."--James Bradley, Quarterly Review of Biology "The main strength of this provocative book is that it undoubtedly provides a successful argument against the widespread tendency to give an adaptive explanation for any biological trait, and, above all, it opens the door to a fruitful way to reconsider the traditional view of evolution as mainly driven by natural selection."--Francesca Merlin, Biol Theory
Book Information
ISBN 9780691157016
Author John Tyler Bonner
Format Hardback
Page Count 152
Imprint Princeton University Press
Publisher Princeton University Press
Weight(grams) 227g