Evolution: The View from the Cottage

Literary Nonfiction. Natural History. Translated from the French by Nigel Spencer. With all the attention given to "creationism" in the news these days, Jean-Pierre Rogel felt it was important to show how Darwin's concept of natural selection can be seen in action in everyday situations. Beginning with a familiar cottage scene that includes squirrels, loons, salmon and bears, Rogel expands his scope to explore the emerging field of evolutionary developmental biology, showing how genes play a role in the extraordinary diversity of the plant and animal kingdom. Readers may be surprised to discover which animal is most closely related to whales, how nature makes a fin into a paw, how salmon have adapted to gaps in fishing nets, and what really sets humans apart from chimpanzees.