Written in Stone: Evolution, the Fossil Record, and Our Place in Nature

( 1 )

All Available Formats + Editions

——

$10.41

NOOK Book

——

$10.41

Written in Stone: Evolution, the Fossil Record, and Our Place in Nature (eBook) Pub. Date: 11/1/2010 Publisher: Bellevue Literary Press
$7.87

$17.15

Paperback

$8.95

$17.15

Written in Stone: Evolution, the Fossil Record, and Our Place in Nature Pub. Date: 12/1/2010 Publisher: Bellevue Literary Press

$7.87

——

Written in Stone: The Hidden Secrets of Fossils and the Story of Life on Earth Pub. Date: 2/28/2012 Publisher: Icon Books, Ltd. UK

$11.45

——

Written in Stone Pub. Date: 7/28/2011 Publisher: Icon Books, Ltd. UK

Customers Who Bought This Also Bought

Advertising

Overview

"Switek seamlessly intertwines two types of evolution: one of life on earth and the other of paleontology itself.”—Discover Magazine

""In delightful prose, [Switek] . . . superbly shows that '[i]f we can let go of our conceit,’ we will see the preciousness of life in all its forms.”—Publishers Weekly(starred review)

"Highly instructive . . . a warm, intelligent yeoman’s guide to the progress of life.”—Kirkus Reviews

"Magisterial . . . part historical account, part scientific detective story. Switek’s elegant prose and thoughtful scholarship will change the way you see life on our planet. This book marks the debut of an important new voice.”—Neil Shubin

"Elegantly and engagingly crafted, Brian Switek’s narrative interweaves stories and characters not often encountered in books on paleontology—at once a unique, informative and entertaining read.”—Niles Eldredge

"If you want to read one book to get up to speed on evolution, readWritten in Stone.Brian Switek’s clear and compelling book is full of fascinating stories about how scientists have read the fossil record to trace the evolution of life on Earth.”—Ann Gibbons

"[Switek's] accounts of dinosaurs, birds, whales, and our own primate ancestors are not just fascinating for their rich historical detail, but also for their up-to-date reporting on paleontology’s latest discoveries.”—Carl Zimmer

"After reading this book, you will have a totally new context in which to interpret the evolutionary history of amphibians, mammals, whales, elephants, horses, and especially humans.”—Donald R. Prothero

Spectacular fossil finds make today's headlines; new technology unlocks secrets of skeletons unearthed a hundred years ago. Still, evolution is often poorly represented by the media and misunderstood by the public. A potent antidote to pseudoscience,Written in Stoneis an engrossing history of evolutionary discovery for anyone who has marveled at the variety and richness of life.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

The 17 poetic if often opaque stories in this collection from Latiolais (A Proper Knowledge) focus on the inner worlds of women grappling with grief and sadness. In the title story, an unnamed widow tries to cope with an inept gynecologist, ponders the etymology of the word widow, recalls an old college course called "Women and Appearance," visits with a lawyer, and attends a dinner party. In "The Long Table," another nameless woman, "her eyes trying to smile above cheeks lifeless with the exhaustion of her failing marriage," makes balloon animals for children at a wedding. In "Boys," an anonymous older woman visits a Las Vegas strip club with her younger lover, "surprised by the amount of affection in the shabby upstairs room." The beauty of the prose somehow dulls the impact of the words, making it hard to feel for the author's largely faceless women. These overly lyrical tales will strike many as more about the attempt to render sorrow in words than about sorrow itself. (Jan.)

Library Journal

When Charles Darwin published his theory of evolution by means of natural selection in 1859, his reasoning was hampered by the lack of transitional fossils. These "missing links" formed the basis for persistent refutation of Darwin's theory. Today, with the recent discoveries of feathered dinosaurs in China, whales that walked from Pakistan, and other peculiar fossils, the significant gaps in evolutionary history are now being filled. Switek (research associate, New Jersey State Museum), who blogs for Smithsonian's Dinosaur Tracking and Seed magazine's Laelaps, presents a popular account of fossil discoveries, historical debates related to evolution, and how the unearthing of these missing links is filling in the gaps in evolutionary history. Written for the lay reader, this is an informative survey of the latest facts coupled with the historical record of evolutionary changes. VERDICT Armchair scientists and general readers interested in evolution will enjoy this informative book. Highly recommended.—Gloria Maxwell, Metropolitan Community Coll., Penn Valley, Kansas City, MO

More Reviews (1) Fewer Reviews

Kirkus Reviews

A highly instructive tour of the fossil record, from New Jersey State Museum research associate Switek.

"[E]very single bone has a story to tell about the life and evolution of the animal it once belonged to," writes the author in this easily digestible survey of paleontological history. Some of the scientists reading the evidence brought the quirks and contingencies of their times to the stories they told, trying, for example, to corroborate science with scripture, while others sallied into new and blasphemous realms. Switek invests all of them with a wonderful engagement as they try to make sense of the stone bones. The author weds the geological conjectures of James Hutton to the comparative anatomy of Georges Cuvier, and shows how the tinkerings of Charles Lyell influenced French naturalist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck. Charles Darwin enters the picture along with Alfred Russell Wallace, allowing Switek to examine inherited variation, advantageous traits and natural selection. In his discussion of Thomas Huxley's skirmishes with reptile-bird relationships, the author conveys the heroic nature of field science—"In order to approximate the dinosaurian physiology, the...scientists carried out the unenviable task of sticking thermometers in the cloacae of American alligators"—while also pondering the self-contained life of the amniotic egg, the energy and perseverance of scientists like Albert Koch and his sea monsters and Hugh Falconer's tribulations with prehistoric elephants. Switek ranges across an astonishingly diverse variety of topics, including the evolution whales in Pakistan and the connection between jaw and ear bones in early mammals. The author brings all the branching patterns into focus, even when the language threatens to overwhelm, in a way that permits readers to fill the gaps in the circumstantially incomplete fossil record.

A warm, intelligent yeoman's guide to the progress of life.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781934137291
Publisher: Bellevue Literary Press
Publication date: 12/1/2010
Pages: 320
Sales rank: 425,416
Product dimensions: 5.90 (w) x 8.90 (h) x 0.90 (d)

Meet the Author

Brian Switek is a science writer and research associate at the New Jersey State Museum who has done fieldwork on fossils in Utah, Montana, and Wyoming. He has been a frequent guest on the BBC and has written about paleontology for theSmithsonianmagazine, LondonTimes, Wired Science, Eurekaand elsewhere. He is also the author of the acclaimed science blogLaelapsandSmithsonianmagazine’sDinosaur Tracking.

Introduction: Missing Links 9

The Living Rock 24

Moving Mountains 42

From Fins to Fingers 69

Footprints and Feathers on the Sands of Time 91

The Meek Inherit the Earth 126

As Monstrous as a Whale 145

Behemoth 174

On a Last Leg 204

Through the Looking Glass 226

Time and Chance 266

Notes 272

References 282

Acknowledgments and Permissions 304

Index 308

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4

( 1 )

Rating Distribution

5 Star

(0)

4 Star

(1)

3 Star

(0)

2 Star

(0)

1 Star

(0)

Your Rating:

Review Guidelines

Tell the world what you think of this product.

Add Recommendations

Your Name: Create a Pen Name or Leave Anonymously

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked, or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer. However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reviews should not contain any of the following:

- HTML tags, profanity, obscenities, vulgarities, or comments that defame anyone
- Time-sensitive information such as tour dates, signings, lectures, etc.
- Single-word reviews. Other people will read your review to discover why you liked or didn't like the title. Be descriptive.
- Comments focusing on the author or that may ruin the ending for others
- Phone numbers, addresses, URLs
- Pricing and availability information or alternative ordering information
- Advertisements or commercial solicitation

Reminder:

- By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.
- Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.
- See Terms of Use for other conditions and disclaimers.

Anonymous

Posted April 27, 2012

No text was provided for this review.

If you find inappropriate content, please report it to Barnes & Noble