The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Life >>>> A BEAUTIFUL SIGNED UK FIRST EDITION & FIRST PRINTING PAPERBACK <<<<

Richard Dawkins; Yan Wong

ISBN 10: 0297825038 / ISBN 13: 9780297825036

Published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson, UK, 2004

About this Item

A VG first edition, first printing paperback (tape repaired tear to back cover)- no dustjacket (as issued) - All my books are always securely packed with plenty of bubblewrap in professional boxes and promptly dispatched (within 2-3 days) - SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR - Pictures available upon request.

Seller Inventory # 004995

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Life >>>> A BEAUTIFUL SIGNED UK FIRST EDITION & FIRST PRINTING PAPERBACK <<<<
• Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, UK
• Publication Date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0297825038
• ISBN 13: 9780297825036
• Binding: Soft cover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Printing: 1st Printing
• Condition: Very Good
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)

About this title

Synopsis

"The Ancestor's Tale" is a pilgrimage back through time; a journey on which we meet up with fellow pilgrims as we and they converge on our common ancestors. Chimpanzees join us at about 6 million years in the past, gorillas at 7 million years, orang utans at 14 million years, as we stride on together, a growing band. The journey provides the setting for a collection of some 40 tales. Each explores an aspect of evolutionary biology through the stories of characters met along the way or glimpsed from afar - the "Elephant Bird's Tale", the "Marsupial Mole's Tale", the "Lungfish's Tale". Together they give a deep understanding of the processes that have shaped life on Earth: convergent evolution, the isolation of populations, continental drift, the great extinctions. The tales are interspersed with prologues detailing the journey, route maps showing joining lineages, and life-like reconstructions of our common ancestors. "The Ancestor's Tale" represents a pilgrimage on an unimaginable scale: our goal is four billion years away, and the number of pilgrims joining us grows vast - ultimately encompassing all living creatures. At the end of the journey lies something remarkable in its simplicity and transformative power: the first, humble, replicating molecules.

About the Author

Richard Dawkins is an evolutionary biologist renowned throughout the world. He was educated at Oxford and taught zoology before becoming the first holder of the Charles Simonyi Chair of the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University, in 1995. His previous books rank among the most influential intellectual works of our time. They include THE SELFISH GENE (1976), RIVER OUT OF EDEN (1995), and UNWEAVING THE RAINBOW (1999).