In all the current highly publicized debates about creationism and its descendant “intelligent design,” there is an element of the controversy that is rarely mentioned — the evidence, the empirical truth of evolution by natural selection. Even Richard Dawkins and Stephen Jay Gould, while extolling the beauty of evolution and examining case studies, have not focused on the evidence itself. Yet the proof is vast, varied, and magnificent, drawn from many different fields of science. Scientists are observing species splitting into two and are finding more and more fossils capturing change in the past—dinosaurs that have sprouted feathers, fish that have grown limbs. Why Evolution Is True weaves together the many threads of modern work in genetics, paleontology, geology, molecular biology, and anatomy that demonstrate the “indelible stamp” of the processes first proposed by Darwin. In crisp, lucid prose accessible to a wide audience, Why Evolution Is True dispels common misunderstandings and fears about evolution and clearly confirms that this amazing process of change has been firmly established as a scientific truth. ~ Synopsis

Table of Contents

• • 1 What Is Evolution? 1
  • 2 Written in the Rocks 21
  • 3 Remnants: Vestiges, Embryos, and Bad Design 59
  • 4 The Geography of Life 93
  • 5 The Engine of Evolution 121
  • 6 How Sex Drives Evolution 157
  • 7 The Origin of Species 183
  • 8 What About Us? 207
  • 9 Evolution Redux 241
  • Notes 255
  • Glossary 266
  • Suggestions for Further Reading 272
  • References 279
  • Illustration Credits 295
  • Index 297