Prothero D. Evolution: What the Fossils Say and Why It Matters

2nd Edition. — Columbia University Press, 2017. — 455 p. — ISBN: 9780231180641.Donald R. Prothero’s Evolution is an entertaining and rigorous history of the transitional forms and series found in the fossil record. Its engaging narrative of scientific discovery and well-grounded analysis has led to the book’s widespread adoption in courses that teach the nature and value of fossil evidence for evolution. Evolution tackles systematics and cladistics, rock dating, neo-Darwinism, and macroevolution. It includes extensive coverage of the primordial soup, invertebrate transitions, the development of the backbone, the reign of the dinosaurs, and the transformation from early hominid to modern human. The book also details the many alleged "missing links" in the fossil record, including some of the most recent discoveries that flesh out the fossil timeline and the evolutionary process.
In this second edition, Prothero describes new transitional fossils from various periods, vividly depicting such bizarre creatures as the Odontochelys, or the "turtle on the half shell"; fossil snakes with legs; and the "Frogamander", a new example of amphibian transition. Prothero’s discussion of intelligent design arguments includes more historical examples and careful examination of the "experiments" and observations that are exploited by creationists seeking to undermine sound science education. With new perspectives, Prothero reframes creationism as a case study in denialism and pseudoscience rather than a field with its own intellectual dynamism. The first edition was hailed as an exemplary exploration of the fossil evidence for evolution, and this second edition will be welcome in the libraries of scholars, teachers, and general readers who stand up for sound science in this post-truth era.Foreword: Why People Do Not Accept Evolution
To the Reader: Is Evolution a Threat to Your Religious Beliefs?
Prologue: Fossils and Evolution
Evolution and the Fossil Record
The Nature of Science
Science and Creationism
The Fossil Record
The Evolution of Evolution
Systematics and Evolution
Evolution? The Fossils say YES!
Life’s Origins
Cambrian "Explosion" - or Slow Fuse?
Spineless Wonders of Evolution
Fish Tales
Fish Out of Water
Onto the Land and Back to the Sea: The Amniotes
Dinosaurs Evolve - and Fly
Mammalian Explosion
Bossies and Blowholes
The Ape’s Reflection?
Why Does It Matter?