Foreword: Why People Do Not Accept Evolution xi
To the Reader: Is Evolution a Threat to Your Religious Beliefs? Xvii
Prologue: Fossils and Evolution xix
Preface to the Second Edition xxi
Acknowledgments xxiii
Part I Evolution and the Fossil Record 1
1. The Nature of Science 2
What Is Science? 3
Science and Belief Systems 6
Belly Buttons and Testability 9
Natural and Supernatural 10
Science, Pseudoscience, and Baloney Detection 13
Follow the Evidence Wherever It May Lead 21
2. Science and Creationism 26
Mything Links 27
The Genesis of Genesis 29
What Is Creationism? 32
Twentieth-Century Creationism 34
"Intelligent Design"-or "Breathtaking Inanity" 37
The Monkey Business of Creationism 47
3. The Fossil Record 54
Lucky Accidents of Fossilization 55
Faunal Succession or "Flood Geology"? 58
The Surreal World of "Flood Geology"? 62
The Grand Canyon Through the Looking Glass 69
Ship of Foolishness? 78
Dates with Rocks 81
Punk Eek, Transitional Forms, . . . and Quote Miners 85
4. The Evolution of Evolution 94
Before Darwin 95
The Evolution of Darwin 97
The Neo-Darwinian Evolutionary Synthesis 100
Challenges to Neo-Darwinism 102
Unfinished Synthesis 102
Lamarck Revisited 103
Neutralism, Junk DNA, and Molecular Clocks 104
Macroevolution and Evo/Devo 107
The Evidence of Evolution 111
The Family Tree of Life 113
Homology 113
Vestigial Structures and Other Imperfections 116
Embryology 116
Biogeography 119
Evolution Happens All the Time! 121
5. Systematics and Evolution 128
What Is Systematics? 129
What Is Taxonomy? 130
Ladders, Bushes, Mosaics, and "Missing Links" 132
The Cladistic Revolution 136
Ancestor Worship 142
The Molecular Third Dimension 144
The Branching Tree of Life 148
Part II Evolution? The Fossils Say Yes! 151
6. Life's Origins 152
To the Blazing Hot North Pole 153
Recipe for Primordial Soup 156
Mosh Pits, Fool's Gold, Kitty Litter, Black Smokers, and Mud 159
Communal Living Builds Complex Cells 164
Probability and the Origin of Life 167
7. Cambrian "Explosion"-Or "Slow Fuse"? 170
The Creationists' Favorite Myth 171
Step 1 Planet of the Scum 171
Step 2 The Garden of Ediacara 173
Step 3 The Little Shellies 175
Step 4 In with a Whimper, Not a Bang 177
8. Spineless Wonders of Evolution 182
Invertebrate Transitions 183
The Incredible World of Microfossils 183
The Story in the Seashells 193
What About Macroevolution? 198
9. Fish Tales 208
Show Some Backbone! 209
It's a Long Way from Amphioxus 216
Jaws: The Evolutionary Story 221
10. Fish Out of Water 226
The Great Leap Upward 227
Lobe Fins Lead the Way 228
Four on the Floor 232
The "Frogamander" 241
11. Onto the Land and Back to the Sea: The Amniotes 244
Innovative Eggs 245
Evolution of the Great Sea Dragons 251
Snakes with Legs and Hopping Crocodiles 256
12. Dinosaurs Evolve-and Fly 264
Dinosaur Transitions 265
Lifestyles of the Huge and Ancient 266
Dinosaurs Are Alive! 276
13. Mammalian Explosion 290
From Amniote to Synapsid to Mammals 291
Furballs in the Age of Dinosaurs 301
Radiation in the Aftermath 306
Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My! 312
14. Bossies and Blowholes 322
Thundering Hooves 323
Tiny Horses, Hornless Rhinoceroses, and Thunder Beasts 324
Kingdom of Cloven Hooves 335
Walking Whales 340
Dumbo and the Mermaid 347
15. The Ape's Reflection? 354
The Only Transition That Really Matters 355
The Truth About Human Fossils 359
The Third Chimpanzee 370
16. Why Does it Matter? 376
Deceit in the Name of the Lord 377
Why Should We Care? 381
Choices for the Future 395
Bibliography 399
Index 413