Aquagenesis: The Origin and Evolution of Life in the Sea

Library Journal Best Book of 2001Life on earth began in the sea, and Richard Ellis traces it from the first microbes and fish to jawless, finless creatures that evolved into the 26,000 species alive today including sharks, whales, penguins, dolphins -and humans. Along the way he raises fascinating post-Darwinian questions and answers others. How did life originate? How do animals change from one form into another? Why do some endure and others die out? Pinpointing, sometimes controversially, what the fossil record can and cannot teach us, Aquagenesis is a beautifully illustrated wonder. Ellis's authority and verve made his The Search for the Giant Squid a Publishers Weekly Best Book -"a sparkling work of natural history...charming, grandly entertaining" -and earned it The Washington Post Book World's praise as "high-grade intellectual entertainment." In Aquagenesis Ellis brings the same exceptional gift for words and images to his exploration of the wonder and mystery of the ocean and a four-billion-year aquatic timeline.Ellis, Richard is the author of 'Aquagenesis: The Origin and Evolution of Life in the Sea' with ISBN 9780670030231 and ISBN 0670030236.