'Miller
and Van Loon have brought to life an important
chapter of scientific history … I think this
should count as a real achievement.' New Scientist
Progress
in genetics today would not have been possible
without Darwin's revolution, but the mysterious
man who undermined belief in God's creation
was remarkably timid. He spent most of his
life in seclusion, a semi-invalid, riddled
with doubts, fearing the controversy his theories
might unleash.
In this classic bestseller, Jonathan Miller
unravels Darwin's life and contribution to
biology in a brilliantly lucid manner, and
traces the path from his scientific predecessors
to the later modifications that his own evolutionary
theories required. In this way, he provides
an unusually clear historical perspective
on the progress from pre-Darwinian biology
to modern genetics and the crucial discovery
of chromosomes.
***
Jonathan Miller studied natural sciences at
Cambridge University and subsequently qualified
as a Doctor of Medicine in 1959. Since then
he has become well known internationally as
a writer and a director of plays and operas.
Borin
Van Loon is a Surrealist artist and illustrator
whose work ranges from oil paintings to a
cut-out book on DNA.
