Is evolution a slow, gradual process, or does it move in giant leaps and bounds? How should the fossil record be interpreted? What are the evolutionary - and ethical - implications of gene manipulation? How can evolution be observed and measured? These are among the questions addressed by this book as it traverses the aeons of the past. After re-examining Darwin's ideas about natural selection, the author identifies and explains the turning-points of evolutionary history, resurrecting the bizarre but long-extinct creatures that once populated our planet. He also discusses the complex biological processes of change that make evolution possible, and probes the microscopic world of cells, genes and DNA. Dr Whitfield's other books include "The Hunter", "Animal Families", "The Atlas of the Living World" and "The Atlas of Earth Mysteries".