The dawn of life and other Australian tales. Come take a time-travelling magic carpet ride through the natural and cultural delights of Australia. From west coast to east coast, from Cape York to Tassmania this book uses the most up-to-date web resources and scientific papers to paint a many-coloured portrait of this amazing continent
A renowned biologist provides a sweeping chronicle of more than four billion years of life on Earth, shedding new light on evolutionary theory and history, sexual selection, speciation, extinction, and genetics.
A fully updated edition of one of the most original accounts of evolution ever written, featuring new fractal diagrams, six new 'tales' and the latest scientific developments. THE ANCESTOR'S TALE is a dazzling, four-billion-year pilgrimage to the origins of life: Richard Dawkins and Yan Wong take us on an exhilarating reverse journey through evolution, from present-day humans back to the microbial beginnings of life. It is a journey happily interrupted by meetings of fellow modern animals (as well as plants, fungi and bacteria) similarly tracing their evolutionary path back through history. As each evolutionary pilgrim tells their tale, Dawkins and Wong shed light on topics such as speciation, sexual selection and extinction. Written with unparalleled wit, clarity and intelligence; taking in new scientific discoveries of the past decade; and including new 'tales', illustrations and fractal diagrams, THE ANCESTOR'S TALE shows us how remarkable we are, how astonishing our history, and how intimate our relationship with the rest of the living world.
From pioneer tales to urban myths, folklore expert Graham Seal has gathered some of the best Australian stories from around the country, and this?new edition contains?10 extra stories. Australia has a rich tradition of story telling that reflects?a unique history and experience. Great Australian Stories is the most representative collection available of the stories?Aussies tell about themselves. Graham Seal explains where the stories come from, and why even the outright lies reveal a truth of sorts.
Originally published in 1904, this is a combination of Biographical and Bibliographical Dictionary based on the following principles: First - A brief biographical notice of every important author known in literary history; Second - A bibliographical notice of his principal or best-known works.