This anthology contains extracts from more than 60 scientific papers, by authors such as Stephen Jay Gould, Richard Dawkins, Francis Crick and Jacques Monod. It starts with Charles Darwin, but concentrates on modern research, including genomics. The extracts are organized in sections, enabling the reader to sample a range of views on each topic, and have been chosen for their readability as well as their scientific importance.About the Author: Mark Ridley works in the Department of Zoology, Oxford University. He has previously held positions at Cambridge University, England, and at Emory University, Atlanta, in the U.S.A.