Evolution: The Story of Life on Earth [Hardcover]

Jay Hosler (Author), Kevin Cannon (Illustrator), Zander Cannon (Illustrator)

Book Description

Release date: January 4, 2011

An accessible graphic introduction to evolution for the most science-phobic reader

Illustrated by the brilliant duo Kevin Cannon and Zander Cannon, this volume is written by the noted comic author and professor of biology Jay Hosler. Evolution features the same characters introduced in the highly regarded The Stuff of Life: A Graphic Guide to Genetics and DNA, now here to explain the fundamentals of the evolution of life on earth. On the heels of explaining to his planetary leader the intricacies of human genetics in The Stuff of Life, the intrepid alien scientist Bloort-183 is charged in this sequel with covering the wider story of evolution. Using the same storytelling conceit that Plenty magazine declared “so charming that you won’t even notice you’ve absorbed an entire scientific field” and that caused Seed to pick The Stuff of Life as a best book of 2008, Evolution brilliantly answers Wired’s demand, “What’s the solution to America’s crisis in science education? More comic books!”

Evolution, the most accessible graphic work on this universally studied subject, takes the reader from earth’s primordial soup to the vestigial structures, like the coccyx and the male nipple, of modern humans. Once again, the award-winning illustrations of the Cannons render the complex clear and everything cleverly comedic. And in Hosler, Evolution has an award-winning biology teacher whose science comics have earned him a National Science Foundation grant and an interview on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Featuring the same amusing characters as those found in Mark Schultz's The Stuff of Life: A Graphic Guide to Genetics and DNA, Hosler's sequel does for natural selection what its predecessor did for human genetics. The intrepid Glargalian scientist, Bloort 183, has returned and serves as the book's principal narrator. This time he has invited King Floorsh 727 and Prince Floorsh 418 on a tour of the newly opened Glargalian Holographic Museum of Earth Evolution. Hosler (Clan Apis; Sandwalk Adventures) is also a professor of biology and provides readers with much more than a simple graphic primer on evolution. With the Cannons' wonderful illustrations providing a visual anchor, Hosler discusses everything from the atomic to the planetary, from endosymbiosis to mass extinction. The book, like its predecessor, may be too dense with information--for instance, the 54 million years of the Cambrian period is covered in a mere six panels. However, readers should find at the end of their journey through Bloort's Holographic Museum that they've learned a tremendous amount about earth's evolution, and have had more than their fair share of amusement in doing so. (Jan.) (c)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Back to the watery world of the sea-cucumber-like species Squinch for another course in the elements of life on earth. In The Stuff of Life (2009), Squinch scientist Bloort 183 convinced King Floorsh 727, by explaining genetics, that becoming sexual may be how the asexual Squinch can avoid impending extinction. Now he continues the exposition by disclosing the wonders wrought by genetics plus time. For this lesson, the king is joined by the heir apparent, precocious little Prince Floorsh 418, whose good questions and inspired intuitions keep Bloort on his . . . are they tentacles? It’s hard to imagine instructional science cartooning better than this. The Cannons (who are unrelated, by the way) keep every creature they’re called upon to depict—be it cell, dinosaur, dodo, or Darwin—perky but never ridiculous, and Hosler, like Mark Schultz in Stuff, balances science and humor superbly. Complete with glossary, this delightful book seems ideal for nonscientists who want to entertainingly brush up their knowledge of evolution as well as for students from middle school on up. --Ray Olson

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Hill and Wang (January 4, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0809094762
• ISBN-13: 978-0809094769
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.7 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #390,991 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 56 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Witty, engaging, and educational. January 6, 2011

By Greg TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Using the same framing device as The Stuff of Life: A Graphic Guide to Genetics and DNA (aliens discuss the subject, giving an "outsider's" perspective and an excuse for lots of explanation and examples), "Evolution" depicts the theory using historical snippets, wise and wonderful illustrations, and cutting-edge information. While the target audience might be the 10- to 16-year-old set, this middle-aged man, well-versed in evolutionary science basics, found a lot to love in this book. For one thing, it's just super-cute a lot of the time. And while technically I didn't learn anything really new in it, seeing ideas I already grasped presented in fresh, captivating ways makes them feel new again.

I suppose that's what "Evolution" does for me. If books like this existed when I was a kid, I didn't know about them, and I spent benighted decades preferring magical answers to actual science. This book, with its great information and frankly kind of juvenile presentation, helps make me feel more like a kid again, making old discoveries for a first time. That's some real magic.

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A good read for children January 4, 2011

By Supernova

Format:Hardcover

It's a comic book explaining how evolution works, in a story that will intrigue children while teaching them. An excerpt from the book can be seen in this Scientific American article: [...]

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Engaging, funny, informative February 12, 2011

By Anonymous

Format:Hardcover

This is a great book for anyone who is interested in learning more about how the world around them works, but is daunted (or bored) by the more traditional textbooks of the classroom. Through its narrative framework and captivating illustrations, this book makes the more technical, elusive details of biological processes and evolutionary mechanisms relatable, imaginable, and ultimately knowable. It's packed with information but fun to read. Definitely worth it.