The Time Before History. by Colin. Tudge - January 6, 1997.

New York, NY Touchstone, January 6, 1997. Paperback First Ed; First Printing indicated. First Ed; First Printing indicated. Very Near Fine in Wraps: shows only the most minute indications of use: just a hint of wear to extremities; mildest rubbing. Binding square and secure; text clean. Very close to 'As New'. NOT a Remainder, Book-Club, or Ex-Library. 8vo. 366pp. Paperback: Pictorial Wraps. This book is engagingly written and enlightening in its content. Its object, to expand our perspective on the history and the impact on the planet of our genus Homo from its beginning about 5 million years ago, could hardly be more timely. Tudge integrates knowledge from the disciplines of geology, anthropology, archaeology, climatology, and even game theory to provide a framework for understanding. Tudge offers a clear explication and illustration of evolutionary principles and mechanisms, in particular his emphasis on the unifying concept of the ecomorph: the outcome of the process by which evolution fits organisms to ecological niches. I like his courage as a non-expert to suggest that the idea of progress may have some usefulness in evolutionary thought. Similarly, Tudge reminds us that whereas Lamarck's fourth law on the inheritance of acquired characteristics should be rightly rejected, his second law, that the production of new organs results from continued environmental pressure in a particular direction, can contribute much to understanding of evolutionary history.