Of Moths and Men: An Evolutionary Tale: The Untold Story of Science and the Peppered Moth

"An engrossing narrative" (Wall Street Journal) that does for evolutionary biology what The Double Helix did for DNA.

In the 1950s, a British physician and amateur lepidopterist named H. B. D. Kettlewell went into the English woods to catch "evolution in action" among the now-famous Peppered Moths. His work became "Darwin's missing evidence," an evolutionary experiment as influential as any in the last century. Compellingly told, Of Moths and Men reveals Kettlewell to be a deluded scientist, a man tyrannized by his mentor, the powerful E. B. Ford, an imperious, eccentric Oxford don, a Darwinian zealot determined to crush all enemies in his path. In a revelatory, controversial work that will be debated for years to come, Judith Hooper uncovers the intellectual rivalries, petty jealousies, and faulty science behind one of the most famous experiments—and myths—in the history of evolutionary biology. Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize.
1100880410
Of Moths and Men: An Evolutionary Tale: The Untold Story of Science and the Peppered Moth

"An engrossing narrative" (Wall Street Journal) that does for evolutionary biology what The Double Helix did for DNA.

In the 1950s, a British physician and amateur lepidopterist named H. B. D. Kettlewell went into the English woods to catch "evolution in action" among the now-famous Peppered Moths. His work became "Darwin's missing evidence," an evolutionary experiment as influential as any in the last century. Compellingly told, Of Moths and Men reveals Kettlewell to be a deluded scientist, a man tyrannized by his mentor, the powerful E. B. Ford, an imperious, eccentric Oxford don, a Darwinian zealot determined to crush all enemies in his path. In a revelatory, controversial work that will be debated for years to come, Judith Hooper uncovers the intellectual rivalries, petty jealousies, and faulty science behind one of the most famous experiments—and myths—in the history of evolutionary biology. Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize.
26.95 In Stock
Of Moths and Men: An Evolutionary Tale: The Untold Story of Science and the Peppered Moth

Of Moths and Men: An Evolutionary Tale: The Untold Story of Science and the Peppered Moth

by Judith Hooper
Of Moths and Men: An Evolutionary Tale: The Untold Story of Science and the Peppered Moth

Of Moths and Men: An Evolutionary Tale: The Untold Story of Science and the Peppered Moth

by Judith Hooper

Paperback(Reprint)

$26.95 
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Overview

"An engrossing narrative" (Wall Street Journal) that does for evolutionary biology what The Double Helix did for DNA.

In the 1950s, a British physician and amateur lepidopterist named H. B. D. Kettlewell went into the English woods to catch "evolution in action" among the now-famous Peppered Moths. His work became "Darwin's missing evidence," an evolutionary experiment as influential as any in the last century. Compellingly told, Of Moths and Men reveals Kettlewell to be a deluded scientist, a man tyrannized by his mentor, the powerful E. B. Ford, an imperious, eccentric Oxford don, a Darwinian zealot determined to crush all enemies in his path. In a revelatory, controversial work that will be debated for years to come, Judith Hooper uncovers the intellectual rivalries, petty jealousies, and faulty science behind one of the most famous experiments—and myths—in the history of evolutionary biology. Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780393325256
Publisher: Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date: 01/17/2004
Edition description: Reprint
Pages: 406
Product dimensions: 6.10(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Judith Hooper has written for The Atlantic Monthly, the New York Times Book Review, and many other publications; she is the author of The Three-Pound Universe. She lives in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgementsix
Map: Kettlewell's Britainxiii
Prologue: The moths of Oxfordxv
Part I
1The moonlit world3
2What Darwin missed15
3Natural selection reduced to arithmetic34
4The private lives of insects68
5E.B. Ford and his enemies91
Part II
6Triumph in Birmingham109
7A most influential home movie125
8A reptile's leg into a bird's wing146
9The cost of selection180
10The goose that laid the golden eggs205
Part III
11'It was a bird feeder!'241
12A damn good story278
Notes316
Bibliography339
Glossary354
Chronology360
Picture Credits363
Index365
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