Here is one biologist's interpretation of the chronology of life during the last six hundred million years of earth history: an extended essay that draws on the author's own data and a wide-ranging literature survey to discuss the nature and dynamics of evolutionary change in organisms and their biological surroundings. Geerat Vermeij demonstrates that escalation--the process by which species adapt to, or are limited by, their enemies as the latter increase in ability to acquire and retain resources--has been a dominant theme in the history of life despite frequent episodes of extinction. "With the impressive scope and rich synthesis of this work, the author has assumed the mantle of a provocative pundit of paleobiology." ― Science "An extraordinarily useful book to students of evolutionary paleobiology." ---Carlton Brett, Geology This book is written for those who, like me, are fascinated with evolution, but I hope it will also be read by historians of human affairs. There are some obvious parallels between the history of life and the cultural history of man--the episodic pace of change the effects of crises, and the role of population growth, for example--and the fossil record teaches some sobering lessons about the futility of the seemingly unstoppable arms race between nations. Geerat J. Vermeij , Professor of Geology at the University of California, Davis, is the author of Biogeography and Adaptation: Patterns of Marine Life (Harvard). Vermeij received a 1992 MacArthur Fellowship. See page 24 for a description of his forthcoming book, A Natural History of Shells . Used Book in Good Condition