Nature Strange and Beautiful

“This is a fascinating, authoritative, challenging, and beautifully illustrated book about how adaptive evolution has produced the diversity of life on Earth from the first biologically mediated chemical reactions to the functioning of human societies. Egbert Leigh’s remarkable intellectual range is on stimulating display here with references ranging from Charles Darwin and Jacques Monod to Adam Smith, Noam Chomsky, and Immanuel Kant—and topics from oxidation-reduction chemistry to molecular genetics, paleontology, anthropology, behavioral evolution, and detailed natural history.”— Nelson G. Hairston Jr., Quarterly Review of Biology

“A truly fine piece of work, one that should be on the reading list of all students and practitioners of evolutionary biology.”—Geerat J. Vermeij, author of The Evolutionary World: How Adaptation Explains Everything from Shells to Civilization

"Nature Strange and Beautiful is an exceptionally comprehensive and clear portrait of the origin and functioning of ecological communities, founded on Egbert Leigh’s career in tropical biology. The photographs by Christian Ziegler and other detailed drawings add to the book’s richness and appeal."—Douglas Futuyma, Stony Brook University

“Not just a linear narrative of evolutionary history – but a wonderful walk through the world. Leigh demonstrates how the evolutionary lens enriches all of human experience and deepens our appreciation for the strange and beautiful world in which we live.”—Noel Michele Holbrook, Harvard University