Books

Short works

Books : reviews

Andreas Wagner.
Robustness and Evolvability in Living Systems.
Princeton University Press. 2005

Andreas Wagner.
Paradoxical Life.
Yale University Press. 2009

Andreas Wagner.
The Origins of Evolutionary Innovations.
OUP. 2011

Andreas Wagner.
Arrival of the Fittest.
Oneworlf. 2014

Darwin’s theory of natural selection was a monumental step in our understanding of evolution, explaining how useful adaptations are preserved over generations. However, Darwin’s great idea didn’t – and couldn’t – tell us how those adaptations arise in the first place. On its own, can random mutation really be responsible for all the creative marvels in nature?

Renowned evolutionary biologist Andreas Wagner presents the missing piece of Darwin’s theory. Using cutting-edge experimental technologies, he has found that adaptations are driven by a set of laws that allow nature to discover new molecules and mechanisms in a fraction of the time random variation would take. Meticulously researched, carefully argued, and full of fascinating examples from the animal kingdom, Arrival of the Fittest presents an answer to one of the mysteries of life’s rich diversity.