Coral: A Pessimist in Paradise

(Paperback)

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Description

'Coral has, written within itself, life's origin and man's fate.' Weaving together a journey from Marseilles to Madras via the South Pacific and the author's own memories of his seafaring grandfather, CORAL will provide an inspired, eclectic narrative that links science with history, literature, and with our image of mankind. Coral has fascinated us throughout the ages: the Romans used coral as a hangover cure, in Italy it is believed to ward off the evil eye and even now it has been found to provide us with anti-cancer drugs. Telling the story of the earth's beginnings through its geology, coral also points us towards the future of the planet - a socially and biologically uncertain outcome. It was coral that first interested Darwin in evolution, being a classic example of symbiosis: a joint venture between animal and plant. Coral reefs occupy only one part in five hundred of the ocean's surface and yet they contain a quarter of its species.

Reviews

One of science's best writers GUARDIAN He has an ability verging on the magical to compress into a scentence a discovery that took twenty scientists twenty years to make. ... I urge you to read this book SUNDAY TELEGRAPH Jones rallies literature, politics, myth and commitment to the cause of preserving coral reefs ... Wittily, pithily and passionately put THE TIMES This is a startling, energetic and provocative read. It's also surprisingly funny DAILY MAIL

Author Bio

A Prof. of Genetics at University College, London he has worked at universities in the USA, Australia and Africa. He gave the Reith Lectures in 1991 and presented a TV series on human genetics and evolution. A columnist for the DAILY TELEGRAPH, he frequently appears on radio and TV.

Author Location: London, NW1

Language of the Genes, In the Blood, Almost like a Whale, Y: The Descent of Man (0 349 11389 0)