Arrival of the Fittest

Andreas Wagner is Professor at the University of Zurich’s Institute of Evolutionary Biology and an award-winning science writer. He is the author of more than 150 scientific papers published in leading journals, including Nature and Science, and this is the first book popularising his new evolutionary systems research. He lives in Zurich.

'Brilliantly polarises scientists' research into the mystery of life itself' -- Readers' books of the year Financial Times 'A truly revolutionary book' Independent, best books of the year 'Elegantly explores the cunning short cuts nature uses to achieve the seemingly impossible' Sunday Times, a best science book of the year 'Wagner's book is an eye-opener. As a bonus, his writing is clear and elegant, with vivid analogies and concrete examples to illustrate his key points. You'll never think about evolution in the same way again' New Scientist 'Arrival of the Fittest should be mandatory, corrective reading... mind-bending... tremendously exciting' BBC Focus 'Quite astounding... The ideas are big, and the numbers hyper-astronomical, but Wagner has a gift for explaining the abstract... elegantly' THES 'The author provides a detailed argument in support of the idea that evolutionary adaptations are not random as Darwin originally proposed, but instead, adaptations obey a set of laws that maximise discovery of new molecules and molecular pathways... I already expect I'll see this book on next year's Royal Society Winton Prize shortlist' Guardian Science blog "A book of startling congruencies, insightful flashes and an artful enthusiasm that delivers knowledge from the inorganic page to our organic brains." -- Kirkus "Brand new scientific insights told in sparkling literary prose... a landmark book that combines original, perhaps revolutionary, ideas elegantly explained." -- Matt Ridley, author of Genome 'Arrival of the Fittest reveals the astonishing hidden structure of evolution, long overlooked by biologists, which makes Darwin's grand idea viable after all. At the same time, it makes life seem even richer and more remarkable than you thought. Darwin would surely have loved this book; I think you will too.' -- Philip Ball, author of The Music Instinct and Critical Mass 'Andreas Wagner is one of those rare scientists with the courage and intellect to see the real nature of evolution.' -- Frank Vertosick, author of When the Air Hits Your Brain "Wagner's engaging and delightful book will open your eyes to the mysteries of innovation. His insights will entertain and astonish you, and they will also change the way you think." -- Daniel E. Lieberman, Edwin M Lerner II Professor of Biological Sciences, Harvard University 'If there is one subject even more controversial than the evolution of intelligence, it is the intelligence of evolution. Andreas Wagner presents a compelling, authoritative, and up-to-date case for bottom-up intelligence in biological evolution, and it sticks.' -- George Dyson, author of Turing's Cathedral "A radical departure from the mainstream perspective on Darwinian evolution. Andreas Wagner cuts to the core of innovation in living systems. Fundamental. Entertaining. Brilliant." -- Dr Rolf Dobelli, author of the bestseller The Art of Thinking Clearly