This reader presents a wide spectrum of views and issues involved in the ever expanding debates about evolution. Can we trace the origin of life? How important is the theory of natural selection? Why did we start talking? Is there an evolutionary argument for the existence of God? It includes extracts which look at: the roles of mutations, inbreeding, crossbreeding, and gene selection; the puzzle of sex; the evolutionary consequences of being a plant, and the means of measuring time by using molecular clocks. With articles by Darwin, Fisher, Haldane, Dawkins, Gould, and Medawar amongst others, this Oxford reader offers a combination of classic accounts and modern research which should appeal both to students and a broad general audience.