History of Life, Fifth Edition

In the book I do not have room to deal with general features of evolution: that would have required at least 100 pages more to do a decent job. So I give some introduction (with exciting case studies) in a section below. Also, to give some idea of the dynamism in paleontology, here is a constantly updated Web page with

Paleontology in the News

Studying Evolution

I haven't done much on these links recently, because I am concentrating on the main Web pages for the Chapters.

"IMAGES FOR LECTURES"

You can find ready-to-go Microsoft PowerPoint packages of all the images in the book, organized by Chapter, at the publisher's site. Here in my own site I am providing for each Chapter lists of URLs of the individual images that are included in the book, and others that will complement those in the book.

Of course, I can't POST the images because they are copyright. What I can do is to list the URLs, so that you, as instructor, as student looking for illustrations, or as interested reader, can get at them efficiently. You can download the images and under fair use conventions, can use them as non-profit educational material.

I have sorted the images by chapter and linked the lists. BUT LEARN FROM ME! I collected images from the Web for my own classroom use. I gave them short names, and I failed to record where I'd got them. Some have disappeared, and all the rest still have to be searched and retrieved if I am to list their URLs for you. So, here's what YOU should do:

  1. If the image is there, and you want it, download it NOW! It might not be there next time you look. Storage is cheap
  2. Take the extra 30 seconds to copy and paste the full URL somewhere safe: you never know when you might need it.
  3. Even when you've played with the image and put it into a presentation format, keep the original file

In some cases, I have simply sent you to a site that has a lot of images site. Browse that site and get the URLs or the images themselves.

Web pages and image lists for Chapters in History of Life, 4th Edition are no longer being updated. I'll leave them here for a year while the 4th edition is still on sale. But for references, go to the 5th edition files. Each Chapter has its own reference list....

What this page is meant to do

A web page on the Internet can keep a textbook as up to date as much as the energy of its author (or the energy of the class instructor) permits. This is an attempt to do that for History of Life. I have always tried to keep a running revision current on my computer, so it is comparatively easy for me to imagine keeping these pages up to date. Of course, it's far easier to imagine than to execute, so everyone must be tolerant. I welcome prods and reminders, not only of new discoveries and publications, but of new or revised Web pages that would be good links for me to include in this offering.

The master version of this page is stored at my academic home in the Department of Geology at the University of California, Davis.

As always with Web pages, I would be flattered if you use/copy/mirror my work. And I would be delighted if you would tell me about your Web page, so that I may learn from it too. I claim copyright only on the notes and mini-essays that are my own words. You may, of course, link to them as much as you like.

Acknowledgement.

The first comprehensive Web pages to accompany my book were set up for the 2nd edition by Professor Doug Eernisse for his class at California State University, Fullerton. I was and am astonished by the breadth and depth of his efforts. I drew heavily on his links for the early versions of these Web pages. Although I am making these pages reflect more and more my own sense of what I should provide for my students at the University of California, Davis, Doug Eernisse's students will still recognize the basic structure of many of the Web pages.

This page last revised March 13, 2013.

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