LAURENCE PRINGLE BILLIONS of YEARS AMAZING CHANGES THE STORY OF EVOLUTION Illustrations by Steve Jenkins With a Foreword by Jerry A. Coyne PhD AASTRA YOUNG READERS AN IMPRINT OF ASTRA BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS New York
Dedicated to the teachers who celebrate the ongoing adventure of science especially those who lead their students into our deep and ever growing understanding of evolution Acknowledgments Special thanks to the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation which in 2006 honored me with a fellowship to write about evolution for children I also thank Kent Brown Jr. for his call in January 2009 with the happy news of a Boyds Mills Press contract for this book the design staff especially Robbin Gourley and Carla Weise for their excellent work and editor Andy Boyles for his patience wisdom and wit as we dealt with every tiny detail and nuance of words photographs and illustrations I am deeply grateful to Dr. Jerry A. Coyne Department of Ecology and Evolution University of Chicago for his careful reading of this book's manuscript His thoroughness and detailed comments added significantly to its accuracy Any errors that remain are mine Finally thanks to my wife Susan for her support and generosity and her continued tolerance of a writer's life and to my staff the cats especially chief of staff Sabrina for her grace and beauty and for allowing me almost half of the seat of my office chair 5
