On the origin of evolution

Great ideas don't simply pop into existence all at once, and although 2009 marks the 150th anniversary of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, the development of the theory of evolution can be traced back over two centuries of natural history.

Darwin himself built on the pioneering work of earlier explorers and naturalists - men like Alexander von Humbolt, whose adventures in Mexico and south America demonstrated how little was known or understood about the world beyond Europe at the turn of the 19th Century.

In turn, his "dangerous idea" inspired subsequent generations to brave hardship and deprivation in a bid to test and shape the theory.

The American geneticist Sean B Carroll charts the evolution of this revolution in Remarkable Creatures: Epic Adventures in the Search for the Origin of Species.

And a swashbuckling tale of derring-do it is. From Eugene Dubois' 30 year search for the missing link to Roy Chapman Andrews' staggering fossil hauls in the badlands of the Gobi desert, Prof Carroll tells the story of life on earth's three billion year history through the adventures and discoveries of the men and women who helped uncover it.

Having mined the fossil and historical records Carroll turns to the present, bringing this epic story up to date in the genetics laboratories - like his own at the University of Wisconsin-Madison - that have delved into the DNA record of life.

But what of the future? Perhaps the most important question - certainly the most exciting prospect - facing science today concerns the search for extra-terrestrial life. And if, or when, we find it Sean Carroll concludes, we'll realise Darwin has beat us to it. The theory of evolution by natural selection is truly universal.