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9780199736188

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Mark Blumberg's beautifully written book introduces some major problems in both developmental and evolutionary biology. Individuals can sometimes develop in astonishingly aberrant ways. These freaks of nature challenge the way we think about development and, over the years, have caused some biologists to wonder whether the formation of new species is always as continuous as orthodox theories of evolution purpose. --Sir Patrick Bateson, Emeritus Professor of Ethology, University of Cambridge Mark Blumberg is a freak of literature--one of the very few scientist-writers (think Stephen Jay Gould or Oliver Sacks) who can sweep us along as they try to figure out how the exceptions in the species can prove the rule of who we all are. In Freaks of Nature , the specimens are certainly riveting, but its also Blumberg's lucid, lyrical, profound insights into what it means to be human that will stay with the reader. --Richard Panek, author of Seeing and Believing: How the Telescope Opened Our Eyes and Minds to the Heavens and The Invisible Century: Einstein, Freud, and the Search for Hidden Universes By presenting a parade of animal freaks mutants, developmental anomalies and weird species Blumberg imparts lessons that, although familiar to biologists, will be valuable to non-specialists. He emphasizes that the complex process of development can be unraveled by understanding how such anomalies are produced...Blumberg illustrates his points with clear and intriguing examples... Blumberg's ambitions transcend storytelling: he aims to show that developmental biology has made real contributions to evolutionary theory. --Jerry A. Coyne, Nature This book offers a unique perspective, challenging our view of science, evolution, and social archetypes by examining the nature of malformations. It would be a worthwhile addition to the library of students and scholars alike. --Doody's Health Sciences Review , a 4-star review! [A]n...elegant effort.... All writers of popular natural history books will these days be compared to the late Stephen Jay Gould...but with Freaks of Nature a comparison seems apt. Jennie Erin Smith, Times Literary Supplement

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Mark Blumberg is Professor and Starch Faculty Fellow at the University of Iowa. The author of two books and more than eighty journal articles and chapters on a wide variety of subjects, he currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of the journal Behavioral Neuroscience and as President of the International Society for Developmental Psychobiology.

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