Dr Andy Dobson is a biologist whose work has encompassed field ecology, vector-borne disease, and conservation. Having studied at Durham University and the University of Nottingham, he took up his first research post in the University of Oxford's Zoology Department in 2008. Most recently, he worked in the Conservation Science Group at the University of Edinburgh, applying mathematical models to anti-poaching efforts in protected areas. He left academia in 2019 to become a freelance science writer but remains a Visiting Academic at Edinburgh.
‘A delightful exploration of the diversity of life and the shortcomings of evolution.’ Dave Goulson, author of A Sting in the Tale and Silent Earth ‘A lively, entertaining and highly readable account of natural selection in all its quirky glory.’ Nessa Carey, author of The Epigenetics Revolution and Junk DNA ‘A wonderful read – witty and profound, this book upends the usual way of thinking about evolution, instead highlighting the flaws, dead ends and downright nastiness that natural selection produces as it goes on its aimless and morally neutral way.’ E.J. Milner-Gulland, Tasso Leventis Professor of Biodiversity, University of Oxford