What should the average person know about science? Because science is so central to life in the 21st century, educators and other leaders of the scientific community believe that it is essential that everyone should understand the basic concepts of the most vital and far-reaching disciplines. "Evolution 101" does exactly that. This accessible volume provides readers - whether students new to the field or interested members of the lay public - with the essential ideas of evolution using a minimum of jargon and mathematics. Concepts are introduced in a progressive order so that more complicated ideas build on simpler ones, and each is discussed in small, bite-sized segments so that they can be easily understood. "Evolution 101" provides an introduction to this most powerful scientific theory, covering such issues as: the history of evolutionary thought, from before Darwin to the present day; the evidence for evolution, from fields as diverse as geology, molecular biology, palaeontology, and more, that show how evolution is strongly supported by facts; how evolution works, including topics ranging from behaviour (e.g., sexual selection) to molecular biology (e.g., mutation); evolution in our daily lives, including how evolution accounts for phenomena such as antibiotic resistance and pesticide resistance. This essential resource will answer the questions students and lay people have regarding evolution, and will point them on the path to further understanding.

JANICE MOORE is professor of Biology at Colorado State University. She is the author of numerous scholarly articles and the book Parasites and the Behavior of Animals (2002).

RANDY MOORE is professor of Biology at the University of Minnesota. He has been editor-in-chief of The American Biology Teacher and serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Biological Education.