A Natural History of Shells

by Geerat J. Vermeij

From “one of the master naturalists of our time” ( American Scientist ), a fascinating exploration of what seashells reveal about biology, evolution, and the history of life

Geerat Vermeij wrote this “celebration of shells” to share his enthusiasm for these supremely elegant creations and what they can teach us about nature. Most popular books on shells emphasize the identification of species, but Vermeij uses shells as a way to explore major ideas in biology. How are shells built? How do they work? And how did they evolve? With lucidity and charm, the MacArthur-winning evolutionary biologist reveals how shells give us insights into the lives of animals today and in the distant geological past.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Nature, Biology, History, Animals

216 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Thomas Everest · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vermeij explains mollusks and evolution in a brilliantly simple but still nuanced way. Will definitely need to read a third time.

[Luke · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a mollusc nerd! A lifetime of collecting shells around the world supports a lovingly dry tour of evolutionary and adaptive approaches and differences between species and regions for dealing with environment, defense and growth, and locomotion through shells. So many shells, black and white pictures throughout.

[Jamie Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This contains valuable information about shells and the animals that inhabit them. The book does use a lot of jargon that will not be familiar to the casual shell enthusiast and can make this a dense read.