This concurrence might seem remarkable, but to a paleontologist it is not unexpected. It demonstrates the overall agreement in interpreting the general course of evolutionary history. Beyond the headings, the contrast between book and exhibit is striking, though both, in attempting to cover the whole history of life, are subject to severe limitations. My recent experience gives some basis for seeing the advantages and disadvantages of each in telling the same story.
Eldredge's subthemes, after the obligatory introductory chapter explaining geologic time, the genetic basis for evolutionary change, ecological interaction, extinction, etc., include: (1) the earliest fossil evidence for life and the Precambrian records, (2) the appearance of trilobites and other hard-shelled groups in the Cambrian, (3) life in the Paleozoic seas, (4) invasion of the land, (5) life's middle ages, the Mesozoic, (6) dinosaurs, (7) the origin of flight, (8) parallelism, particularly as shown by the reptiles that returned ...
