List of figures; Preface; Preface to the second edition; Preface to the third edition; Foreword to the Canto edition by Richard Dawkins; Introduction to the Canto edition; 1. Adaptation; 2. The theory of natural selection; 3. Heredity; 4. Weismann, Lamarck and the central dogma; 5. Molecular evolution; 6. The origin and early evolution of life; 7. The structure of chromosomes and the control of gene action; 8. Variation; 9. Artificial selection: some experiments with fruitflies; 10. Natural selection in wild populations; 11. Protein polymorphism; 12. Altruism, social behaviour and sex; 13. What are species?; 14. The origins of species; 15. What keeps species distinct?; 16. The genetics of species differences; 17. The fossil evidence; 18. Evolution and development; 19. Evolution and history; Further reading; Index.

'Few people in the world are better qualified than John Maynard Smith to explain evolution to us, and no subject more than evolution deserves such a talented teacher. Like Darwin himself, Maynard Smith knows that his story if intrinsically interesting and important enough to need no more than clear, patient, honest exposition. The new Introduction is an elegant essay which can be recommended in its own right as a summary of important recent developments in evolutionary theory. This book is the best general introduction to the subject now available.' Richard Dawkins, from the Foreword to the Canto edition