Readership: Non-specialist readers interested in popular science, and especially in biology, evolution in particular. Students and professionals in the life sciences.
Nick Lane, Honorary Reader, University College London
"Challenging, but rewarding." - Vanessa Thorpe, Observer
"Its the most interesting and significant addendum to Darwin's theory I think I've come across since Richard Dawkins explained how genes are the mechanism for evolution." - Independent on Sunday,
"An enthralling account...The author has accomplished something quite breathtaking... Moreover, he brings the science alive...he is always accessible lively , thought provoking and informative. Every Biologist should read this book"
IntroductionMitochondria: Clandestine Rulers of the World Part 1Hopeful Monster: The Origin of the Eukaryotic Cell 1: The Deepest Evolutionary Chasm 2: Quest for a Progenitor 3: The Hydrogen Hypothesis Part 2The Vital Force: Proton Power and the Origin of Life 4: The Meaning of Respiration 5: Proton Power 6: The Origin of Life Part 3Insider Deal: The Foundations of Complexity 7: Why Bacteria are Simple 8: Why Mitochondria Make Complexity Possible Part 4Power Laws: Size and the Ramp of Ascending Complexity 9: The Power Laws of Biology 10: The Warm-Blooded Revolution Part 5Murder or Suicide: The Troubled Birth of the Individual 11: Conflict in the Body 12: Foundations of the Individual Part 6Battle of the Sexes: Human Pre-History and the Nature of Gender 13: The Asymmetry of Sex 14: What Human Prehistory Says About the Sexes 15: Why There Are Two Sexes Part 7Clock of Life: Why Mitochondria Kill us in the End 16: The Mitochondrial Theory of Ageing 17: Demise of the Self-Correcting Machine 18: A Cure for Old Age? Epilogue Glossary Further Reading