Dorion Sagan & Lynn Margulis 
Microcosmos 
Four Billion Years of Microbial Evolution

‘Microcosmos is nothing less than the saga of the life of the planet. Lynn Margulis and Dorion Sagan have put it all together, literally, in this extraordinary book, which is unlike any treatment of evolution for a general readership that I have encountered before. A fascinating account that we humans should be studying now for clues to our own survival.’—From the Foreword by Dr. Lewis Thomas Microcosmos brings together the remarkable discoveries of microbiology in the later decades of the 20th century and the pioneering research of Dr. Margulis to create a vivid new picture of the world that is crucial to our understanding of the future of the planet. Addressed to general readers, the book provides a beautifully written view of evolution as a process based on interdependency and their interconnectedness of all life on the planet.


This title is part of UC Press’s Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1997.

‘Microcosmos is nothing less than the saga of the life of the planet. Lynn Margulis and Dorion Sagan have put it all together, literally, in this extraordinary book, which is unlike any treatment of evolution for a general readership that I have encounter

Table of Content

Foreword by Lewis Thomas (1986)

Preface (1997)

Acknowledgments

Introduction: The Microcosm

1. Out of the Cosmos

2. The Animation of Matter

3. The Language of Nature

4. Entering the Microcosm

5. Sex and Worldwide Genetic Exchange

6. The Oxygen Holocaust

7. New Cells

8. Living Together

9. The Symbiotic Brain

10. The Riddle of Sex

11. Late Bloomers: Animals and Plants

12. Egocentric Man

13. The Future Supercosm

Notes

Index

About the author

Lynn Margulis (1957-2011) was Distinguished University Professor of Geosciences at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and and a National Medal of Science recipient. Dorion Sagan has written and co-authored books on culture, evolution, and the history and philosophy of science, including Biospheres.