"This book is a highly enjoyable romp through the intellectual history of evolutionary biology, using turtle evolution as its red thread."-- Natural History Book Service "Ultimately, the book should be read by anyone interested in the history of evolutionary biology, in herpetology and palaeoherpetology, or in turtles specifically. now that we know that Rieppel can produce volumes of this quality and readability, I say: more please."-- Palaeontologia Electronica "Here they are still with us, boxed up in a shell, seeming survivors of the distant geological past: prehistoric creatures, which both predated and outlived the dinosaurs. A symbol in Hindu and Chinese mythology, the turtle supports the earth--but what supports the turtle?"--Olivier Rieppel, from the introduction "Turtles as Hopeful Monsters is a beautifully written and compelling book. Rieppel knows his subject inside out and has produced an authoritative work. But it is so much more than that--it belies a more far-reaching subject area--the practice of evolutionary biology itself. The interplay of diverse disciplines including genetics, developmental biology, paleontology and, of course philosophy, are all set out alongside delightful personal insights.

From Mendel to Hennig, Darwin to Mayr or Goodrich, Goldschmidt and Gould, Rieppel brilliantly analyses the practitioners and the giants of evolutionary theory."--Nick Fraser, National Museum of Scotland.