Half a century ago the Austrian physicist and philosopher Erwin Schrodinger inspired a generation of scientists by rephrasing the philosophical question: "What is life?". This text revisits this question in a narrative which combines rigorous science with philosophy, history and poetry.
"In "What Is Life? Margulis and Sagan have rephrased the answer to Schrodinger's brilliant question by means of a new and spirited explanation of the emergent levels of biological organization. . . . Theirs is a conceptual framework likely to influence future introductions to biology."--E. O. Wilson
"A witty, exuberant panorama of life that elaborates the place of symbiosis in evolution."--Mary Catherine Bateson
"This splendid book shows how much more there is to life than mere reductionist biology. Lynn Margulis and Dorion Sagan tread faithfully in Erwin Schrodinger's footsteps and are his true successors."--James E. Lovelock