In search of cell history : the evolution of life's building blocks / Franklin M. Harold.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 261-288) and index.

Cells, genes, and evolution : (on the nature and workings of life) -- The tree of life : (universal phylogeny and its discontents) -- A world mostly made up of microbes : (bacteria, archaea, and eukarya) -- The deep roots of cellular life : (the common ancestry of living things) -- The perplexing chronicles of bioenergetics : (making a living, now and in the past) -- Life's devices : (on the evolution of prokaryotic cells and their parts) -- Emergence of the eukaryotes : (the second mystery in cell evolution) -- Symbionts into organelles : (mitochondria, plastids, and their kin) -- Reading the rocks : (what we can infer from geology) -- Ultimate riddle : (origin of cellular life) -- The crooked paths of cell evolution : (cell evolution is special) -- Summing up : journey without maps.

"Written in accessible language and complemented by a glossary for easy reference, this book investigates one of the most fundamental and divisive problems in biology: the origin of cells. Assuming only a basic knowledge of cell biology, Franklin M. Harold examines such pivotal subjects as the relationship between cells and genes; the central role of bioenergetics in the origin of life; the status of the universal tree of life with its three stems and viral outliers; and the controversies surrounding the last universal common ancestor. He also delves deeply into the evolution of cellular organization, the origin of complex cells, and the incorporation of symbiotic organelles, and considers the fossil evidence for the earliest life on earth. In Search of Cell History shows us just how far we have come in understanding cell evolution - and the evolution of life in general - and how far we still have to go."--Back cover.