This volume serves as the inaugural entry in an annual series designed to catalyze academic discourse and synthesize emerging theoretical frameworks within the field of evolutionary biology. Edited by R. Dawkins and M. Ridley, the collection compiles contributions from a diverse array of prominent researchers, including Lynn Margulis and Niles Eldredge. The text functions as a forum for critical review, theoretical exploration, and the examination of topical issues relevant to the biological sciences.

Experts and academics recognize this series as a foundational repository for mid-1980s evolutionary thought. Readers frequently note the high level of technical density, making it a resource primarily intended for professional biologists and researchers in related fields.