Steve Jones is professor of genetics and head of the prestigious Galton Laboratory, University College of London. Jones has previously written three trade books, with two published in the U.S.: DARWIN'S GHOST and THE LANGUAGE OF GENES. A geneticist whose specialty is snails (he did some of the most important early sex-differentiation work by studying their shells), Jones has regularly appeared as one of the top authors on THE TIMES's bestseller lists. His witty and often humorous writing compares with - and in some cases, surpasses - that of Richard Dawkins, Stephen Jay Gould, Edward O. Wilson, Jared Diamond, and Steven Pinker. His books have received outstanding reviews in the United States as well as Britain. Richard Walker is an award-winning author of books about natural history and human biology for both children and adults, including Kingfisher Knowledge: Microscopic Life. He has a Ph.D. in zoology. As a former biology teacher he has a practical understanding of the importance of accessible reference materials.