In the Blink of an Eye by Andrew Parker, Free Press, £18.99, ISBN 0743219805 Reviewed by Douglas Palmer
THE Cambrian explosion, sometimes called the “big bang” in animal evolution, was “perhaps the most dramatic event in the history of life”, says Andrew Parker, when “all the major animal groups found today evolved”. He tries to pin down its cause in his book In the Blink of an Eye. It happened “precisely 543 million years ago”. According to Parker, “544 million years ago there were…three animal phyla…but at 538 million years ago there were 38.” Sounds dramatic alright, but Parker will have more than a few palaeontologists choking on their cornflakes.…
