a key discovery of 20th century biology

First edition of Lynn Margulis's major monograph on her groundbreaking theory of endosymbiosis. An attractive copy, scarce in such nice condition in the dust jacket.

There are two main types of cells, prokaryotic and eukaryotic. 'Prokaryotes, such as bacteria, are very small and have no nucleus or other internal organized bodies. Eukaryotes, on the other hand, such as amoeba, and every cell in our bodies, are much larger and more complicated than prokaryotes, with a nucleus and a vast assortment of internal "organelles", such as ribosomes, mitochondria and (in the case of plants) chloroplasts'. In 1967 the young biologist Lynn Margulis (1938-2011) put forward the idea that eukaryotes evolved by a process of symbiosis, 'whereby one prokaryote took permanent residence inside another, to the mutual benefit of both, gradually (over billions of years) building up more and more complicated cells' (Ashworth, Linda Hall Library, November 2024).

This was extremely controversial at the time, not least because most biologists saw competition, not co-operation, as the driving force in evolution. 'Margulis recounted how the paper was rejected by around 15 leading biology journals before being published in the Journal of Theoretical Biology in 1967. It took more than a decade, however, before she was vindicated. Today it is recognised that mitochondria [the 'powerhouses' of cells] retain traces of their original free-living existence in the form of their own characteristic DNA' (Guardian obituary, December 11, 2011).

First edition; large 8vo; frontispiece, folding plate, and illustrations throughout the text, spotting to endpapers and edges of text block, contemporary ink ownership inscription to the front free endpaper, mark from a small leaf that was previously inserted between the front endpapers; original green cloth, titles to spine in black, a very good copy in the lightly rubbed jacket with some small marks and tanning along the spine panel and edges; 349pp.