It is an irony, though, that his adopted country is the one place in the developed world where the neoDarwinian explanations that he and his colleagues created are not the commonplace of the schoolbooks, and where many people prefer to cling to the campfire tales of Genesis, rather than face the awesome thesis that Mr Mayr helped to elucidate.

ECONOMIST: Obituary

It is an intriguing thesis, though unfortunately one that the authors fail to elaborate on in a book rather longer on questions than it is on answers.

ECONOMIST: France's next president