From the Book - First edition.
i. Iconography of an expectation. Prologue in pictures
Ladder and the cone : iconographies of progress
Replaying life's tape : the crucial experiment
Inset : The meanings of diversity and disparity.
ii. Background for the Burgess Shale. Life before the Burgess : the Cambrian explosion and the origin of animals
Life after the Burgess : soft-bodied faunas as windows into the past
Setting of the Burgess shale : where [and] why : the means of preservation [and] who, when : the history of discovery.
iii. Reconstruction of the Burgess Shale : toward a new view of life. A quiet revolution
Chronology of a transformation
Inset : Taxonomy and the status of phyla
Inset : Classification and anatomy of arthropods. The Burgess drama. Act 1. Marrella and Yohoia : the dawning and consolidation of suspicion, 1971-1974. Conceptual world that Whittington faced
Yohoia : a suspicion grows. Act 2. A new view takes hold : homage to Opabinia, 1975. Act 3. The revision expands : the success of a research team, 1975-1978. Setting a strategy for a generalization
Conway Morris's field season in Walcott's Cabinets : a hint becomes a genrality, and the transformation solidifies
Derek Briggs and bivalved arthropods : the not-so-flashy but just-as-nnecessary final piece. Act 4. Completion and codification of an argument : Naraoia and Aysheaia, 1977-1978. Act 5. Maturation of a research program : life after Aysheaia, 1979-Doomsday (there are no final answers). Ongoing saga of Burgess arthropods : orphans and specialists [and] A present from Santa Claws
Continuing the march of weird wonders : Wiwaxia [and] Anomalocaris. Coda. Summary statement on the bestiary of the Burgess Shale. Disparity followed by decimation : a general statement
Assessment of genealogical relationships for Burgess organisms. Burgess Shale as a Cambrian generality. Predators and prey : the functional world of Burgess arthropods
Ecology of the Burgess fauna
Burgess as an early world-wide fauna. Two great problems of the Burgess Shale. Origin of the Burgess fauna
Decimation of the Burgess fauna.
iv. Walcott's vision and the nature of history. Basis for Walcott's allegiance to the cone of diversity. Biographical note
Mundane reason for Walcott's failure
Deeper rationale for Walcott's shoehorn : Walcott's persona [and] Walcott's general view of life's history and evolution
Burgess shoehorn and Walcott's struggle with the Cambrian explosion. Burgess Shale and the nature of history. Inset : A plea for the high status of natural history.
v. Possible worlds : the power of "just history". A story of alternatives
General patterns that illustrate contingency : The Burgess pattern of maximal initial proliferation [and] Mass extinction
Seven possible worlds : Evolution of the Eukaryotic cell [and] First fauna of multicellular animals [and] First fauna of the Cambrian explosion [and] Subsequent Cambrian origin of the modern fauna [and] Origin of terrestrial vertebrates [and] Passing the torch to mammals [and] Origin of Homo sapiens
An epilogue on P I K A I A