The theory of evolution by natural selection did not at all arise out of nothing and immediately in its final form in the head of Charles Darwin. The idea of evolution in various versions has been expressed since Antiquity, and even the process of natural selection, Darwin's key contribution to the explanation of the origin of species, was vaguely guessed by several predecessors and contemporaries of the great Briton. One of these contemporaries, Alfred Russel Wallace, saw it no less clearly than Darwin himself. Since then, work on understanding the mechanisms of evolution has also not stopped for a minute - many generations of geneticists and molecular biologists have taken care of this. But apples did not stop falling from the trees when Einstein improved Newton’s theory, and living beings will not stop evolving when someone will improve Darwin's theory (which - spoiler alert - has already happened). So this book is not really about the origins of evolution, but about the history of our ideas about evolution, but such a book title would not be so catchy. None of this in any way detracts from the merits of Darwin himself in explaining how evolution affects individual individuals and entire species. Having first become acquainted with this theory, “Darwin’s bulldog” himself, Thomas Henry Huxley, exclaimed: “How stupid it was not to think of this!” But everyone is strong in hindsight, and being the first to clearly formulate a thought that seems to lie on the surface is a very difficult task. Another achievement of Darwin is that, unlike Wallace, he was able to present the theory of evolution in a form understandable to mere mortals. He undoubtedly deserves his fame as the discoverer of evolution by natural selection, but we hope that, after reading this book, you will agree that his contribution is only a link in a long chain, one end of which goes back to hoary antiquity and continues to be forged in our time. The most scientific the understanding of evolution continues to evolve as we enter the third decade of the 21st century. Darwin and Wallace were right about the role of natural selection, but the flexibility associated with epigenetic regulation of gene expression gives complex organisms a kind of wiggle room in case of disaster.