granted with permission from Diatoms to Dinosaurs: The Size and Scale of Living Things, McGowan, Chris, © Island Press, 1994. Published by Island Press, Washington, D.C. and Covelo, California
| Acknowledgements | xi |
| The Scale of Life | 3 |
| Keep the Home Fires Burning | 16 |
| Pumping Iron | 34 |
| From Cradle to Grave | 53 |
| Giants--Modern and Ancient | 71 |
| Brains: From the Massive to the Minute | 100 |
| Drag in the Material World | 123 |
| High Fliers | 146 |
| Tiffany Wings and Kite Strings | 180 |
| Drifting with the Tide: Life in the Plankton | 197 |
| Life in the Fast Lane | 217 |
| Epilogue | 244 |
| Glossary | 249 |
| Sources of Figures | 255 |
| Further Reading | 259 |
| Index | 273 |