Why are rabbits rabbit-shaped? Once blue-tits began pecking the tops off milk bottles, why did the habit spread magically across Europe? After Roger Bannister ran the four-minute mile, why did it begin to be broken everywhere?

In THE PRESENCE OF THE PAST Rupert Sheldrake's explosive scientific theory provides a new and radical solution to the conundrums of life. Dr Sheldrake's hypothesis is that memory is inherent in nature - all natural systems from crystals to man inherit a collective memory of their kind.