Winner of the Royal Society Science Book Prize
For billions of years, Earth was an inhospitably alien place—covered with churning seas, slowly crafting its landscape by way of incessant volcanic eruptions, its atmosphere in a constant state of chemical flux. And yet, despite facing literally every conceivable setback that living organisms could encounter, life on Earth has learned and adapted and continued for over four billion years. From the earliest humble slime that filled the atmosphere with oxygen; to the sponges that cleansed the oceans for other animals to live in; to the venturesome fishes with legs that sought life beyond the sea—and, by way of amazing amphibians, dramatic dinosaurs, to the thrilling and unlikely story of ourselves.
Praise for A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth
“With authority, humor, and detail, Gee, a paleontologist and senior editor of Nature, traces the progression of life on earth from its initial stirrings…readers will find this eye-opening book compelling for years to come.”–Booklist (starred review)
“Readers should be chastened at his conclusion, shared by most scientists, that Homo sapiens is making its habitat—the Earth—progressively less habitable and will become extinct in a few thousand years. Gee writes lucid, accessible prose.” –Kirkus
“This is now the best book available about the huge changes in our planet and its living creatures, over the billions of years of the Earth’s existence. Continents have merged and broken up; massive volcanic eruptions have repeatedly reset the clock of evolution; temperatures, atmospheric gases, and sea levels have undergone big swings; and new ways of life have evolved. Henry Gee makes this kaleidoscopically changing canvas of life understandable and exciting. Who will enjoy reading this book? Everybody!”
–Jared Diamond, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Guns, Germs, and Steel and Upheaval
“Don’t miss this delightful, concise, sweeping masterpiece! Gee brilliantly condenses the entire, improbable, astonishing history of life on earth―all 5 billion years―into a charming, zippy and scientifically accurate yarn. I honestly couldn’t put this book down, and you won’t either.”
–Daniel E. Lieberman, author of Exercised
“A scintillating, fast-paced waltz through four billion years of evolution, from one of our leading science writers. As a senior editor at Nature, Henry Gee has had a front-row seat to the most important fossil discoveries of the last quarter century. His poetic prose animates the history of life, from the first bacteria to trilobites to dinosaurs to us.”
–Steve Brusatte, New York Times bestselling author of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs
”My favourite book of the year and maybe the decade. Henry Gee is both brilliantly funny and brilliantly informative.” –Eric Idle, New York Times bestselling author of The Spamalot Diaries and Always Look on the Bright Side of Life
