Full name: The History of Life: A Very Short Introduction

Author: Michael J. Benton Year: 2008 Rank: Rating: Original Rating: Pop Rating: Genres/categories: Science, History, Non Fiction Purchase/reserch links: LibraryThing Goodreads Amazon ISBNs: 9780199226320 0199226326

There are few stories more remarkable than the evolution of life on earth. This Very Short Introduction presents a succinct guide to the key episodes in that story - from the very origins of life four million years ago to the extraordinary diversity of species around the globe today. Beginning with an explanation of the controversies surrounding the birth of life itself, each following chapter tells of a major breakthrough that made new forms of life possible: including sex and multicellularity, hard skeletons, and the move to land. Along the way, we witness the greatest mass extinction, the first forests, the rise of modern ecosystems, and, most recently, conscious humans. Introducing ideas from a range of scientific disciplines, from evolutionary biology and earth history, to geochemistry, palaeontology, and systematics, Michael Benton explains how modern science pieces the evidence in this vast evolutionary puzzle together, to build up an accessible and up-to-date picture of the key developments in the history of life on earth. Similar books: When Life Nearly Died by Michael J. Benton Horseshoe Crabs and Velvet Worms by Richard Fortey The Story of Life in 25 Fossils by Donald R. Prothero Life by Richard Fortey Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin Wonderful Life by Stephen Jay Gould Prehistoric Life by DK The Crucible of Creation by Simon Conway Morris Cradle of Life by J. William Schopf The Tangled Tree by David Quammen Evolution by Brian Charlesworth The Ancestor's Tale by Richard Dawkins Evolution by James A. Shapiro At the Water's Edge by Carl Zimmer Life Ascending by Nick Lane Human Evolution by Bernard Wood The Code Book by Simon Singh The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan The Gene by Siddhartha Mukherjee A Man on the Moon by Andrew Chaikin