A guide to the Earth from the very earliest signs of life on the rims of volcanoes, to the first appearance of man. The book ranges across many scientific disciplines, analyzing their arguments and findings, and showing readers whose the discoveries have been and whose the arguments.

Richard Fortey chronicles life's history not through the fossil record, but through the stories of organisms that have survived, almost unchanged, through geological time.

A remarkable behind-the-scenes look at the extraordinary people, meticulous research, and driving passions that make London s Natural History Museum one of the world s greatest institutions.
In an elegant and illuminating narrative, Richard Fortey takes his readers to a place where only a few privileged scientists, curators, and research specialists have been the hallowed halls that hold the permanent collection of the Natural History Museum. Replete with fossils, jewels, rare plants, and exotic species, Fortey s walk through offers an intimate view of many of the premiere scientific...