Shortlisted for the 2022 Royal Society Science Book Prize'Exhilaratingly whizzes through billions of years . . . Gee is a marvellously engaging writer, juggling humour, precision, polemic and poetry to enrich his impossibly telescoped account . . . [making] clear sense out of very complex narratives' - The Times'Henry Gee makes the kaleidoscopically changing canvas of life understandable and exciting. Who will enjoy reading this book? - Everybody!' Jared Diamond, author of Guns, Germs, and SteelFor billions of years, Earth was an inhospitably alien place - covered with churning seas, slowly crafting its landscape by way of incessant volcanic eruptions, the atmosphere in a constant state of chemical flux. And yet, despite facing literally every conceivable setback that living organisms could encounter, life has been extinguished and picked itself up to evolve again. Life has learned and adapted and continued through the billions of years that followed. It has weathered fire and ice. Slimes begat sponges, who through billions of years of complex evolution and adaptation grew a backbone, braved the unknown of pitiless shores, and sought an existence beyond the sea. From that first foray to the spread of early hominids who later became Homo sapiens, life has persisted, undaunted. A (Very) Short History of Life is an enlightening story of survival, of persistence, illuminating the delicate balance within which life has always existed, and continues to exist today. It is our planet like you've never seen it before. Life teems through Henry Gee's lyrical prose - colossal supercontinents drift, collide, and coalesce, fashioning the face of the planet as we know it today. Creatures are engagingly personified, from 'gregarious' bacteria populating the seas to duelling dinosaurs in the Triassic period to magnificent mammals with the future in their (newly evolved) grasp. Those long extinct, almost alien early life forms are resurrected in evocative detail. Life's evolutionary steps - from the development of a digestive system to the awe of creatures taking to the skies in flight - are conveyed with an alluring, up-close intimacy.; 336 pages; Published: 15/09/2022
FREE DELIVERY FOR ORDERS OVER £40
We aim to process and dispatch our orders within 24 hours. The orders go into our warehouse to be picked, packed and consolidated into one parcel where appropriate. Please note orders are only processed Monday-Friday.
We sometimes split orders between multiple parcels. Items from our extended range section are dispatched separately.
If any items are missing from your delivery, please allow 2 working days for the rest of your order to arrive before contacting us at sales@books2door.com
All of our books are 100% brand new, unread and purchased directly from the publishers in bulk allowing us to pass the huge savings on to you!
UK DELIVERIES
Single Books and items under 750g
Standard Delivery: £1.99 (2-4 working days)
Orders Under £40
Standard Delivery: £3.99 (2-4 working days)
Express Delivery: £5.99 (1-2 working days)
Orders between £40 and £100
Standard Delivery: Free (2-4 working days)
Express Delivery: £3.99 (reduced rate, 1-2 working days)
Orders over £100
Express Delivery: Free (1-2 working days)
These delivery times are the maximum delivery periods that a purchase can take to reach our customers. Delivery may be sooner than this. These times are an estimation, not a guarantee.
There are no deliveries on Saturdays, Sundays or Bank Holidays.
