Origins: How The Earth Made Us

Description: Why do so many of us eat cereal for breakfast? Is it because we like the taste? Or because 20 millions years ago, a certain species of plant colonised the same hospitable land that humanity did? Why is the world the way it is? If we follow chains of explanation as far back as they go - and keep asking, like a curious child, `Why? Why? But WHY?' - the answers become more and more amazing. We reach the point where history becomes science. In this ultimate origin story, Professor Lewis Dartnell investigates how the fabric and activity of our planet have governed our evolution, influenced civilisations over millennia, and continue to shape our lives today. Plate tectonics and ancient climate change, atmospheric circulation and ocean currents - Origins unravels the human story by exposing vast webs of connections that stretch deep into the past, underwrite our modern world and help us face the challenges of the future.

Review: "An original and timely way of looking at human history through the materials and natural resources that our species has employed to such effect. It should be read by everyone who ponders how long exploitation can continue on a finite planet." -- Richard Fortey "Endlessly enthralling, Lewis Dartnell explains why the history of humanity, and of human cultures, both take dictation from the deeper history of Earth herself - from broad generalities to surprisingly specific details. An entertaining and informative essay on contingency - and worthy successor to the writing of Stephen Jay Gould." -- Ted Nield

Author Biography: Lewis Dartnell is an astrobiology researcher and professor at the University of Westminster. He has won several awards for his science writing, and contributes to the Guardian, The Times and New Scientist. He has also written for television and appeared on BBC Horizon, Sky News, and Wonders of the Universe, as well as National Geographic and History channels. A tireless populariser of science, his previous books include the bestselling The Knowledge: How to Rebuild Our World from Scratch.