Discover the story of life on our planet as you have never seen it before! The perfect gift for the curious of any age.From the first tiny bubbles of life in the ocean to the arrival of endlessly adaptable apes, this is the ultimate survival story.In 30 bite-size chapters, Nature editor and author of the award-winning A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth, Henry Gee tells the incredible, unlikely story of life on our planet, with vibrant colour i...

For 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 ic...

"Addresses an important topic for biologists and zoologists about vertebrates' place in the 'grand scheme' . . . genuinely witty and charming . . . magnificent." —Neil J. Gostling, University of SouthamptonOur understanding of vertebrate origins and the backbone of human history evolves with each new fossil find and DNA map. Many species have now had their genomes sequenced, and molecular techniques allow genetic inspection of even non-model organisms. But as longti...

"With a delightfully irascible sense of humor, Henry Gee reflects on our origin . . . an excellent primer on how—and how not—to think about human evolution." —Carl Zimmer, author of Parasite RexThe idea of a missing link between humanity and our animal ancestors predates evolution and popular science and actually has religious roots in the deist concept of the Great Chain of Being. Yet, the metaphor has lodged itself in the contemporary imagination, and new...

From Nature Editor Henry Gee comes a story of breathtaking scope and beloved characters. Spanning millions of years and the breadth of the universe, The Sigil Trilogy is an epic tale that explores the nature of humanity, belief, and love.The Universe is dying from within. No one knows how to save it, so the Elders give a young Drover a last ditch chance to stop the rot. If only she knew where to begin.Unaware of the threat to the universe, Ruxhana Fengen Kraa, Admiral of th...

The amazing Sigil Trilogy complete in one volume!From Nature Editor Henry Gee comes a story of breathtaking scope and beloved characters. Spanning millions of years and the breadth of the universe, The Sigil Trilogy is an epic tale that explores the nature of humanity, belief, and love.The Universe is dying from within. No one knows how to save it, so the Elders give a young Drover a last ditch chance to stop the rot. If only she knew where to begin.Unaware of the t...

Horrific bereavement has forced Detective Inspector Persephone Sheepwool to leave London and make a new life on the remote North Norfolk coast. But horror is never far behind, as she discovers when a body is found at a museum in a decaying clifftop mansion whose shadowy staff is dedicated to discovering the secrets of the sea. Investigating the death, Sheepwool finds that some secrets are probably best left submerged. Trouble is, even the most deeply submerged secrets have a nasty way of o...

A marvellously engaging writer' – The TimesFrom the winner of the 2022 Royal Society Science Book Prize, a thrilling and thought-provoking account of the rise and fall of humankind.For the first time in over ten millennia, the rate of human population growth is slowing down. The global population is forecast to begin declining in the second half of this century, and in 10,000 years’ time, our species will likely be extinct.In The Decline and Fall of the...

A marvellously engaging writer' – The TimesFrom the winner of the 2022 Royal Society Science Book Prize, a thrilling and thought-provoking account of the rise and fall of humankind.For the first time in over ten millennia, the rate of human population growth is slowing down. The global population is forecast to begin declining in the second half of this century, and in 10,000 years’ time, our species will likely be extinct.In The Decline and Fall of the...

This book brings together 97 short stories that seek to answer the question 'what will the future look like?' First published in the leading science journal Nature, these 900-word tales come from scientists, journalists and many of the most famous SF writers in the world.Initially published in book form as Futures from Nature, this is the first time this collection has been available as an eBook. A unique blend of satires, vignettes, fictional book reviews, science...

Book Two of Henry Gee's incredible Sigil Trilogy!The Brethren of a remote and lonely monastery are preparing for the Apparition of the Goddess, a festival that happens once every 2,058,416 years. But will the Goddess arrive in time to save them from an apparition of an altogether more hostile kind?Mr Haraddzjin Khorare, Trader in Textiles from the Very Great and Ancient City of Axandragór, is on a routine business trip. But when his vessel is attacked by pirates, his advent...

The concluding volume of Henry Gee's incredible Sigil Trilogy!The Universe is still dying from within and the young Drover tasked with stopping the rot is still racing against time.For fifty years, former textile merchant Mr Haraddzjin Khorare has been Chancellor of a Kingdom unequalled in brutality. And it's about to get a whole lot worse.Dogfinger is a boy orphaned when his village is razed by Stoners. One day, he knows, the time will come for revenge.Domi...