There are few stories more remarkable than the evolution of life on earth. Where did humans come from? Where did life come from? New fields of study, such as molecular biology and astrobiology, are shedding remarkable new light on the origin of life and the origin of sex.

In this Very Short Introduction Michael J. Benton covers all the main fossil groups, including dinosaurs, and the upheavals such as mass extinctions that have beset our planet and life on Earth. Benton highlights the key episodes in the evolution of life from its origin over some four billion years, to the ten million or more species today. The book ends with a consideration of humans themselves, with our ability to modify the Earth in ways that no other species has ever done, and the consequences of that power.