The Universal History of Us

A COMPLETE, UNCOMPLICATED GUIDE TO THE SCIENCE OF LIFE, THE UNIVERSE AND EVERYTHING

‘Most scientists know only their own field. Tim Coulson is at home with science as an integrated whole. A pleasure to read, and a lasting accomplishment’ Richard Dawkins

'Step aside Star Wars – ours is the most astonishing origin story you’ll ever hear and its beautifully told by Tim Coulson’ Professor Ken Norris, Deputy Director of Science at the Natural History Museum

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Have you ever wondered why you exist?

What had to happen for you – and all life on Earth – to come into being?

What is the true answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything?

In The Universal History of Us, Tim Coulson – Professor of Zoology at Oxford – takes us back to the beginning of everything: the Big Bang 13.8 billion years ago. From there, he leads us step by step along the path to the most astonishing thing we have yet encountered – the staggering complexity of the modern human mind.

Covering physics, astronomy, chemistry, geology, the emergence of life, evolution, consciousness and the rise of humankind, yet written to be understood by anyone with a child’s curiosity, this book takes the biggest story of all and tells it simply, grippingly and, above all, entertainingly.

It is the history of you, me and everything – of how we all came to be. In short, it is the greatest story ever told.

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'A highly readable and super enjoyable book . . . that takes us on a free-spirited intellectual romp through every aspect of what we know about our universe’ Peter Hudson FRS Willaman Professor of Biology at Penn State

'A charming, engaging and erudite account' David Christian, author of New York Times bestseller Origin Story (2018)

‘A gangbuster science book. A can't-put-down read. I don't think I have learned more from a single book' Douglas W. Smith, Former Senior Wildlife Biologist, Yellowstone National Park

‘Exceptional. A highly infectious read. From the first page I found it impossible to put down’ Professor Baroness Kathy Willis, Professor of Biodiversity, University of Oxford

‘Achieves something almost impossible, lucid explanation without dumbing down . . . can read this for fun and accidentally you will know as much general science as any Professor’ James H Naismith FRS FRSE FMedSci MAE, Head of the Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division at Oxford, Professor of Structural Biology

‘With wit, wisdom and humility. The prose is of a perfect weight, and an absolute joy to read’ Sunetra Gupta, Professor of Theoretical Epidemiology at the University of Oxford

‘Will appeal to a broad variety of readers and inspire new generations of scientists for years to come' Quentin Paynter