Life: The First Four Billion Years: The Story of Life from the Big Bang to the Evolution of Humans

Beginning with the big bang, Jenkins chronicles significant events in the formation of the universe as we know it today, including the emergence of the star that would become the Earth’s sun, the ice ages, periods of mass extinction, and expanding biodiversity. Baker-Smith’s lush, oversize spreads depict planetary events and life-forms, from early arthropods to the rhinoceroslike mammal Arsinoitherium. The story of Earth and its many species concludes with the introduction of early primates—millions of years before the arrival of humans. Throughout, Jenkins expresses the humbling truth of humanity’s relative insignificance: “Each one of us can trace our ancestors... to one of those tiny archaean cells that first began processing energy and making copies of itself nearly four billion years ago,” the author concludes. Ages 10–14. (Sept.)