It is difficult to conceive of the vast scale of the history of life on Earth, from the very first living organisms that developed in hydrothermal deep-sea vents to the diversity of life today. The evolution of life is a sweeping epic of a tale, with twists and turns, surprising heroes and unlikely survivors. The Earth beautifully distills this complex story into a meaningful scale. In taking a closer look at 50 carefully selected organisms over ten epochs in our planetary history, this book tells the whole story of life on Earth.