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The Wonder of Life on Earth

A beautifully illustrated story of our planet, evolution and you, by the winner of the Royal Society Science Book Prize
By Henry Gee
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Brief Description
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... Read More
Format: Hardback
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An astonishing, beautifully illustrated nonfiction book telling the story of 4.6 billion years of life on planet Earth, from the winner of the Royal Society Science Book Prize.

A fascinating illustrated gift nonfiction book telling the gripping story of 4.6 billion years of life on planet Earth, written by an editor of the world-renowned science journal Nature.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

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 illustrations from Raxenne Maniquiz.

The Wonder of Life on Earth packs billions of years of evolution into one amazing 80-page book, journeying through disasters, evolutionary oddities, and a planet shaped by supervolcanoes, toxic air, and asteroids—always focusing on the most pivotal, important moments.

Talented botanical illustrator Raxenne Maniquiz brings to life a parade of strange and marvellous creatures. Travel back in time to look inside bacteria and the first cells, to the planet's first trees and plants, to the weird rangeomorphs, and on to armoured fishes, dinosaurs, nimble mammals, and resourceful apes and primates.

Henry's gripping narrative makes it easy to understand the carbon cycle, natural selection, fossilisation and the galactic fluctuations that have shaped our planet and the life on its surface.

Complete with a glossary, a timeline and a view into the future, this astonishing and readable natural history is perfect for younger readers and anyone looking for an accessible introduction to the biggest topic around: LIFE.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781035024247

Publisher: Pan Macmillan

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 05 February 2026

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Pan Books

Contributors:

  • Illustrated by Raxenne Maniquiz

Audience: Children

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 15.0mm

Width: 258.0mm

Height: 308.0mm

Weight: 664g

Pages: 80

Collections

Children's Books Children’s, Teenage and Educational Henry Gee

About the Author

Dr Henry Gee was born in 1962. He was educated at the universities of Leeds and Cambridge. For more than three decades he has been a writer and editor at the international science journal Nature. He is the author of A Very Short History of Life on Earth, winner of the Royal Society Science Book Prize 2022. His previous books include The Accidental Species: Misunderstandings of Human Evolution; Across The Bridge: Understanding the Origin of the Vertebrates; Deep Time: Cladistics, the Revolution in Evolution; Jacob's Ladder: The History of the Human Genome; The Science of Middle-Earth, The Decline and Fall of the Human Empire and (with Luis V. Rey) A Field Guide to Dinosaurs. In 2022 he won the Royal Society Science Book Prize for A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth, which has been published in over 25 languages. He lives in Cromer, Norfolk, with his family and numerous pets. Raxenne Maniquiz is a graphic designer and illustrator from the Philippines. Her work depicts images of native botanicals and endemic species from her country, appearing in brand campaigns, product packaging, apparel design, stationery, and published materials for companies such as Adobe and Bloomberg. In 2021, she won the prestigious Young Gun award-an international, portfolio-based competition that identifies and celebrates today's vanguard of young creatives.

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