Life Ascending: The Ten Great Inventions of Evolution [Hardcover]

'This is a science book that doesn't cheat: the structure is logical, the writing is witty, and the hard questions are tackled head on'
--Guardian

'The most coherent and convincing summary of the dawn of life and of DNA that I have ever read.' --Michael Le Page, New Scientist

'With clarity and vigor Lane smoothly pulls in evidence from genetics to show how complex life could have developed.' --New York Times

'The structure is logical, the writing is witty, and the hard questions are tackled head on.' --Tim Radford, Guardian

'Wonderful... Lane does a masterful job... an elegant, fully satisfying whole.' --Starred Review, Publishers Weekly

'This is an exhilarating tour of some of the most profound and important ideas in biology.'
--New Scientist

'If Charles Darwin sprang from his grave, I would give him this fine book to bring him up to speed. It's a breathless bulletin from the accelerating rush of news about the secrets of life on planet earth.' - Matt Ridley

'Excellent and imaginative and, similar to life itself, the book is full of surprises.... Life Ascending is a fascinating book for anyone interested in life and evolution, and how these discoveries were made' - Lewis Wolpert, Nature

`A clever concept is carried through with a clarity and enthusiasm that belies the sophistication of the science' Guardian Summer Reading

How did life invent itself? Where did DNA come from? How did humans develop sight? Nick Lane draws upon the findings of powerful new research to piece together the mosaic of life's remarkable history.

Powerful new research methods are providing fresh and vivid insights into the makeup of life. Comparing gene sequences, examining the atomic structure of proteins and looking into the geochemistry of rocks have all helped to explain creation and evolution in more detail than ever before. Nick Lane uses the full extent of this new knowledge to describe the ten greatest inventions of life, based on their historical impact, role in living organisms today and relevance to current controversies. DNA, sex, sight and consciousnesses are just four examples. Lane also explains how these findings have come about, and the extent to which they can be relied upon. The result is a gripping and lucid account of the ingenuity of nature, and a book which is essential reading for anyone who has ever questioned the science behind the glories of everyday life.

'Excellent and imaginative ... full of surprises ... a fascinating book for anyone interested in life and evolution' Lewis Wolpert Nature How did life invent itself? Where does DNA come from? Why do we die? Over the last decades, groundbreaking new research has provided vivid insights into the makeup of life. Drawing on this wealth of new scientific knowledge, biochemist Nick Lane reconstructs the history of life by describing the ten greatest inventions of evolution, considering how each - from DNA to sex, from hot blood to consciousness and finally death - transformed life and often the planet itself. 'With clarity and vigor Lane smoothly pulls in evidence to show how the critical components and mechanisms of complex life could have developed' New York Times 'If Charles Darwin sprang from his grave, I would give him this fine book to bring him up to speed' Matt Ridley 'A science book that doesn't cheat: the structure is logical, the writing is witty, and the hard questions are tackled head on' Guardian --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Nick Lane studied biochemistry at Imperial College, London and is an honorary reader at University College, London. His first book, Oxygen, was one of the Sunday Times Books of the Year in 2002. His last book, Power, Sex, Suicide: Mitochondria and the Meaning of Life was named as a book of the year in The Economist in 2005 and was short-listed for The Aventis Science Book Prize and the Times Higher Young Academic of the Year Award in 2006.