Life, the universe and nearly everything

Origins of life in the universe

Robert Jastrow and Michael Rampino

Cambridge: CUP 2008 | Pp394 | £24.99 | ISBN 978 0 52 153283 9

Reviewed by Geoff Brown

This book tells a scientific 'story' on the grandest scale, from the beginnings of the universe to the evolution of intelligence on Earth, all in just under 400 pages. Each topic is explained concisely and clearly in language comprehensible to the non-specialist reader, and the text is well illustrated with many original photos and excellent figures. The authors, who are respectively leaders in the fields of astronomy/planetary sciences and Earth sciences, have been careful to incorporate the latest findings from their specialities and the content is generally up to date, and particularly good in these fields.