Popular Science

Planet Earth is 4.5 billion years old. In just a fraction of that time, one species among countless others has conquered it. Us. We are the most advanced and most destructive animals ever to have lived. What makes us brilliant? What makes us deadly?

This book answers all of life's big questions and more. An amazing account of our incredible lives - from insignificant atoms to sophisticated space explorers.

Sapiens showed us where we came from. Homo Deus shows us where we're going. This book explores the projects, dreams and nightmares that will shape the twenty-first century - from overcoming death to creating artificial life. It asks questions: Where do we go from here? And how will we protect this fragile world from our own destructive powers?

Escaping to Planet B to avoid environmental catastrophe is pure fantasy. This book is for anyone who yearns for a realistic alternative to the destructive path the world is on at the moment, and wants practical advice on how they can make things better.

A Dubray Staff Recommended Read **FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE MILLION COPY BESTSELLER SAPIENS**

Plate tectonics and ancient climate change, atmospheric circulation and ocean currents - Origins unravels the human story by exposing vast webs of connections that stretch deep into the past, underwrite our modern world and help us face the challenges of the future.

Will a computer ever compose a symphony, write a prize-winning novel, or paint a masterpiece? And if so, would we be able to tell the difference?

SHORTLISTED FOR THE ROYAL SOCIETY SCIENCE BOOK PRIZE 2018 Bestselling author Simon Winchester writes a magnificent history of the pioneering engineers who developed precision machinery to allow us to see as far as the moon and as close as the Higgs boson.