A Turkish Delight

 A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth is available to read in Turkish from Yeditepe.

The Shape of Life

I've long been a fan of Alaskan artist Ray Troll, so imagine my pleasure when I was asked to guest on his PaleoNerds podcast (which you can find here). And more than that -- Ray asked me to script and narrate an animation called the Tree of Life, which is now online here: 

It's part of an education resource called the Shape of Life, a new resource for students and teachers of evolutionary biology. Dig in!

On The Bright Side of Life

It's always a thrill to get a celebrity endorsement, especially as they don't happen very often, so I am unreasonably tickled with a review of A (Very) Short &c &c in the book blog of Eric Idle. Just mosey over to his reading blog, or, for the hard of scrolling, read this: 

My favourite book of the year and maybe the decade. Henry Gee is both brilliantly funny and brilliantly informative. So many times I found myself saying out loud “Oh my gawd” as some fact or information came at me. We are not the end of evolution. We are not even the summit of it. We are mistaken about our place in the incredible and very long evolution and continuous breaking of new life forms on earth. I shall read this book again and again. You might find the early chapters a little dense because there are so many monocellular Latin forms of life. Don’t be afraid to skip, move forward, the story gets better and better with incredible chapters on animal life and the evolution of mammals. Learn your place in the Universe, which is both incredible and unlikely and puny. 

This has to be the apotheosis of my zenith this week. Especially as he says my book is 'brilliantly funny'. Now, that's a compliment and a half.

Review and Interview in Estado de Minas (Brazil)

Here's a review and an interview in Estado de Minas, a paper from Belo Horizonte in Brazil, home of, among other things, the terrific heavy metal band Sepultura. Enjoy! (in Portuguese).

Canterbury Festival

I'll be doing my thing at the Canterbury Festival on 30 October. Find all the details here.

The Wonder of Life on Earth, Coming 2026

One of the criticisms of A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth was that it lacked illustrations of the many creatures mentioned therein. To fill what seems to be a yawning chasm I'm pleased to announce that there will be an illustrated version, aimed at younger readers (9-11 years). It'll be called The Wonder of Life on Earth. The text is all-new, and it's currently being illustrated by Raxenne Maniquiz. Click here to get a flavour of her wonderfully rich natural history art. It's available for preorder, so put it in your Christmas shopping order ... for 2026.

Today's Featured Bookstore is...

 ... Jarrolds in Cromer. Where I live. Thanks Jarrolds for supporting local authors!