Some time ago JC Lattes published the French-language version of A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth. That was then. It's now been joined by this mighty mini version. Just the same as the full size version.
Only smaller.
Now you can carry the whole of the history of life in your pocket.
As previously discussed I always have a great time as a guest on The Ancients, a podcast fromHistory Hit hosted by Tristan Hughes. We have always recorded each episode remotely ... until now. A few days ago I visited the studio in person so Tristan and I could explore the Cambrian Explosion for a forthcoming edition of the show. Safe to say that the Cambrian was duly exploded. Watch this space, as they say.
The translation in Vietnamese makes 26 editions in languages other than English, all thanks to the wonderful team at Pan Mac Rights who have secured 26 translated editions - at least, the official ones. There is a pirated edition in Bengali. For more about translation rights click here.
I always have a great time when Tristan Hughes invites me on to The Ancients, the podcast he hosts for History Hit. Here is a recent excerpt for an episode we did about the Age of Dinosaurs. You cn listen to the full episode here.
If you were still thinking of coming along to the official launch of The Wonder of Life on Earth at the Norwich Science Festival on Wednesday (18 February) - I'm sorry, but you can't. I'm pleased and amazed to say that it's sold out. Still lots of other things to see and do, though, and the book will be available at the Festival Bookshop.
The Wonder of Life on Earth has been spotted in the wild by Mrs H. F. of Edgefield, Norfolk, at the Norfolk Childrens' Book Centre.
Greeting me on my return from the Society of Vertebrate Palaeontology meeting in Birmingham, UK yesterday was the first actual copy of The Wonder of Life on Earth. With the lovely, rich illustrations from Raxenne Maniquiz it's a joy to behold.
It'll be published on 5 February but it's already available for pre-order, and you can find more details here.
The paperback of the French edition of A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth will be published tomorrow, 9 October. You can order it here.
A quick diary note here - once again I shall be doing my thing at the Norwich Science Festival, at 3pm on 18 February 2026. This will effectively be the official launch of The Wonder of Life on Earth, which is a retelling of the same story in A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth but completely rewritten for pre-teens and lavishly illustrated by Raxenne Maniquiz.
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 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.
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).
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