Life Ascending by Nick Lane

Ten great inventions of evolution. It's hard to say there are only ten but Lane makes a good selection. Perhaps the most informative for me (and it certainly post dates my university career in terms of what I learnt there) is the compelling arguments about deep sea thermal vents providing exactly the right combination of physical contexts for organic and then biological cells to arise. It was delightful to me (as I'd previously harboured some scepticism about the idea) to have the science so clearly laid out.

I was also thrilled with the chapters on warm blood, photosynthesis and death - all of which presented difficult subjects in a clear, concise way. Lane achieves his explanations without giving up too much of the hard detail although I don't think he gets bogged down in the technicalities at all.

Perhaps some clearer sign posting of speculative science would have been good - the sections on consciousness for instance were highly speculative and, because they were cogently argued, needed a sign post warning the reader not to take them as gospel.

I wonder if this is an accessible book for someone without a science back ground. That's not a criticism from me by the way - I liked that it was somewhat joyful in its presentation of the unvarnished facts but I'd understand if it meant people were put off.

I'm not sure why originally I picked this one up - probably because I know I'm ageing and forgetting as much as I ever knew as the years go by, but also because well written and passionately told explanations of the world as it was, is and will be are as exciting as any novel or poem.

I can't quite recommend it though. Yes, I think everyone should be educated about evolution but this book is not for the lay reader - it's not going to give you a helping hand in understanding the difference between archaea and eukaryotes...