A Brief History of Life: From the Origin of Life to the End of the Universe

Life is something we all understand. We feel it physically and emotionally. We have examined our own life internally and externally. We have examined other people's lives externally. Many of us have experienced the joy a new life brings, and the heartache the death of a loved one brings. All adults have lived longer than it takes to complete a PhD, so when it comes to the subject of life, we should all be experts. Unfortunately, despite the accumulated years of study, 'life' is a subject which has few experts, and what experts there are disagree about almost every facet of the subject. My own years of study have led me to believe we have been too close to the subject. We are so familiar with seeing life all around us that we have lost the ability to view it objectively. Life is too complex for us to put it into boxes labelled biology, chemistry, physics, etc. because it incorporates all those disciplines and more. This popular science book is an attempt to broaden our horizon by looking at life from two different perspectives. Inwardly, it examines the smallest particles from which all living things are made. Outwardly, it considers our place in the vastness of our universe.