Conducting experiments that subject the mix of elements found near deep-ocean vents to the high temperatures and crushing pressures of those lightless depths, he hypothesizes that life may well have begun in such a place, nourished by a rich mixture of minerals and organic compounds and energized by geotectonic forces. Other scientists believe that life may have originated on Earth's surface, where ocean waves repeatedly lapped a rocky shoreline. Theories abound. But with Hazen as our guide, we are witness to the first, tentative steps towards life, then privy to the breathtaking drama that rapidly unfolds.

Genesis throws the debate over life's origins into brilliant relief, tracing the efforts of scientists all over the world as they confront nature's most enduring mystery. We are taken out of the lab and into the field to meet the key players, witness the debates, and participate in the discoveries and disappointments that are leading inexorably to a plausible explanation for the momentous beginning of life. The theory of emergence is poised to answer a multitude of questions - even as it raises the possibility that natural processes exist beyond what we now know, perhaps beyond what we even comprehend. Genesis tells the tale of transforming scientific advances in our quest for life's origins. Written with grace, beauty, and authority, it goes directly to the heart of who we are and how we got here.