Fortey surveys the progress of life over 4 billion years, detailing the developments and kinds of organisms, as well as their effects on and reactions to an ever-changing environment. A paleonotologist himself, he illustrates the account with fossils and geology, with pleasant asides, anecdotes about other scientists and light allusions to poetry and literature. There are 4 sections of black-and-white photo plates, a glossary, reading list and index. (A diagram of the geological timeline would have helped, a strange and glaring omission.)

If that sounds like faint praise, I'm afraid it is. This feels like a long book (~350 pages): the small print and absurdly long paragraphs do the reader no favours, and I found Fortey's prose dry. More importantly, the book has no particular thesis to present: what sounds like an exciting celebration of life's diversity turns out to be a tiring parade of details.

There's nothing actually wrong with this book, nothing to take issue with. It's just a bit dull. Dawkins' The Ancestor's Tale is a much more interesting read covering similar terrain.