The Genesis Quest by Michael Marshall

Michael Marshall is a science writer based in the UK. He has written about everything from evolutionary history and animal behaviour to climate change and natural disasters. His work has been published by the BBC, Forbes, the Observer, Nature, National Geographic, New Scientist, Spectrum and the Telegraph. His first book, "The Genesis Quest", tells the story of the ongoing struggle to understand how life began on Earth. It is at once a gripping human story and an exploration of some of the most profound ideas in modern science. Reviews: "Marshall has rounded up all the past and current thinking about this profound and puzzling question – how did life begin? – into a neat, enthralling and highly digestible package. He doesn't pretend we can answer the question, but does justice to all the key proposals so far. And if anything, his survey of potential solutions makes the appearance of life on Earth seem all the more astonishing as we examine the issue ever more closely."—Philip Ball, author of "How To Grow a Human" "Prepare yourself for a dazzling intellectual journey: the science is fascinating, the cast of characters all-too-human, and the philosophical insights deep. Written in clear and entertaining prose, like a Sherlock Holmes story, this is the best book I know for general readers about the quest to solve one of our most enduring mysteries: how and where, in a seemingly purposeless universe, life began on planet earth."—Oren Harman, coeditor of "Dreamers, Visionaries, and Revolutionaries in the Life Sciences" and "Outsider Scientists: Routes to Innovation in Biology" "'The Genesis Quest' recounts remarkable episodes in the history of attempts to scientifically understand the origin of life. Combining exceptionally clear expositions of what is scientifically at stake, distinctive humor, and a roving eye for the telling anecdote, this is anything but a tedious scientific genealogy. Marshall has a flair and talent for explaining each individual experiment and its intellectual context. 'The Genesis Quest' offers a well-done romp through some fascinating and complicated terrain."—Luis A. Campos, author of "Radium and the Secret of Life"