The Beginning brings an incredible story to life: the most astonishing history of the Universe. It is the story of who we are, where we are, and how we came to be here. It is the story of life itself. Beautifully illustrated throughout, and containing a wealth of factual information to complement extraordinary narrative, The Beginning will take you on a journey of wonder: from alien landscapes to "upside-down" continents, violent collisions, and mass...

"The acclaimed author of In Search of Schrödinger's Cat searches for life on other planetsAre we alone in the universe? Surely amidst the immensity of the cosmos there must be other intelligent life out there. Don't be so sure, says John Gribbin, one of today's best popular science writers. In this fascinating and intriguing new book, Gribbin argues that the very existence of intelligent life anywhere in the cosmos is, from an astrophysicist's point...

"It has taken billions of years for Earth to become the planet it is today. When Planet Earth Was New looks back to the very beginning, using a poetic approach grounded in scientific fact to give an overview of how the planet has changed over time: from hot lava to the formation of oceans to the evolution of living things in water and on land. The book also includes the relatively recent evolution of humans - who are just a tiny speck in the sweep...

"A rhyming, nonfiction picture book about how dinosaurs evolved into birds"--

Host Neil deGrasse Tyson will tackle one of science's major challenges in each episode, framed as a simple question that ordinary people wonder and worry about. Neil will guide us as he explores dramatic discoveries and the frontiers of research that connect each central, provocative mystery. Episode includes: Origins of life: Scientists have long argued that billions of years ago, life emerged on its own, from the self-assembly of non-living matter,...

The more we study the world around us, the more living things we discover every day. The planet is full of millions of species of plants, birds, animals, and microbes, and every single one including us is part of a big, beautiful, complicated pattern. When humans interfere with parts of the pattern, by polluting the air and oceans, taking too much from the sea, and cutting down too many forests, animals and plants begin to disappear. What sort of...

"Randall shares with us the latest findings--established and speculative--regarding the nature and role of dark matter and the origin of the Universe, our galaxy, our Solar System, and life, along with the process by which scientists explore new concepts"--Amazon.com. "Sixty-six million years ago, an object the size of a city descended from space to crash into Earth, creating a devastating cataclysm that killed off the dinosaurs, along with three-quarters...

After an event at which futurist Edmond Kirsch is to announce a groundbreaking discovery erupts into chaos, Robert Langdon rushes to Barcelona to locate a cryptic password that will reveal Kirsch's secret before it is lost forever.