Edward O. Wilson, one of the world’s greatest naturalists, takes us on a tour through time, from life’s earliest beginnings to the current crisis of human-driven extinction. He leads us through the natural world, explaining how species evolve, adapt and colonise to create the astonishing variety of plants and creatures we see around us. Wilson writes with passion about the beauty and science of nature – from flycatchers to great white sharks, from rainforests to deep ocean trenches – and shows us why the threat to biodiversity today is beyond the scope of anything we have known before. He identifies the crisis in countless ecosystems around the globe – coral reefs, grasslands, polar icecaps and other habitats – and presents a brilliant strategy for halting the extinction of the world’s species. The result is a remarkable fusion of scientific authority and environmental evangelism.