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This Is Life
- Author
- Christophe Galfard
- Narrator
- Leighton Pugh
- Publisher
- Pan Macmillan
- Publish Date
- 25 June 2026
- Run Time
- 14 hours 27 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
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What to expect
'An entertaining, expert guide to the precarious, miraculous and wondrous journey to where we are now' – Dara Ó Briain
'What a fun book! Like having a chat with a friendly scientist over a coffee' – Steve Brusatte, author of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs
What is life? How did it first appear? Where else in the universe might we find it?
In This Is Life, acclaimed science communicator and Stephen Hawking’s former Ph.D. student Christophe Galfard takes you on a wonder-filled journey to look for the origins – and the meaning – of life. From how we know life must have had a beginning, to the extreme evolutionary turns that saw Earth’s species grow shields and weapons to fight wars that lasted millennia, This is Life tells the story of how the visionary discoveries of the past few decades have allowed us to understand what we, humans, and all other living organisms really are.
Through brilliant storytelling and delightful humour, Galfard makes the secrets of the living world accessible to all. This Is Life will transform the way you see the world, and your place in it.
'A gorgeous, glorious romp through the sciences' – David Tong, Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Cambridge
Critics Review
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I have rarely enjoyed clinging to life after an asteroid collision quite as much. An entertaining, expert guide to the precarious, miraculous and wondrous journey to where we are now
Dara Ó Briain
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What a fun book! Reading Christophe Galfard feels like you’re having a chat with a friendly scientist over a coffee – a chat that ends with a grand appreciation for how the physical universe enables our own existence
Steve Brusatte, bestselling author of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs
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A gorgeous, glorious romp through the sciences to address the biggest question of all: What is life? The reader is in safe hands with Christophe Galfard, whose charming, expressive writing leads you gently through some of the greatest discoveries humans have ever made
David Tong, Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Cambridge
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Fascinating, highly readable. In the tradition of the very best books of popular science, Galfard uses engaging prose, mastery of knowledge in many realms, and remarkable skills of synthesis to explain what is known about life on Earth. . . it is accomplished with the skill of an excellent storyteller
PopMatters
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I can't remember when I last enjoyed a biology book so much. Christophe Galfard brings to life with remarkable storytelling his exploration of where we come from as a species
Brian Clegg, author of The Universe Inside You
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The whole shebang of life sciences in one book, from Aristotle to mRNA vaccines. Every page is a startling revelation in who we are and what life truly is
Daniel M. Davis, author of and The Beautiful Cure
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Simple, personal, alluring, Galfard’s prose teaches as it pulls you in. A history of science that celebrates, rather than neglects, women
Dorion Sagan, author of What is Life?
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A wonderful, compelling read. Few popular science books are so unputdownable
David Beerling, author of The Emerald Planet
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With child-like curiosity, Galfard sets out to explain just about everything we know about the world and how it began, from the birth of the sun to the microbiology of our own cells. He is a marvellously irrepressible guide, the science teacher you'll wish you'd had. This hugely ambitious book reminds us of the wonderments of life
Michael Bond, author of Animate
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A thoroughly original, enjoyable read, written with much humanity and humour, Christophe Galfard's book takes the reader across eons of time from the first chemical building blocks to the emerge of the vast zoo of life on Earth we know today, capturing all the trials and challenges along the way
Charles Cockell, author of The Equations of Life
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Peppered with delightful and unexpected anecdotes . . . The editors of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy would do well to base their next entry for Earth on this book
Felix Flicker, author of The Magick of Matter
User Reviews
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Details
- Author
- Christophe Galfard
- Narrator
- Leighton Pugh
- Duration
- 14 hours 27 minutes
- Release Date
- 25 June 2026
- ISBN
- 9781529032062
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Pan Macmillan
- Genre
- Evolution / Evolutionary biology, Genetics (non-medical), Popular science
Synopsis
'An entertaining, expert guide to the precarious, miraculous and wondrous journey to where we are now' – Dara Ó Briain'What a fun book! Like having a chat with a friendly scientist over a coffee' – Steve Brusatte, author of The Rise and Fall of the DinosaursWhat is life? How did it first appear? Where else in the universe might we find it?In This Is Life, acclaimed science communicator and Stephen Hawking’s former Ph.D. student Christophe Galfard takes you on a wonder-filled journey to look for the origins – and the meaning – of life. From how we know life must have had a beginning, to the extreme evolutionary turns that saw Earth’s species grow shields and weapons to fight wars that lasted millennia, This is Life tells the story of how the visionary discoveries of the past few decades have allowed us to understand what we, humans, and all other living organisms really are.Through brilliant storytelling and delightful humour, Galfard makes the secrets of the living world accessible to all. This Is Life will transform the way you see the world, and your place in it.'A gorgeous, glorious romp through the sciences' – David Tong, Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Cambridge
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