Covering 138 billion years in some 100 pages a calculatedly concise wryly intelligent history of everything from the Big Bang to the advent of human civilization With wonder wit & flair-and in record time & space-geophysicist David Bercovici explains how everything came to be everywhere from the creation of stars & galaxies to the formation of Earth's atmosphere & oceans to the origin of life & human civilization Bercovici marries humor & legitimate scientific intrigue rocketing readers across nearly fourteen billion years & making connections between the essential theories that give us our current understanding of topics as varied as particle physics plate tectonics & photosynthesis Bercovici's unique literary endeavor is a treasure trove of real compelling science & fascinating history providing both science lovers & complete neophytes with an unforgettable introduction to the fields of cosmology geology climate science human evolution & more