The history of everything, 13.8 billion years – from the Big Bang to the emergence of human civilization. With insight and elegance – and in record time and space – geophysicist David Bierkovits explains how everything arrived at its present form – from the creation of stars and galaxies to the formation of the Earth’s atmosphere and oceans, and from the origin of life to human civilization.

Bierkovits combines humor with the adventure of science, launching the reader almost 14 billion years back in time while intertwining the fundamental theories upon which we rely to understand disparate topics such as particle physics, plate tectonics, and photosynthesis.

This unique endeavor by Bierkovits hides a treasure of real science and captivating history, a one-of-a-kind introduction to the fields of cosmology, geology, genetics, climate science, and human evolution.

“We are star dust. David Bierkovits’ ‘pocket guide’ to the universe unravels this beautiful truth and explains what makes our planet unique. In your hands, you hold a book filled with discoveries from a different perspective.” Sean B. Carroll, author of The Serengeti Rules