Several years ago I wrote a blog post based on a much earlier post I originally put in a CompuServe Forum (who remembers those?). It told the story, as I then understood it, from the Big Bang to the evolution of modern humans. I called it What Makes You So Special?When I promoted it on Twitter it sent several fundies into a frothing rage but the reaction I got from the science and especially Atheist community was surprising. One person said it made her cry and she kept reading it over and over. Another said he's printed it out and given it to his grandson to read. A third said it had changed her life.
Several said I should add more detail and make a book out of it...
That idea had been gestating for several years, and had even suffered one false start. Now it is nearing fruition: I am about to publish the book!
The book is aimed at the curious; at those who want to know and understand a little more about how they got to be alive, here and now and who find mystery and magic wholly unsatisfactory answers.
We have followed your ancestors into the trees and back down again into the savannahs of East and South Africa. We have seen them learn to walk upright, grow a big brain and learn to learn and develop cultures and ethics and cooperative social groups. We have seen them diverge and spread and interbreed and populate the world.
And we have seen your ancestors win the evolutionary struggle with other humans and inherit the earth.
What Makes You So Special? takes the reader on a journey from the first 10-43 seconds of the Big Bang, through the birth of atoms, suns, supernovae and planets and so to abiogenesis, the evolution of life on Earth and the evolution of modern humans. And finally through a brief outline of the cultural histories of different people in different parts of the world.And we have seen your ancestors win the evolutionary struggle with other humans and inherit the earth.
And finally, it explains what makes you so special. This is your story through space and time and shows you how you fit in.
It is not a science text book although I hope what I say is accurate; it is an introduction to science, intended to leave the reader asking questions and wanting to know more.
It will be available soon from Amazon as a paperback or and ebook for Kindle. Price $11.50; £8.95 or €10.50
Available in the next few days!
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