Let's cut to the chase: What on Earth Evolved? is a most present-worthy book. Don't ask for it for yourself, as someone else is likely to pick it up, get absorbed and refuse to give it back.
It is science writing as it really should be done. Clever, well-informed, witty and interesting, and with an original and informative slant, the book identifies the 100 most influential species ever to have evolved on Earth.
Some of Christopher Lloyd's choices will infuriate, some will surprise ("algae, number 2?; lobe-finned fish, number 51? Surely not..." -- you can hear the cries), but all inform. Lloyd has astutely divided the book into 14 thematic chapters (with titles such as "Sea life", "Land Pioneers", "Beauty" and "Rivalry"), which ensures that this is much more than a list of biases decked out with scientific tinsel. This is a book to return to and dip into long after its wrapping paper has been dropped into the recycling bin.
Adrian Barnett, contributor
Perfect for: anyone from the age of 16 who has an undimmed curiosity about how the world we see is put together
Book Information:
What on Earth Evolved?: 100 species that changed the world by Christopher Lloyd
Bloomsbury, £25