Five billion years ago, this place was barely planet at all, more like a condensing cloud forming from debris that circled a fledgling star. Not a promising candidate, perhaps, for a place where eggs would one day evolve from out of the sea; be set by animals into soils, sands, canyons and mudflats; be dropped in nests wrapped in silk; hung in stick nests in trees, covered in crystallised shells or secured by placentas. And yet here we are. We owe eggs for our existence. For life on Earth today. Eggs are, quite probably, the single biggest ‘invention’ in the history of evolution. Finally, the epic story of their role in the story of life can be told.

Unveiling a captivating new outlook on Earth’s natural history, science writer and zoology correspondent Jules Howard retells our planet's grand narrative from the perspective of the animal egg. Through lyrical prose, captivating storytelling and meticulous research, Howard offers a masterful narrative that challenges our perceptions and invites introspection about our place in the story of life.