This is the epic story of life on Earth, uniquely retold through someof the most significant fossils ever found. The book travels through 3.5 billion years of Earth's history and across all seven continents, showcasing the unusual and wonderful creatures that have played a pivotal role in our evolutionary past. Microbe-like structures in Australian rocks reveal what may be the earliest fossils of life on Earth, tiny Triassic snails demonstrate the effects of past mass extinctions, and the remains of our own ancestors tell us where we came from. Epic tales of survival and migration, evolution and destruction are hidden in the buried remains of animals and plants that lived long ago. The fossils have been selected from the renowned collections of the two premier natural history museums in the world, London's Natural History Museum and the Smithsonian Institution, Washington. Each fossil is beautifully illustrated with photographs to bring this unique story to life.