{"product_id":"the-story-of-life-in-10-1-2-chapters-by-marianne-taylor","title":"The Story of Life in 10 1\/2 Chapters - By Marianne Taylor","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIf an alien visitor were to collect ten souvenir life forms to represent life on earth, which would they be? This is the thought-provoking premise of Marianne Taylor's The Story of Life in 10½ Chapters. Each life form explains a key aspect about life on Earth. From the sponge that seems to be a plant but is really an animal to the almost extinct soft-shelled turtle deemed extremely unique and therefore extremely precious, these examples reveal how life itself is arranged across time and space, and how humanity increasingly dominates that vision.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTaylor, a prolific science writer, considers the chemistry of a green plant and ponders the possibility of life beyond our world. She investigates the virus in an attempt to determine what a life form is; and wonders if the human – 'a distinct and very dominant species with an inevitably biased view of life' – could evolve in a new direction. She tells us that the giraffe was one species, but is now four; that the dusky seaside sparrow may be revived through 're-evolution', or cloning; explains the significance of Darwin's finch to evolution; and much more.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe 'half' species is artificial intelligence. Itself an experiment to understand and model life, AI is central to our future – although from the alien visitor's standpoint, unlikely to inherit the earth in the long run.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHardback\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e256 Pages\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eH 236mm x W 176mm x D 28mm\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52489902948693,"sku":null,"price":20.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0906\/4677\/4101\/files\/TheStoryofLifein121_2Chapters.jpg?v=1770395548","url":"https:\/\/www.wildfungarium.com\/products\/the-story-of-life-in-10-1-2-chapters-by-marianne-taylor","provider":"Wild Fungarium","version":"1.0","type":"link"}