1st Edition
A Most Improbable Story The Evolution of the Universe, Life, and Humankind
Preface
Introduction
Perspective Matters, But Perspective Isn’t Everything – Envisioning
Humankind’s Place in the Universe
Part I: The Making of a Habitable World
1. In the Beginning – The Genesis of the Universe
2. The Life and Death of a Star
3. The Milky Way – A Goldilocks Galaxy
4. The Galactic Cradle
5. The Inimitable Earth
Part II: The Emergence of Life From a Lifeless World
6. Let There Be Life - The Rise of the Prokaryotes
7. Evolution – The Generator of Life’s Diversity
8. The Birth of the Superkingdoms – Prokaryotes, Achaea, and
Eukaryotes
9. Partnering Up – The Journey from Single Cell Eukaryotes to
Multicellular Animals
10. The Blossoming of Terrestrial Life
11. The Emergence of Genus Homo – The Earth’s First Humans Come
Into Being
12. The Genesis of Behaviorally Modern Homo sapiens – A Cognitively
Advanced Human That Can Reflect Upon Its Existence
13. Peering into Life’s Future
Epilogue
Biography
Steven J. Theroux was Professor and Chair of the Natural Sciences department at Assumption University in Massachusetts. He currently teaches Genetics and Biology of Cancer at Harvard University and Assumption University.
