"An engrossing chronicle for readers ages 12 and older" The Wall Street Journal

How did our scientific quest to understand life begin? From the earliest questioning about the origins of life to the first use of the word virus, this compelling and informative non-fiction book for readers 12 plus unfolds the history of biology itself.

For most of human history, we haven't known the secrets of life itself. In this fascinating book, the renowned author of A History of US, Joy Hakim, takes us back through time to biology's beginnings...

Observe the inquisitive scholars of Ancient Greece and the Islamic Golden Age as they began to ask questions about how the human body works; journey to the Renaissance where Leonardo da Vinci was dissecting cadavers to uncover human anatomy; and stop in the late 1800s, where a baffled Dutch biologist found a tiny infectious particle destroying tobacco crops, which he named virus.

Discovering Life's Story: Biology's Beginnings is the first in an all-new multivolume work that follows the course of human discovery as we have worked to unlock the biological secrets of our own existence.

"Eye-catching photographs and illustrations supplement Hakim's simple but engagingly fact-rich prose, making this an ideal introductory text for any budding naturalist, scientist or doctor." Washington Post

"A work of nonfiction for adolescent readers that has the brio of an adventure story ... Abundant illustrations-maps, portraits, engravings-help keep the pace excitingly brisk." The Wall Street Journal, Best Books for Children of 2023

About the Author
Joy Hakim is the bestselling author of A History of US, a ten-volume history of the United States, which sold more than three million copies, as well as of the much-lauded The Story of Science series. She has worked as a teacher, journalist and editor, and lives in the US.

Reviews
"Nonfiction books for children about the natural sciences tend (naturally, we might say) to deal with particulars: the life cycle of the honeybee, say. In 'Biology's Beginnings,' Joy Hakim takes a fresh approach. . . . Ms. Hakim, author of the series 'A History of Us,' ranges with brio and assurance across time and across the globe as she describes the push-and-pull of armies and microbes, of popes and stargazers, of philosophers and doctors and explorers in the long and erratic acquisition of knowledge. . . . Great quantities of illustration-maps and portraits and engravings-establish a swift visual pace for this engrossing chronicle for readers ages 12 and older." * The Wall Street Journal *
Eye-catching photographs and illustrations supplement Hakim's simple but engagingly fact-rich prose, making this an ideal introductory text for any budding naturalist, scientist or doctor. * Washington Post *
A work of nonfiction for adolescent readers that has the brio of an adventure story. . . In prose that is textured, humane and spirited, Ms. Hakim describes the movements of armies and microbes, the discoveries of anatomists and astronomers, the insights of philosophers and doctors and explorers. Abundant illustrations-maps, portraits, engravings-help keep the pace excitingly brisk. * The Wall Street Journal, Best Books for Children 2023 *



Book Information
ISBN 9781529512212
Author Joy Hakim
Format Hardback
Page Count 192
Imprint Walker Books Ltd
Publisher Walker Books Ltd
Weight(grams) 740g
Dimensions(mm) 237mm * 198mm * 18mm