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The Tree of Life: Solving Science's Greatest Puzzle
Taking readers inside one of science’s most ambitious projects, a leading evolutionary biologist offers a definitive portrait of life’s family tree.
Are humans really fish? Why are we the only animals with chins? How much of our DNA do we share with the trillions of bacteria in our bodies? For centuries, scientists have chased the secrets of how life on our planet arose, how it assumed its dazzling diversity of forms, and how we humans are related to everything else on earth. With increasingly sophisticated genetic methods now bringing us ever closer to answers, leading evolutionary biologist Max Telford takes us inside one of science’s greatest quests. In the intellectually thrilling The Tree of Life, Telford shows how reconstructing the web of relationships between all our planet’s species, from birds and butterflies to mushrooms and moose, allows us to unravel the epic history of life on our planet.
In Telford’s hands, the many-branched evolutionary trees that biologists assemble—from Charles Darwin’s first sketches to the vast computer-generated diagrams scientists are building today—become time machines that take us on a vivid journey through four billion years of life’s history. We meet long-lost ancestors, picturing them in the environment of a much younger earth, and discover where we first acquired our backbones and nipples and, conversely, where we lost our tails. We learn how insects are “actually” crustaceans, and how dogs and wolves are more closely related to whales than to the recently extinct Tasmanian wolves they so resemble. Far from a dry representation of the dead, the tree of life is a living, shifting thing that constantly alters our perspective on the past, present, and future of life on earth.
For any reader fascinated by evolution and natural history, The Tree of Life is an essential portal to the distant past and a window onto our collective origins.
Are humans really fish? Why are we the only animals with chins? How much of our DNA do we share with the trillions of bacteria in our bodies? For centuries, scientists have chased the secrets of how life on our planet arose, how it assumed its dazzling diversity of forms, and how we humans are related to everything else on earth. With increasingly sophisticated genetic methods now bringing us ever closer to answers, leading evolutionary biologist Max Telford takes us inside one of science’s greatest quests. In the intellectually thrilling The Tree of Life, Telford shows how reconstructing the web of relationships between all our planet’s species, from birds and butterflies to mushrooms and moose, allows us to unravel the epic history of life on our planet.
In Telford’s hands, the many-branched evolutionary trees that biologists assemble—from Charles Darwin’s first sketches to the vast computer-generated diagrams scientists are building today—become time machines that take us on a vivid journey through four billion years of life’s history. We meet long-lost ancestors, picturing them in the environment of a much younger earth, and discover where we first acquired our backbones and nipples and, conversely, where we lost our tails. We learn how insects are “actually” crustaceans, and how dogs and wolves are more closely related to whales than to the recently extinct Tasmanian wolves they so resemble. Far from a dry representation of the dead, the tree of life is a living, shifting thing that constantly alters our perspective on the past, present, and future of life on earth.
For any reader fascinated by evolution and natural history, The Tree of Life is an essential portal to the distant past and a window onto our collective origins.
320 pages, Hardcover
Published November 11, 2025
32 people are currently reading
306 people want to read
About the author
Max Telford
2 books3 followersMax Telford is an evolutionary biologist at University College London. He has received an EMBO Young Investigator award, the Linnean Society Bicentenary Medal, and a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit award. He lives in London.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
May 3, 2025
Examining the biological relationships that connect humans to everything from birds to bacteria, and our millennia-long quest to make sense of how Earth's organisms are related, THE TREE OF LIFE narrates its subject in accessible, amusing language, with asides mentioning how Mendeleev's life "reads like a Dostoyevsky novel" or the author's own mistakes in the laboratory enlivening this topic. I was also impressed by Telford's ability to explicate technical concepts in straightforward language, such as a breakdown of the principle of parsimony that gets its point across in a few paragraphs and a diagram.
However, the episodic nature of this book, with each chapter typically honing in on one biological case study or question that relates to the wider topic of Earth's genetic tree of life, means that I sometimes lost the thread of Telford's analysis between chapters. I wonder if a clearer sense of the book's logic could have been created by capping each chapter off with a mini-conclusion, indicating how it feeds into the wider questions of the book or links with the preceding or succeeding chapter.
However, the episodic nature of this book, with each chapter typically honing in on one biological case study or question that relates to the wider topic of Earth's genetic tree of life, means that I sometimes lost the thread of Telford's analysis between chapters. I wonder if a clearer sense of the book's logic could have been created by capping each chapter off with a mini-conclusion, indicating how it feeds into the wider questions of the book or links with the preceding or succeeding chapter.
May 23, 2025
I thought this book was fantastic, accessible to those like me with not much of a science background. I learnt so much!
July 2, 2025
momentami fascynująca, dużo częściej niezrozumiała, zdecydowanie bardziej naukowa niż popularnonaukowa
August 5, 2025
This was an extremely interesting book, although I can’t say that it was an easy read for me; I think I was coming to it about 55 years too late. I struggled with the scientific language, although I appreciate that the author did a great job of making the concepts of evolutionary biology as accessible as possible for the lay reader. His style was engaging and at times amusing, and I appreciated the personal touches about his own research. This gave an insight into the controversies and academic disagreements that added a human touch to the book, especially around the chapter ‘The Diet of Worms’, where the author describes ‘the story of…the acoelomorphs and Xenoturbella…where I will indulge myself by talking about these and some lesser-known worms that have been my passion for more than thirty years.’
I doubt I will be able to retain much of the scientific information, but there is also a good deal of interesting history of the development of the study of evolution and the impact of genetics. The most impressive aspect I do take from this read is timescales; when you come to a chapter entitled ‘The first three billion years’ it does take the breath away, especially when compared to the traditional estimate of human lifespan as three score years and ten. Then there are the aspects of scale in the size of the organisms being researched, and our ability to examine microscopic forms of life. And again, on the question of the number of species in existence today:-
‘Conservatively…at least 8 million species alive today are unknown to us - the great majority in fact.’
Finally I suppose what made the most impact for me was the philosophical aspect of evolution: from page 203 of the hardback edition:-
‘The humbling reality is that evolution has no aim; the evolution of humans had no inevitability at all, and our path up the tree could have been snuffed out on a billion different occasions…on the vast scale of the tree of life, our species is a single leaf, a very recent arrival, and one that may not be around for long.’ Hence Shelley in ‘Ozymandias’
“ ‘Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair !’
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”
And finally, from the last chapter ‘Unknown Unknowns and the end of the affair’ - ‘We can make one safe prediction, however: the only real certainty for the future of the tree of life on earth is that it will one day stop growing.’ But after all, what a tree it is!
I doubt I will be able to retain much of the scientific information, but there is also a good deal of interesting history of the development of the study of evolution and the impact of genetics. The most impressive aspect I do take from this read is timescales; when you come to a chapter entitled ‘The first three billion years’ it does take the breath away, especially when compared to the traditional estimate of human lifespan as three score years and ten. Then there are the aspects of scale in the size of the organisms being researched, and our ability to examine microscopic forms of life. And again, on the question of the number of species in existence today:-
‘Conservatively…at least 8 million species alive today are unknown to us - the great majority in fact.’
Finally I suppose what made the most impact for me was the philosophical aspect of evolution: from page 203 of the hardback edition:-
‘The humbling reality is that evolution has no aim; the evolution of humans had no inevitability at all, and our path up the tree could have been snuffed out on a billion different occasions…on the vast scale of the tree of life, our species is a single leaf, a very recent arrival, and one that may not be around for long.’ Hence Shelley in ‘Ozymandias’
“ ‘Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair !’
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”
And finally, from the last chapter ‘Unknown Unknowns and the end of the affair’ - ‘We can make one safe prediction, however: the only real certainty for the future of the tree of life on earth is that it will one day stop growing.’ But after all, what a tree it is!
June 22, 2025
A fascinating, witty, and crystal-clear tour through animal evolution
The Tree of Life by Max Telford is an outstanding, entertaining introduction to how biologists unravel the evolutionary relationships among animals. From our microbial ancestors to the rise of apes, Telford guides us through billions of years of diversification — not as a straight line, but as a branching, growing tree.
What makes this book special is its clarity and nuance. Telford avoids the trap of telling a “march of progress” story. Instead, he presents evolution as a dynamic process, where species split and diversify over time. He’s refreshingly honest when discussing controversies (especially those he’s personally involved in), and he explains scientific methods — from comparative anatomy to genome analysis — in a way that’s accessible and compelling.
The writing is fluid, full of great examples, occasional British wit, and always grounded in solid science. I learned a lot and enjoyed it thoroughly. Whether you’re new to evolutionary biology or have a background in the field, this is a highly recommended read that delivers both depth and clarity.
If you’re curious about how scientists uncover the relationships among animals, and how life evolved into its incredible diversity — this is the book for you.
The Tree of Life by Max Telford is an outstanding, entertaining introduction to how biologists unravel the evolutionary relationships among animals. From our microbial ancestors to the rise of apes, Telford guides us through billions of years of diversification — not as a straight line, but as a branching, growing tree.
What makes this book special is its clarity and nuance. Telford avoids the trap of telling a “march of progress” story. Instead, he presents evolution as a dynamic process, where species split and diversify over time. He’s refreshingly honest when discussing controversies (especially those he’s personally involved in), and he explains scientific methods — from comparative anatomy to genome analysis — in a way that’s accessible and compelling.
The writing is fluid, full of great examples, occasional British wit, and always grounded in solid science. I learned a lot and enjoyed it thoroughly. Whether you’re new to evolutionary biology or have a background in the field, this is a highly recommended read that delivers both depth and clarity.
If you’re curious about how scientists uncover the relationships among animals, and how life evolved into its incredible diversity — this is the book for you.
November 17, 2025
I absolutely loved The Tree of Life and would urge all to read it. As a non-expert, I was somewhat daunted by the subject matter but the author makes complex material wonderfully accessible, and his enthusiasm for his work is deeply infectious. I was completely gripped by the Tree of Life's narrative tracking human and all animal life back to common ancestors across the history of planet earth. This is an important book: like all excellent science writers, the author has gifted his reader the chance to understand four billion years of evolutionary biology in a way which may have felt out of reach to a layperson. And, incredibly, he is laugh-out-loud funny while doing so.
A beautifully thought through and well-constructed account of how all life on earth is connected (and why worms are important!). It deserves a wide audience.
A beautifully thought through and well-constructed account of how all life on earth is connected (and why worms are important!). It deserves a wide audience.
December 11, 2025
A bit of a disappointment. Perhaps this results from my ignorance of the complexity involved in the author’s research and subsequent thesis. I think this book could have been much better written and subsequently easier to follow had Dr Telford relied upon a ghost writer to convey his philosophical ideas. It also appeared to be chock full of assumptions that if a reader were not careful could presume that the author is presenting scientific fact instead of philosophical assumptions. E.g. the idea of LUCA was intriguing but lacking in valid/reliable hypothesis testing?
May 23, 2025
Fantastic time-travel journey to the origin of life! Entertaining and enlightening, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this well-written book. Clearly the result of an impressive amount of research, yet skillfully delivered in an accessible way to the non-scientific reader. Well done and highly recommended to any reader with an interest in the topic, from the age of 10 and up.
September 2, 2025
Anybody with an interest in evolution will find this book invaluable. The author guides the reader through eons of evolution, from amoebas to humans, noting the links between all species, large and small, in straightforward terms that any layman can understand. Probably the most fascinating book on evolution I have ever read.
October 12, 2025
I enjoyed this book. The history of science aspect was great, along with the conversational tone, good explanations including the use of analogies, and the great pacing. I loved the author’s journey and some of the anecdotes had me laughing. The tone was highly conversational and this was a fun read. Thank you to Edelweiss and W. W. Norton for the digital review copy.
November 11, 2025
The book was brilliant! The topic is very close to my own field of work, yet I still found myself learning so much from its historical context, examples, and analogies. It makes complex genomic and evolutionary ideas both accessible and engaging, encouraging experts and non-experts alike to pause, see things differently, and feel able to explain them to others.
November 17, 2025
a bit too dry
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews