How did life begin? What is the theory of evolution and is it proven? Are we really descended from apes? And has evolution stalled or is humanity just a step on the way to more advanced forms of life? Through 200 mini-essays, expert palaeontologist Darren Naish answers these and many other fundamental questions on the most controversial topic of all. From the theories of Charles Darwin and the Survival of the Fittest to cutting-edge research on consciousness and artificial life, he explains where we came from, how we became human, and what might happen to us next. Immense in scope, and with 200 informative images and diagrams, Evolution in Minutes concisely covers the concepts, rival theories, history and politics of evolution, as well as explaining the development of life across deep time as revealed by the fossil record, from the earliest bacteria via dinosaurs and Neanderthals to humankind ? and beyond.