The Book of Life, now in its second edition, provides nothing less than it promises in its title: a detailed account of the history of life on earth over the last four billion years. J John Seposki Jr, Michael Benton, Christine Janis, Christopher Stringer, and Peter Andrews, under the general editorship of NCSE Supporter Stephen Jay Gould, are responsible for the thoroughly understandable text; the vivid and compelling illustrations are the work of John Barber, Marianne Collins, Ely Kish, Akio Marishima, and Jean-Paul Tibbles. Palaeontologia Electronica's reviewer wrote, "There is much of interest here for the professional, and a wealth to be discovered for the interested general reader."