Containing essays by leading figures — John Oró, Alan W. Schwartz and Sherwood Chang, Stanley L. Miller and Antonio Lazcano, James P. Ferris, Leslie E Orgel, and J. William Schopf himself — Life's Origin provides a lively look at the state-of-the-art in the scientific study of the origin of life. In his introduction, Schopf lists "the three great puzzles this volume addresses: What is the origin of life, when did it begin, and how?" and expresses his confidence that "[g]iven time, effort, and a continuing influx of imaginative students and fresh ideas, we can one day fully answer the what, when, and how of life's beginnings."