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Life’s energy drives Earth’s evolution, making us integral to its existence.
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The Co-Creation

How Earth Made Life and Life Made Earth

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$31.45

  • Paperback

    560 pages

  • Release Date

    3 November 2026

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Summary

Where did we come from? What does it mean to be ‘alive’? And what is our place in the cosmos?

In her twenty-year journey to answer these questions, Olivia Judson has travelled to all seven continents and dived in several seas; she has made mental journeys to other worlds - the Moon, Venus, Mars; she has travelled back in time, haunted the rock collections of natural history museums, read scores of books and thousands of papers. The Co-Creation proposes a radi…

Book Details

ISBN-13:9780719521607
ISBN-10:0719521602
Author:Olivia Judson
Publisher:Hodder & Stoughton General Division
Imprint:John Murray Publishers Ltd
Format:Paperback
Number of Pages:560
Release Date:3 November 2026
Dimensions:153mm x 234mm
A-Format
B-Format
C-Format
The Co-Creation by Olivia Judson - ISBN: 9780719521607
153 × 234 mm
A4
mm / in
What They're Saying

Critics Review

‘A fascinating and original account of the history of life… full of new insights about evolution and history, and even more importantly- with new viewpoints’ * YUVAL NOAH HARARI, author of Sapiens *
‘A landmark work of science writing.Wildly ambitious and utterly compelling, Olivia Judson has chronicled the greatest narrative of all-the full history of life, Earth, and the intimate, perpetual dance between the two.’ * ED YONG, author of I Contain Multitudes *
‘A triumphant return for Dr. Tatiana…At turn luscious, heady, and strange, The Co-Creation updates the Gaia hypothesis with modern physics and a neo-Victorian sweep of ecology that would make George Eliot proud. Judson places us just as we are: not on the Earth, but made of it.’ * CAT BOHANNON, author of Eve *
“A majestic grand tour of the history of our planet, The Co-Creation provides a fresh and exhilarating view of what life itself is and how it arises and evolves.” * PHILLIP BALL, author of How Life Works *
‘An epic poem worthy of Gaia herself. Withvivid writing, enchanting detailand colossal scale, Olivia Judson brings to life the flows of energy that animated our world, from the first cells through global glaciations wrought by bacteria, to the planet-sculpting of animals and our own high-octane lives. Building layer upon layer, under the watchful eye of her Planetary Accountant, Judson has written amarvellouspaean to our living rock.’ * NICK LANE, author of The Vital Question and Transformer *
‘Olivia Judson takes on the deepest mysteries of life and emerges witha vision as surprising as it is awe-inspiring. Thisbeautifulbook tells the earth’s story as it has never been told before-a planet tumultuous and creative, continually remade by the lifeforms it spawns.’ * JAMES GLEICK, author of Faster *
‘A highly readable, important, and new way of thinking about life and Earth. The Co-Creation is excellent.’ * TIM FLANNERY, author of The Weather Makers *
‘An exceptionally clear history of the amazing dance of organics and inorganics that constitutes this living Earth in its current moment of co-evolution. What we are together is illuminated by this knowledge, andthis is not only helpful as we figure out what to do as a civilization now, but delightful in and of itself. Highly recommended!’ * KIM STANLEY ROBINSON, author of The Ministry for the Future *
‘Epic in scope, rigorously researched, and intellectually thrilling,The Co-Creation is an extraordinary feat of synthesis and scholarship and a masterwork of science writing. Olivia Judson illuminates the fundamental connections between energy, evolution, life, and Earth with unprecedented clarity, memorable metaphors, and profound insights. Judson has crafted nothing less than the most compelling proposal for the origin of life that I have ever encountered, an incisive explanation of what makes living things unique, and a brilliant new framework for understanding the eons-long evolution of our living planet. This book should be read closely, shared widely, and cherished by all.’ * FERRIS JABR, author of Becoming Earth *
‘Captivating…The satisfyingly sprawling latest by evolutionary biologist Olivia Judson (Dr. Tatiana’s Sex Advice to All Creation) takes the reader on vividly sensuous time-traveling trips to various points in pre-history … conveying a giddy sense of wonder that sweeps the reader along in its wake.’ * KIRKUS (starred review) *
‘Judson’s fascinating natural history of the world-and all the life on it … Judson’s hypothesis offers a new way of thinking about how we got here, what came before, and why the incredible ecosystems that sustain us are so very important.’ * LITHUB *

About The Author

Olivia Judson

Olivia Judson is an evolutionary biologist and the award-winning author of Dr Tatiana’s Sex Advice to All Creation: The Definitive Guide to the Evolutionary Biology of Sex. This book was shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize, translated into more than eighteen languages, and was adapted into a three-part television show. She holds a doctorate from the University of Oxford and is a former science journalist for The Economist. Judson has also contributed to publications such as National Geographic, The Atlantic, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and New York Times.

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