The Vital Question: Energy, Evolution, and the Origins of Complex Life

this really good book.It was even suggested by bill gates. Although it is a difficult read and if you are not from biology background then you will need help of you biology friends but this is one of those books that makes you spell bound. Don't get frustrated if you can not finish it in a single sitting because it is really difficult to do so, since there so many concepts to be understood completely and they will take time....overall i think his ideas are revolutionary.

I picked up this book assuming it falls in popular science category. This book does not provide enough introduction to the subject thus leaving readers confused and/or bored. I did not complete it as I found the initial chapters too off the mark for a general reader.

A must-read for one and all! The book puts forth some groundbreaking hypotheses on the origins of life and the evolution of complex life forms from simple organisms. It transports the reader to the fascinating microscopic world of living cells. A truly brilliant book that will leave you spellbound!

A spell bounding journey into where it might have "all "began , a highly rewarding read about how energy optimisation is at the heart of life.

If you are interested in the question of the origin of life on earth and you are not a biologist, then this is not the book for you. Try Simon Conway Morris, as an author he works harder for the non biologist.The book reads like an academic paper. The book is hyped with a multitude of endorsements and I disagreed with most of them. The origin of life as a theory is not complete it is a sketch and I fail to see how this research changes that. The book is a molecular biological interpretation of the second law of thermodynamics applied to cellular processes and nothing more. When I purchase a book I expect value. Nothing new here.

It’s a book. I read it. Clear explanations of a complex subject and a plausible scenario as to the origin of complex cells.

Perfect and in a box with another order under 24 hours

This book is an excellent review of the origins, based on molecular and cellular biology of the main groups of life (Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukaryotes...us, eventually!) It is written at a level where recent high school biology and perhaps undergrad university study wold be a help, and while I have all of that, and more, it would still be intelligible. Nick Lane is a good, pleasant style writer. While there are parts I don't quite understand because I am not as familiar with this discipline, it is very neat to see the pathways by which we evolved from 'water, rocks and carbon dioxide'. The wonder of abiogenesis is not out of reach.I heard about this book through Sean M. Carroll, the theoretical physicist of Mindscape podcast and blog, a source I trust, and I was pleased.

This summer I read "The Vital Question" and Life on the Edge: The Coming of Age of Quantum Biology .The vital question is a straight account of the author's hypothesis of the origin of 'higher life'. He pulls this off convincingly and I expect this to become text book material. 40 years out of school, I found this fascinating material, both from an evolutionary perspective as well theenergy efficiency of life explained through quantum effects... Nothing to argue with.This book stays clear of the 'origin of life' questions and how it all started. This emphasizes the strength of arguments put forward, I suspect that discussing the overall origin of life would have taken away from it."Life on the Edge" is a good complementary read, which goes over an account of the established origin of life hypothesis. It is also an excellent read, mostly because of the creative story telling and by bringing the scientists behind the science to life. Lots of good materials about quantum effects in biology. The one area I expected but wasn't covered in detail is the 'brain'. Life on the Edge: The Coming of Age of Quantum Biology