An informative and interesting book about the evolution of eggs. It does a great job of starting from the very beginning, explaining the history of the Earth and the moon to set the scene.
I really enjoyed the way the author explained things, making complicated topics easy to understand. However, I wish the book featured the visualization that I believe would have made the descriptions clearer and the book even more engaging.

Thank you to NetGalley and Elliot and Thompson for the opportunity to read an e-copy. The opinion is my own.
This is a well written book that I found both engaging and full of information. That it stretches from the beginning of life to nowadays and how reproduction evolved without dragging but instead compeeling the reader to see how the author sees, how interesting some tiny findings could have in our understanding of what the general populace will consider 'just an egg'.
I also appreciated the long list of further reading at the end, I gave a quick look only but it seems great for those readers who got their interest peaked by this book.
All in all, a good and informative read with compelling writing.

I found this book both informative/educational as well as an interesting read. I learned a lot more about eggs and the evolutionary path they have taken over the years. I also enjoyed the writing style of this author as it kept me engaged throughout the book.

• Whenever I read a good book, such as this, I am reminded of my love of biology. This was a well written at times funny but definitely engaging thorough account of how the evolution of different eggs led to the success of each animal group and the species that comprise them.
• I highly recommend for the evolutionary biology enthusiasts out there such as myself. More specifically to those who enjoyed Eve by Cat Bohannon last year (even though I did have some critics of that text as well) If you needed just a little more expansion on the mammalian front this would a good next read.
• Personally would have liked a little bit more expansion on the mammalian front because it felt a little rushed in the end. I am aware that this could just be because that evolution is still on going but I'm sure there must be some way to talk on it. I don't think the human impact segwaying into climate change bit was necessary. Only because again it felt not well thought out.
• If the book was going to speak about how the success of the mammalian egg led to the proliferation of the group as a whole I would have loved it if it went all in on explaining the environmental impact this has had. I know climate change is a hot topic right now and maybe the book feared that the readers were already fatigued with this topic but I'm a say it with your whole chest kind of girl.
• The biggest detractor to my enjoying this more than I did was the lack of pictures, diagrams etc. The visual elements would have elevated this reading experience and made me more engaged at parts when fossils were being discussed. Hopefully this is something that is provided in the final print version seeing as I read the arc because pictures are a must for me when dealing with topics in Biology. I like to see what's being stated instead of just taking the books word for it.
• In the end this was a good time and the author has a solid backlist that I might be perusing in the future.

Infinite Life was a fascinating trip through the evolution of animals, using the egg as our guide. We are led on a journey from early life to the present day, with stops along the way at major points in animal and egg development to get a closer look at one of the reproductive structures that are necessary for reproduction. From water to land, the egg is key to adaptation and survival. In the hands of Jules Howard, viewing evolution through changes in the egg goes beyond textbook information and becomes something more of an interactive historical timeline. Just how does the changing egg fit into the spread of animals from water to land? How does the egg change from animal to animal? What is special about eggs that makes them (whether inside a body or outside) key in adaptation to a changing environment?

With enough information to make a biologist happy, and enough explanation to bring in the casual enthusiast, Infinite Life is a glimpse into a niche of science that many may often overlook. With engaging descriptions and an easy narrative flow, this book is an excellent foray into evolutionary biology from a unique perspective.

An absolutely amazing history of the egg! In an age where reproductive rights and the origins of life are being challenged by different religious views, this book is an important scientific and historical tour de force!

“Eggs are (…) the mechanism through which animal lineages are propelled forwards through time, like threads woven into a giant tapestry.”

This is an absolutely fascinating history starting from the earliest beginnings animal life on earth and it is so sweepingly narrated that it scoops up the reader and carries him along through primordial swamps, resting cysts in cyanobacteria, rampant photosynthesis, protozoic “sex” and upwards towards this common tiny pouch of genetic material, the egg.
That was the brilliant bit.
The not-so-brilliant bit was the absence of illustration.
There is a paltry offering of one (!) image at the beginning of each chapter - unlabelled and unindexed. With such a visual journey through time, omitting images almost seems spiteful, sending the reader to-ing and fro-ing between this book and [insert search engine of your choice].
This could have been a ***** book, the lack of illustration spoilt it for me.

I enjoyed this book. I found it highly informative with some good explanations where Howard simplified the science. I also found the interludes fun to read. I did have a quibble with the book, in that I found that the language was sometimes more literary than conversational thus breaking up the flow. Overall this book is well worth reading. Thank you to Netgalley and Elliott & Thompson for the advance reader copy.

‘Re-framing the story of animal evolution through the lens of the egg’ (Loc. 80)

This is a quirky approach to the history of evolution and it really works. An otherwise enormously vast and complicated era with myriads of creatures, is streamlined into an interesting and engaging story which revolves around eggs.

We hear of competing strategies among primitive animals, some preferring to produce large quantities of eggs, and some preferring a more qualitative approach of producing fewer but caring for them. We also hear of the development of wombs and umbilical cords, with the oldest identified so far being the 2005 discovery of the 380 million year old Materpiscis.

Where helpful the book also includes modern observations and discoveries. Many readers will be surprised to hear that chickens seem to have a strange ability to regulate the shell of their eggs, depending upon the altitude that the eggs are being laid at. Science has yet to crack the mechanism which triggers that effect.

In places the book also suggested that traditional narratives of evolution may be too simple. For example, the success of insects has long been attributed to their ability to fly. But the author notes that their success also correlates with developments and improvements to their eggs. Could their overall success owe as much to eggs as it does to flight?

Towards the end of the book we hear of dinosaur eggs, and some of the fascinating research that is drawing tentative conclusions about the colours of dinosaur eggs.

Overall, this was a very interesting and original approach to the narration of evolution. It will appeal to those with an interest in History or Science, both those engaging with the issues for the first time, and those looking for a fresh approach to some otherwise well-trodden territory.

These are honest comments on a DRC (Digital Review Copy) version of the text, accessed in February 2024.

An educational journey from the beginning of life in earth to the current climate crisis through the evolution of the humble egg.

Being a forever learner, always curious to understand all that is life; I requested to read this book.
It’s an evolutionary biography of the egg, which is unique.
The writer made an effort to re-frame animal evolution, which was a thought experiment.
While I appreciate the storytelling, it was a little too scientific for my understanding.
I grew up watching documentaries and reading articles, so I managed to understand about 80%
of the jargon. But I can imagine the average reader would have a greater difficulty.
Nonetheless I enjoyed the read and definitely learned new things.

*Thank you Elliott & Thompson, the author and Netgalley for this ARC*

The first thing that caught my attention was the beautiful cover art with it's differents egg styles. But the book goes beyond that, and the story of the egg, something that I have never thought about, is really interesting. Before reading it when I saw, or heard, the word egg I thought automatically of birds eggs (chicken eggs to be more precise), with their distinctive hard shell and oval shape. But this book have broaden my understanding of it, with eggs with leathery covers or collorful, gelatinous and inside eggs. The book goes from the begginning of life on Earth, when the planet was nothing more than a ball of lava, to the modification that originated the placenta, and the author writes it in a way that is engaging, creating images of life on Earth across the time and across diverse evolutionary changes. It goes from microorganisms to the first animals, from aquatic life to the first land beings, from dinosaurs to birds, from the first mammals to humans. I learned a lot of new informations while reading it and definitely would recommend it to people that like non fiction books with a more scientific approach. I loved it!!

This book is such an amazing blend of nonfiction and story telling. If you enjoyed Cat Bohannon’s “Eve”, this book should definitely be on your ‘to read next list’. There were so many moments within this book that were so beautifully written and I can’t wait for this book to be released so I can get my hands on it. This book made very complex science very approachable and understandable, and that’s truly a skill not everyone has. I’m excited to see what else Jules Howard writes in the future, because I will be the first one to grab a copy. I plan on sharing this book with everyone I know, as well on my socials :)

A love letter to, of all things, eggs. The book takes us on a journey from the creation of Earth to the current climate crisis, through the lens of egg evolution and development. The subject matter comes with a dire risk of tedium, but Howard's prose is smooth, entertaining, and at times, sardonic. Despite the moments of brevity, I found a certain melancholic air in the whole narrative. There's certainly something optimistic about the millions of species that have experimented with and perfected different forms of reproduction, yet thinking about any of these organisms on an individual level leaves me feeling deeply inconsequential.

As for the science, explaining evolution in metaphors of contract negotiations, crime sprees, and star-crossed lovers manages to simplify incredibly complex concepts without coming across as reductive or condescending. The book easily could have been double the length, and I am deeply grateful that it was not. The brevity was well-executed - each chapter provided a solid overview of each era without droning. Howard was great about refreshing the reader on previously-explained science when needed, but never edging into the repetitive.

TLDR: The science was interesting, the length was perfect, and the author's voice is compelling.

Also, thank you to Elliott & Thompson publishing house for allowing me to read this ahead of publication.