'A. G. Cairns-Smith is a brilliant explainer of difficult ideas, bringing to the task an imagination that is magnificently disciplined by detailed scientific understanding. He is also open-minded. His book will tantalize participants and onlookers of all persuasions.' Daniel C. Dennett, Nature '... an absorbing book ... an enjoyable and rewarding read: throw out a couple of thrillers and take it on holiday.' New Scientist 'Cairns-Smith has a story to tell and he does so, eloquently and well.' Susan Greenfield, The Times Higher Education Supplement 'Cairns-Smith offers a very intelligent human's guide to physics, molecular biology and neuroscience; on these he is both contemporary and more accurate than a cohort of Ph-doctored science newswriters. He deserves a new Nobel for Honest Communication.' Hilton Stowell, Journal of Consciousness Studies