Origin Story: A Big History of Everything

　　「我一直是大衛•克里斯帝安的粉絲。在此書中，他以優雅的文字統整了歷史與科學中的證據與見解，並用淺顯易懂的方式敘述歷史進程。」——比爾蓋茲

　　從 138 億年前到遙遠的未來，成就了這本關於宇宙的史詩鉅作！

　　我們是怎麼從大爆炸進展到今天如此驚人複雜的社會，70 億人口透過的網路力量足以改變全球？而相較之下，與人類血緣最親近的靈長類動物將會瀕臨滅絕？

　　創造出「大歷史」學派的作家大衛•克里斯帝安從 8 個關鍵的時間軸，解釋了正確的條件將如何促進新的形式誕生。從恆星到星系、從地球到智人、從農業到化石燃料。而偉大的化石燃料是個雙面刃，一方面為人類帶來巨大的利益，另一方面也威脅著我們創造出的世界。

　　因為現代知識的統一性，直到最近我們才開始能夠講述這個含括全球知識面向的故事，而透過全面而廣泛的分析，我們得以從如此寬闊的知識面思考人類的存亡。

　　How did we get from the Big Bang to today’s staggering complexity, in which seven billion humans are connected into networks powerful enough to transform the planet? And why, in comparison, are our closest primate relatives reduced to near-extinction?

　　Big History creator David Christian gives the answers in a mind-expanding cosmological detective story told on the grandest possible scale. He traces how, during eight key thresholds, the right conditions have allowed new forms of complexity to arise, from stars to galaxies, Earth to homo sapiens, agriculture to fossil fuels. This last mega-innovation gave us an energy bonanza that brought huge benefits to mankind, yet also threatens to shake apart everything we have created.

　　This global origin story is one that we could only begin to tell recently, thanks to the underlying unity of modern knowledge. Panoramic in scope and thrillingly told, Origin Story reveals what we learn about human existence when we consider it from a universal scale.