Reviews
The Vital Question is not a long book but it is a big one. ...Lane's vivid descriptions and powerful reasoning will amaze and grip the reader., Excellent and imaginative. . . . A fascinating book for anyone interested in life and evolution, and how these discoveries were made., If I were a rich man, I would buy up the print run of this book and give a copy to every science undergraduate ahead of his or her fırst course in cell biology., With clarity and vigor . . . Lane shows how the critical components and mechanisms of complex life . . . could have developed., [Nick Lane] proves an able guide through treacherous scientific terrain. He writes in lucid, accessible prose, and while the science may get dense, the reader will be rewarded with a strikingly unconventional view of biology., What is life? How and where did it begin, even before the advent of eukaryotes? Lane tackles those and other burning issues (sex and death) in a book as brimming with fascination as could be., Comes triumphantly close to cracking the secret of why life is the way it is, to a depth that would boggle any ancient philosopher's mind., Magnificent.... [The Vital Question] contains as convincing an account of the origins of life as any on offer. ...Lane belongs to a small and persuasive cabal that is using studies of the way cells access energy to gain insight into all sorts of questions, from why there are different sexes to why creatures grow old., Lane . . . writes about tricky topics like the chemistry of photosynthesis with grace and ease. . . . He not only reports on the latest research on each topic but also sometimes steps in with intriguing ideas of his own., In this, his third book about energy and life, [Lane] comes triumphantly close to cracking the secret of why life is the way it is, to a depth that would boggle any ancient philosopher's mind., One of the deepest, most illuminating books about the history of life to have been published in recent years., He is an original researcher and thinker and a passionate and stylish populariser. His theories are ingenious, breathtaking in scope, and challenging in every sense...intellectually what Lane is proposing, if correct, will be as important as the Copernican revolution., If I were a rich man, I would buy up the print run of this book and give a copy to every science undergraduate ahead of his or her frst course in cell biology., This is a book of vast scope and ambition, brimming with bold and important ideas.... The arguments are powerful and persuasive...an incredible, epic story., If I were a rich man, I would buy up the print run of this book and give a copy to every science undergraduate ahead of his or her first course in cell biology., An exciting tale, thrillingly told.... This is a potent book, one that not only brings you up to date with biology but also stuns you with the wonder of it all.
