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In his new book, Richard Dawkins traces the origins of life back to its very beginnings. This he does using mankind as a starting point, though as he points out, it makes little difference whether one begins with humans, elephants or swifts - in going back to the beginnings, one cannot help but be awed by the unity of life. His journey takes us back to the a common ancestor ("concester") to all living things. Taking Chaucer's Canterbury Tales as his model, Dawkins has a group of pilgrims lead us back through time, beginning with The Farmer's Tale , the story of agriculture, and going through Eve's Tale, The Handyman's (Homo habilis) Tale, The Gorilla's Tale, The Velvet Worm's Tale ... all the way to "Canterbury" - the beginnings of life, 4 billion years ago. Dawkins' latest book is fascinating to read, easy to understand, and the story delivered with a level of excitement gratifying to find in a man whose writing on the subject spans three decades.