This is a clear and authoritative introduction to fossils, their study and their use in reconstructing the history of life on Earth. Paleontologist Richard Fortey explains in accessible language what fossils are, how they form, and how they help us to understand Earth's geological past and the emergence of life. Drawing on the latest information, he discusses evolution and extinction, the economic uses of fossils, such as oil and coal, as well as offering advice for making a fossil collection.

Fourth edition of a book first published in 1982.

Richard Fortey was a senior palaeontologist at the Natural History Museum. He is the author of several books including The Hidden Landscape which won the Natural World Book of the Year in 1993, Life: An Unauthorised Biography which was short-listed for the Rhone Poulenc Prize in 1998, and Trilobite: Eye Witness to Evolution, short-listed for one of Britain's top literary awards, the Samuel Johnson Prize. Richard's latest book Dry Store Room No. 1: The Secret Life of the Natural History Museum was published in January 2008. Richard lives in Oxford, UK.