"The awe-inspiring story of the elements that make up the human body, and how these building blocks of life traveled billions of miles across billions of years to make us who we are."-- Every one of us contains a billion times more atoms than there are gains of sand in the Earth's deserts. How did these elements combine to make us human? Levitt shares the awe-inspiring story of the elements that make up the human body, and how these building blocks of life traveled billions of miles across billions of years to make us who we are. It's also the story of the scientists who made groundbreaking discoveries-- investigations marked by fierce rivalries, obsession, heartbreak, flashes of insight, and flukes of blind luck. -- adapted from jacket From book jacket.

The journey begins: from a big bang to a rocky home. Happy birthday to everyone: the priest who discovered the beginning of time ; "That's funny": what the eye can never see ; The best man at Harvard: the woman who changed how we see the stars ; Catastrophes to be thankful for: how to make a world from gravity and dust -- Let there be life!. Dirty snowballs and space rocks: the biggest flood of all time ; The most famous experiment: the search for the origin of the molecules of life ; The greatest mystery: the puzzling origin of the first cells -- From sunlight to dinner plate. Light assembly required: discovering photosynthesis ; Lucky breaks: from ocean scum to green planet ; Planting the seeds: how greenery and its allies made us possible -- From atoms to you. So much depends on so little: what do you need to eat to survive? ; Hidden in plain sight: the discovery of your master blueprint ; Elements and all: what is really inside you? -- Conclusion: what a long strange trip it's been.