How did time begin? When was the Earth born? What conditions led to the evolution of humans? Will we survive the Anthropocene? Is it really true that we?re all made from stars? In this fascinating work, science writer David Baker traces the continuum of historical change in the cosmos ? from the first atoms to the first life and then to humans and the things we have created. The Shortest History of the Universe compels us to look beyond the chaos of worldly affairs and points at what might come next in the story of the universe. Weaving together knowledge from chemistry, biology and physics with insights from the social sciences, this shortest Big History takes a bird?s eye view of 13.8 billion years.