Living on Earth review: Ambitious story of how life shapes Earth ends superb trilogy

Living On Earth
Peter Godfrey-Smith (William Collins (UK, out now); Farrar, Straus and Giroux, (US, 3 September))

IN 2016, Peter Godfrey-Smith landed an unexpected bestseller with Other Minds: The octopus and the evolution of intelligent life. It was widely acclaimed for its insight into the consciousness of a relatively alien life form, lent colour and character by Godfrey-Smith’s regular encounters with cephalopods off the beaches of his Sydney home – which explains why he is often billed as the “scuba-diving philosopher”.

In the 2020 follow-up, Metazoa:…