Billions of beetles -- Bacteria, eukaryotic cells, and sex -- What drives the formation of new species? -- The geography of species richness -- Patterns, hotspots, and the geography of lineages -- Sustaining local biodiversity -- The expansion of biodiversity on Planet Earth -- A world of ever-increasing biodiversity -- Biological complexity triumphant : the human mind -- Ever more complexity : human cultural advance -- A four-billion-year epic -- Trillions of transistors : an uncertain future.