A Series of Fortunate Events
"Fascinating and exhilarating—Sean B. Carroll at his very best."
—Bill Bryson, author of The Body: A Guide for Occupants
Why is the world the way it is? How did we get here? Does everything happen for a reason or are some things left to chance? Philosophers and theologians have pondered these questions for millennia, but startling scientific discoveries over the past half century are revealing that we live in a world driven by chance. A Series of Fortunate Events tells the story of the awesome power of chance and how it is the surprising source of all the beauty and diversity in the living world.
Like every other species, we humans are here by accident. But it is shocking just how many things—any of which might never have occurred—had to happen in certain ways for any of us to exist. From an extremely improbable asteroid impact, to the wild gyrations of the Ice Age, to invisible accidents in our parents’ gonads, we are all here through an astonishing series of fortunate events. And chance continues to reign every day over the razor-thin line between our life and death.
This is a relatively small book about a really big idea. It is also a spirited tale. Drawing inspiration from Monty Python, Kurt Vonnegut, and other great thinkers, and crafted by one of today’s most accomplished science storytellers, A Series of Fortunate Events is an irresistibly entertaining and thought-provoking account of one of the most important but least appreciated facts of life.
Available now in bookstores everywhere.
Sean B. Carroll on The Big Think
The Collisions That Made Our Existence Possible
Sean B. Carroll and Seth MacFarlane In Conversationfrom The National Academies — Recorded live on October 14th, 2020.
Newsworthy
Oscar-nominated All That Breathes wins Peabody Award
The story of two brothers Nadeem Shehzad and Mohammad Saud who rescue birds that fall from the skies of New Delhi and hope to build a proper animal rescue hospital is also the first film to win Best Documentary at both Sundance and Cannes. Directed by Shaunak Sen, Produced by Aman Mann and Teddy Leifer, Executive Producers David Elisco and Sean B. Carroll. Available in the U.S. on HBO/Max.
The Serengeti Rules wins Emmy for Outstanding Nature Documentary
Based on the book by Sean B. Carroll, and co-produced by HHMI Tangled Bank Studios and Passion Pictures, The Serengeti Rules will change way you see nature. The film, a New York Times critic’s pick which they described as “science made spellbinding,” has also won top awards at numerous film festivals across the globe.
Now streaming for free on PBS.The Farthest—Voyager in Space wins Emmy for Outstanding Science and Technology Documentary
The film chronicles the epic story of the twin Voyager spacecraft launched in 1977 to the outer planets as told by the scientists and engineers who planned and executed the most ambitious scientific mission in NASA history. Directed by Emer Reynolds; Produced by John Murray and Clare Stronge; Executive Producers John Rubin, Sean B. Carroll, Keith Potter, and Dennis Liu.Sean B. Carroll receives Lewis Thomas Prize for Writing about Science
The award honors “the rare individual who bridges the worlds of science and the humanities—whose voice and vision can tell us about science’s aesthetic and philosophical dimensions, providing not merely new information but cause for reflection, even revelation.” Previous awardees include E. O. Wilson, Oliver Sacks, Jared Diamond, and Richard Dawkins.