"The rhythm of life on Earth includes several strong themes contributed by Kingdom Fungi. So why are fungi ignored when theorists ponder the origin of life? Casting aside common theories that life originated in an oceanic primeval soup, in a deep, hot place, or even a warm little pond, this is a mycological perspective on the emergence of life on Earth. The author traces the crucial role played by the first biofilms - products of aerosols, storms, volcanic plumes and rainout from a turbulent atmosphere - which formed in volcanic caves 4 billion years ago. Moore describes how these biofilms contributed to the formation of the first prokaryotic cells, and later, unicellular stem eukaryotes, highlighting the role of the fungal grade of organisation in the evolution of higher organisms. Based on the latest research, this is a unique account of the origin of life and its evolutionary diversity to the present day. [This volume] proposes a new and unique view of the origin and evolution of life on Earth, weaving the evolution of fungi into the evolution of eukaryotes; explains the origins of all groups of higher organisms (eukaryotes), showing how the features of present-day fungi can account for the ancestral evolution of the eukaryote grade of evolution; emphasises twenty-first-century research in disciplines ranging from astronomy to zoology, providing readers with the most complete and contemporary treatment of the topic." -- Publisher's description.