A lively and highly readable account of the origins, invention and discovery of just about everything on the planet, the truly global coverage of The First of Everything ranges from the Big Bang to driverless cars.The First of Everything follows a context-setting introduction with seven stimulating sections: In the Beginning (The Big Bang to Homo Sapiens), At Home (the first glass windows to dentures and bikinis); Health and Medicine (herbs to heart transplants); Getting About (donkeys to double deckers); Science and Engineering (potter's wheel to webcam); Peace and War (the first king to fighter-bombers); and Culture (cave painting to rap).

This fascinating book takes in the full sweep of human development and ingenuity over twelve millennia; Africa, for example, gave us the first monarch, algebra and great religions emerged from the Middle East, democracy was born in Europe, and America made the first flying machines. More than just a string of dry lists, the colourful text's intriguing insights and asides make it as enjoyable for the casual browser as the more serious researcher.

生动易读地讲述了地球上几乎所有事物的起源、发明和发现，从大爆炸到无人驾驶汽车，第一件事的真正全球覆盖范围。第一件事遵循了七个刺激部分的背景介绍：开始（大爆炸到智人），在家（第一个玻璃窗到假牙和比基尼）；健康与医学（心脏移植的草药）；走动（驴子到双层车）；科学与工程（波特的轮子到网络摄像头）；和平与战争（战斗轰炸机的第一个国王）；和文化（洞穴绘画到说唱）。
这本引人入胜的书全面介绍了人类在一万两千年中的发展和创造力；例如，非洲给了我们第一个君主，代数和伟大的宗教从中东诞生，民主在欧洲诞生，美国制造了第一个飞行器。不仅仅是一串枯燥的清单，丰富多彩的文本引人入胜的见解和旁白让休闲的浏览者和更严肃的研究者一样愉快。