This introductory course for non-majors focuses on the significance of the history of life and the fossil record for our understanding of evolution. Key events in the history of life are considered, including the origins of life, the eukaryotic cell, and humans, and also various mass extinctions. The focus is on general scientific and evolutionary principles and mechanisms that can be extracted from the study of the fossil record. It also uses the lessons of the fossil record to consider the prospects for our own species.