剋裏斯托弗·勞埃德（Christopher Lloyd），曾身為學者在劍橋大學研讀曆史，任《星期曰泰晤士報》技術欄目的記者。。他與妻子和兩個女兒曾在歐洲旅遊四個月，有一次他在羅馬附近的露營地洗盤子的時候，得到瞭一個靈感，於是寫瞭《地球簡史》。

A gorgeously illustrated and wholly comprehensive timeline of the earth's entire history that explains how everything is interconnected. As comprehensive as the subtitle suggests, "What on Earth Happened "is a primer for Planet Earth, a giant narrative leap across time and space, one seismic change at a time. Combining the history of earth science and the history of human civilization, "What on Earth Happened "covers how the earth was formed, how life began, the way the ecosystem works, how species evolved, the rise of man, migration, the development of tools, language, agriculture, art, transportation, architecture, cities, religion, government, global conflicts, and medicine. In short, it shows how everything--from the mountains and flowers and the birds and the bees to the Iraq war and the oil under the Arctic--is all wonderfully, complexly interconnected.Entertaining and accessible--and gorgeously illustrated with specially commissioned graphs, charts and maps--"What on Earth Happened" connects the dots of the past to tell a coherent, comprehensive, and compelling story about our very own third rock from the sun.