James Lovelock is the author of more than 200 scientific papers and the originator of the Gaia Hypothesis (now Gaia Theory). He has written three books on the subject: Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth, The Ages of Gaia and Gaia: The Practical Science of Planetary Medicine, as well as an autobiography, Homage to Gaia. He has been a Fellow of the Royal Society since 1974. Since 1961 he has worked as a wholly independent scientist but retained links with universities in the UK and the USA, and since 1994 has been an Honourary Visiting Fellow of the Green College, University of Oxford. He has been described as 'one of the great thinkers of our time' (New Scientist) and 'one of the environmental movement's most influential figures' (Observer). In 2003 he was made a Companion of Honour by Her Majesty the Queen, and in September 2005 Prospect magazine named him as one of the world's top 100 global public intellectuals.

Nicola Davies is an award-winning author whose many books for children include A First Book of Nature, A First Book of Animals, Tiny, Lots, The Promise, King of the Sky, Ice Bear, Big Blue Whale, Dolphin Baby, Just Ducks, Poo and the Heroes of the Wild series.

She graduated in zoology, studied whales and bats and then worked for the BBC Natural History Unit. Nicola lives in Crickhowell, Wales.