Reddit reviews Atom: A Single Oxygen Atom's Journey from the Big Bang to Life on Earth...and Beyond

If you aren't interested in the actual biology of how species branch and evolve into other species I'd suggest Dawkins' The Ancestor's Tale. It will give you the grand overview of life on Earth.

It doesn't deal with the Big Bang directly, but Krauss' Atom will take you on a single oxygen atom's journey from the Big Bang to its inclusion in earlier generations of stars and on to how it gets used here on Earth.

Here are some books about astronomy. (Not how-to on astronomy)

Coming of Age In The Milky Way

Chasing Venus

The Hole In The Universe

Atom

Miss Leavitts Stars

Pale Blue Dot Sequel to the original book, Cosmos.

Death By Black Hole

The other reply here identifies some of the usual suspects, but the one that really made me stop and think was Case Western physicist Lawrence Krauss's Atom: A Single Oxygen Atom's Journey from the Big Bang to Life on Earth (link).

It handholds a good bit less than most pop-science books on astrophysics, but, really, the main insights are completely intuitive. Or counter-intuitive, but explained well.

In any event, there was zero marketing behind this book (pace the Bill Bryson, Brian Green, et al. juggernaut), but I learned a great deal from it. Highly recommended.

This really depends on what you want to learn. I'll throw out some of my favorites.


Coming of Age In The Milky Way

Chasing Venus: The Race to Measure The Heavens

Of course there's Carl Sagan's Cosmos which is a bit outdated, but still a fantastic read. I'd personally recommend any of Sagans books. Demon Haunted World (about science and skepticism), Pale Blue Dot (spiritual sequel to Cosmos)

Death by Black Hole

Atom: A Single Oxygen Atom's Odyssey from the Big Bang to Life on Earth... and Beyond

https://www.amazon.com/Atom-Single-Oxygen-Journey-Beyond/dp/0316183091/ref=mp_s_a_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1539323284&sr=8-12&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=atom+book

Give this a try, it is by far the best book I have read on the subject.

Atom: A Single Oxygen Atom's Journey from the Big Bang to Life on Earth...and Beyond by Laurence Krauss is an amazingly interesting and informative read, that covers everything from how atomic nuclei form to hundreds-of-lightyears-long clouds of gas and dust are essential to the universe.