As shown in the text, there can be little doubt that the genetic mechanism is, for all practical purposes, equivalent to life itself. Consequently, it is unrealistic to seek knowledge of the origin of life and its subsequent evolution without si­ multaneously searching for an understanding of how this apparatus arose and evolved. Fortunately, the annual publication over the recent years of thousandS" of papers dealing with the genetic processes has brought the state of knowledge to a level where a synthesis of their major details in relation to life's history is feasible. Because of the voluminous body of literature, no single book can pos­ sibly treat all the ramifications of this fundamental subject; subdivision into multiple volumes is necessary. This volume, the first of a trilogy, explores the molecular aspects of the problem in connection with the precellular aspects up to the point of the origin of the cell. The second, currently in progress, is con­ cerned with the subsequent evolution of the cell as revealed by the energy­ related organelles and their genetic apparatuses and by ultrastructural details of other cellular parts. The third volume, as presently planned, deals with devel­ opmental, immunological, and other complexities at the organismic level and, in so doing, throws additional light on basic properties of the genetic processes themselves. Thus, the genetic apparatus provides the warp, and evolution the woof, of the intricate fabric that emerges.