Beautifully written and Illustrated - A must
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It is a rare pleasure to find such a comprehensive book about Earth evolution in general. The text is concise, authoritative and extremely well written, simplified enough for educated laymen the extensive and copiously researched glossary is a great help but inclusive of all evolutionary major points in the geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere, for each geological period examined. We follow the course of our planet from the Cambrian sea with its exotic arthropods, through the Devonian and Carboniferous forests with the first buzzing of insects, passing through coniferous lands dominated by dinosaurs, and vast Asian steppes teaming with strange giant mammals, to end in the African Rift system where a strange ape stood up and began changing its environment.
Visually, the book is a feast of photographs, illustrations, maps and superb diagrams. The later are of special importance and fall in two categories: the ones giving a compact representation for evolutionary events in the Earth, Sea, Atmosphere and Life for each period, and the extensive cladograms for all major life orders, and some of the sub-orders and families in the bargain, based on the latest biological research.
But what makes this book really special is its central philosophy, which all four authors follow, based on the concept that everything is connected to everything else, in such a way that no change in one system leaves the others the same as before. The Earth, the continents, the atmosphere and climate, all living organisms bacteria, fungi, plants and animals are all part of a carefully balanced structure with millions of delicate and crucial interconnections between the various parts. And the last chapter, covering the Holocene (the last 10,000 years) is a sombre catalog of man-made disasters, a story of random destruction of these interconnections, without giving much thought to the long-term consequences. The authors stress repeatedly that Evolution is an ongoing process and it has certainly not stopped with humans. We have to know the best way possible both the separate systems surrounding us and how they are connected between them and with us, in order to better understand ourselves and the beautiful fragile world we live in. This book is a good start.
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A must for all interested in the evolution of life on earth
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This is the clearest explanation of our planet's development that I have read. Its six sections set out the story of the formation and development of our planet and the life it supports with exemplary clarity. Text and illustrations complement one another perfectly to tell the magnificent story of how everything came to be.
Some previous knowledge is assumed, but the more technical terms are explained clearly. The book is a visual feast, filled with diagrams which explain and illustrate without confusing. A real sense of the past is generated, leaving the reader wanting to explore further. The final section on the modern world gives a timely reminder that extinction and climate change are still with us.
A good glossary and index, together with suggested further reading complete an impressive book.
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An excellent read
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This book investigates the theory of evolution and looks from the solar system into the indepth articles of the biosphere. The book develops the idea of basic conceptual models into indepth areas and systems within the biological and geochemical cycles on the Earth. A very useful piece of equipment for anyone interested in the evolutionary concepts of our planet.
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