The Book of Life

From the origin of life on Earth to its many incredible forms and huge setbacks (mass extinctions) up to the present day dominance of a very successful species of uber-ape, this book is fascinating reading. I did not find the subject matter difficult to understand and I am a relative novice, so I would recommend it to those who have not delved deeply into the topic before. Many concepts well known to the general public are given thorough treatment and add several layers of knowledge onto what the reader may be starting off with. For instance, the section dealing with the most famous mass extinction, the demise of the dinosaurs, is not only a thorough look at all the possible causes of the event itself, but also a critique of the theorizing that has resulted in the common belief that the cause was primarily extraterrestial. One comes away with not only a better understanding for the possible causes, but also a better appreciation of scientific research and debate that leads up to theories being proposed and eventually accepted or rejected. The illustrations are excellent for the most part, and include many very informative diagrams. One of my favorites is the one showing how some species of fish evolved legs from their fins, allowing purely aquatic animals to begin the move onto land. All in all, this book is essential reading to anyone interested in the topic, and I highly recommend it.

This easy to read, well illustrated book covers the evolution of life from the Cambrian to the emergence of humans. More than a hundred color illustrations give the reader a sense of the events taking place. At the time of this article Stephen Jay Gould is at Harvard in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Other collaborators include J. John Sepkoski, Jr. a paleobiologist specializing in evolutionary radiation, Michael Benton an expert on extinct amphibians and reptiles, Christine Janis an expert on the evolution of mammals, Peter Andrews an expert on primate evolution, and Christopher Stringer an expert on the origins of humans. Illustrators include: John Barber, Marianne Collins, Ely Kish, Akio Morishima, and Jean-Paul Tibbles.

This is the best overall survey of evolution I have found. It takes a chronological approach and uses numerous graphs and illustrations. The graphs are excellent at making sense of the time spans for evolution and for the relationships between (all) living things.

The story about how it all began and has become... Beutifully illustrated. To the point examples. Beautifully brought together! Easy to understand to people with not to much evolution knowledge. The only thing I missed were some geological aspects. Being so important in the beginning, I would like some more information about the lithosphere, its cycles, the physical and chemical (and later biological) erosion, and so on. But it is one of my favorites, I like it very much. It is what a good book should be: inventing, well made, good looking!

Very good tourists guide to evolution and natural history as it is currently reconstructed. For me it makes a nice grown up supplement to the steady diet of kid's natural history books I read to my kids. No punches pulled -- definitely best for the college educated.