This is my second book by Richard Fortey, retired paleontologist and science writer. I complained in the past about Fortey's flowery writing style but once I settle into his books, I find myself enjoying it so I am not going to take any stars away. For a science writer, he puts a lot of effort into his use of english to write what I find to be very engrossing science books about one of my favorite subjects, paleontology.

I liked that the book focused on the little stuff...the microorganisms that transformed the earth during the proterozoic and the slow evolution of larger organisms in the oceans and the latter movement onto land that ended in the permian. This incredibly long time period encapsulating many millions of years in geologic time is really what set the stage for everything that came after. Dinosaurs, mammals and ultimately humans are not covered as extensively but still get their due.

I own a copy of a large format picture book published by Dorling Kindersley titled Prehistoric Life: The Definitive Visual History of Life on Earth. I found it very useful to follow along in this picture book as I read Life. Fortey's chapters roughly covered geological time periods...ordovician, devonian, etc...which is how Prehistoric Life is laid out as well. It was enlightening to see the actual fossils Fortey describes and just added to what I learned about this time period in earth's history.

A thoroughly enjoyable overview of life on earth. ( )

Enjoyed Richard Fortey's presentation of life on earth, especially his last chapter. While I knew some aspects of his topic, he brought it all together in one book with sly comments showing a wry sense of humor. Great book for me to read before going to sleep.

The Folio edition of this book was published in 2008, and follows the 1998 first publication, with some emendations. Fortey is a paleontologist at the Museum of Natural History in London. He has a chatty voice, his text contains as much about his own history as that of natural history. The many color photographs are linked well to the text, and create a very beautiful volume.
Some facts and quotes that I found worth noting:
“When phosphorus was used to make matches, employees in match factories often suffered a ghastly and rotting disease known as ‘phossy jaw” (page 39)
Graptolites - fossilized in Ordovician deep sea mud, the appearance is of a double saw blade joined at one end. They probably floated near the surface and collected plankton. (Page 129-130)
“Sheep are legendarily near the bottom of the league, quivering dullards animated by nervousness alone, dunces of the mammal class, dolts and dimwits. It is grudgingly acknowledged that these allegedly obtuse animals can survive in places and conditions where sparkling wits are useless, but somehow the poor sheep acquires no credit for this performance.” (Page 299)
“A review of the history of life should provoke awe, above all else. As Goethe said, Zum Erstaunen bin ich da - I am here to wonder.” ( )

Ein groß angelegter Spaziergang durch die Evolutionsgeschichte. Der Autor pflegt einen erzählerischen Stil, flechtet häufig literarische Assoziationen ein, eigene biographische Details und solche über historische und aktuelle Forscher. Das macht das Buch einerseits abwechslungsreich, manchmal führt es aber auch zu unnötigen Längen, wenn der Autor etwas zu sehr in's Schwafeln kommt.

Der fachliche Teil ist sicher sauber recherchiert, vom Niveau auch für ein nicht studiertes Publikum verständlich (daher aber für ein studiertes Publikum manchmal etwas zu fluffig), aber heute nicht mehr ganz up to date, da es im Original von 1997 stammt.

Was dem Buch sehr geholfen hätte wären mehr Abbildungen: der Autor beschreibt Kontinente, Landschaften, Tiere ohne Zahl - wo sind die Landkarten, Zeichnungen, Photos? ( )

Professor Fortey takes the reader on a chronological tour of the the biological history of earth. However, his story is not a boring slog through the strata, but an eclectic stroll among fascinating organisms. Fortey includes many asides in his narrative, including important aspects of geology, portraits of eccentric paleontologists and personal anecdotes about fossil hunting is unusual locations. This book manages to summarise paleontological controversies in a fair manner without bogging down the story. I found the author's descriptive writing style to be rich and lyrical. ( )