The Trilobite Book: A Visual Journey

by Riccardo Levi-Setti

Distant relatives of modern lobsters, horseshoe crabs, and spiders, trilobites swam the planet’s prehistoric seas for 300 million years, from the Lower Cambrian to the end of the Permian eras―and they did so very capably. Trilobite fossils have been unearthed on every continent, with more than 20,000 species identified by science. One of the most arresting animals of our pre-dinosaur world, trilobites are also favorites among the fossil collectors of today, their crystalline eyes often the catalyst for a lifetime of paleontological devotion. And there is no collector more devoted―or more venerated―than Riccardo Levi-Setti. With The Trilobite Book , a much anticipated follow-up to his classic Trilobites , Levi-Setti brings us a glorious and revealing guide to these surreal arthropods of ancient Earth.

Featuring specimens from Bohemia to Newfoundland, California to the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, and Wales to the Anti-Atlas Mountains of Morocco, Levi-Setti’s magnificent book reanimates these “butterflies of the seas” in 235 astonishing full-color photographs. All original, Levi-Setti’s images serve as the jumping-off point for tales of his global quests in search of these highly sought-after fossils; for discussions of their mineralogical origins, as revealed by their color; and for unraveling the role of the now-extinct trilobites in our planetary history.

Sure to enthrall paleontologists with its scientific insights and amateur enthusiasts with its beautiful and informative images, The Trilobite Book combines the best of science, technology, aesthetics, and personal adventure. It will inspire new collectors for eras to come.

Genres: Science, Nature, Palaeontology, Nonfiction, Reference

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Kaylee]

Pretty pictures. Pulled my interest in.

The text was disappointing though. Lots of travelogue and fanatic collector's pining for specimens and poetic descriptions of the composition of beautiful specimens he had the privilege of finding/photographing. I guess I was hoping for something more scientific and some discussion about what has been learned by studying trilobites. The author repeatedly says that stuff is on the internet or in his previous books. This book is not geared towards someone with just a passing interest.

[Little Sheepling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book with many stunning pictures of Trilobites; however this is also this book's downside in some ways as it is mostly pictures. This book really could have used a Trilobite Body Map, an Evolutionary Tree and some
more in-depth breakdowns on their fossilisation(s); the author clearly knows his stuff but... this book isn't very friendly to newcomers. I also enjoyed hearing about the author's fossil collecting around the world and how the process of collecting Trilobites sounding remarkably different to Dinosaur fossil collecting (which I'm more familiar with). So good things as well as bad things here. Probably recommend for more advanced readers of Trilobites but if you just want to look at pretty pictures of Trilobites, this is for you!

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the title implies, this book is all visual and is at heart a collection of stunning images of a range of trilobites from various eras and locales. The text, or more a commentary, describes the authors adventures collecting the various fossils. Information on the trilobite images is limited to brief descriptions, which is fine as after all this is a visual journey, not a scientific text. I would have liked a phylogenetic tree to illustrate the relationships of the illustrated fossils as an appendix, but otherwise pretty much perfect!

[Chris Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitive edition of trilobite fossil photography. Essential for anyone interested in paleontology, natural history, insects, or photography. Contains the whole spectrum of specimens found in museums and collections around the world. Some of the photographs contained in the book stand on their own as evocative works of black and white photography. Highly recommended.

[Ron Peters · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trilobites are cool. I’ve always liked them and I’d love to own a fossil but they are too pricey, and there is also a big market now in fakes. They showed up in the Cambrian around 500 million years ago and disappeared some 300 million years later in the Permian mass extinction event, clarifying what a flash-in-the-pan humanity is.

Levi-Setti has published scholarly articles and textbooks on trilobites but this is a nicely photographed coffee table book with notes that wander into anecdotes about trilobite-hunts around the world (Bohemia, Morocco, the Western US, Newfoundland, the UK, and Russia).

I had no idea that there were so many species of trilobites (more than 20,000) or that they varied so much in size. The color photos also show you that, depending on local mineral compositions, you can wind up with amazingly colored exemplars. There is an interesting special section on the crystal multifaceted eyes of trilobites.

This is a quick, largely nontechnical, entertaining read about these weird critters that covered the earth for such a long time. I will come back to this book often to admire the photographs.

[Bradley White · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author is very fortunate, traveling the world collecting and photographing trilobites. These amazing creatures with so many different forms, I had no idea of the variety.

Beautiful photographs and the accompanying personal story of the author is a delight.

[Ricardo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent pictures and details for the trilobite aficionado.