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The Book of Life: An Illustrated History of the Evolution of Life on Earth
A new edition of the beautifully illustrated depiction of the dramatic story of survival and extinction. The Book of Life uses an exemplary fusion of art and science to tell the story of life on earth. The text, under the editorship of Stephen Jay Gould, provides a thorough understanding of the latest research and is accompanied by paintings prepared especially for this book. Never before has our planet's evolution been so clearly, so ingeniously explained. History is marked by disaster. The Book of Lifeexplains how mammals, having survived at least one of these disasters―the impact of a massive comet―luckily inherited the earth. Next came the rise of modern humans, who would shape the world as no creature has. As this fascinating history unfolds, gorgeous illustrations allow us to observe climate changes, tectonic plate movement, the spread of plant life, and the death of the dinosaurs. We discover the chains of animal survival, the causes and consequences of adaptation, and finally the environmental impact of human life. Color illustrations throughout.
256 pages, Paperback
First published September 16, 1993
6 people are currently reading
623 people want to read
About the author
Stephen Jay Gould
195 books1,406 followersStephen Jay Gould was a prominent American paleontologist, evolutionary biologist, and historian of science. He was also one of the most influential and widely read writers of popular science of his generation. Gould spent most of his career teaching at Harvard University and working at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.
Most of Gould's empirical research was on land snails. Gould helped develop the theory of punctuated equilibrium, in which evolutionary stability is marked by instances of rapid change. He contributed to evolutionary developmental biology. In evolutionary theory, he opposed strict selectionism, sociobiology as applied to humans, and evolutionary psychology. He campaigned against creationism and proposed that science and religion should be considered two compatible, complementary fields, or "magisteria," whose authority does not overlap.
Many of Gould's essays were reprinted in collected volumes, such as Ever Since Darwin and The Panda's Thumb, while his popular treatises included books such as The Mismeasure of Man, Wonderful Life and Full House.
-Wikipedia
Most of Gould's empirical research was on land snails. Gould helped develop the theory of punctuated equilibrium, in which evolutionary stability is marked by instances of rapid change. He contributed to evolutionary developmental biology. In evolutionary theory, he opposed strict selectionism, sociobiology as applied to humans, and evolutionary psychology. He campaigned against creationism and proposed that science and religion should be considered two compatible, complementary fields, or "magisteria," whose authority does not overlap.
Many of Gould's essays were reprinted in collected volumes, such as Ever Since Darwin and The Panda's Thumb, while his popular treatises included books such as The Mismeasure of Man, Wonderful Life and Full House.
-Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
June 21, 2016
I am an unapologetic science nerd so this collection of essays about the march of life through the ages was quite enjoyable. Expect arcane terminology and complex biological concepts. This is no facile middle school course survey. Expect in-depth discussion of evolution and the role it played in the cavalcade of critters in the long running 4.5 billion year prize winning greatest show on Earth.
December 9, 2015
A wonderful story of life an evolution across the diferent geological eras with descriptions of major events as the snowball earth events ,the great permian-triasic extinction ,the great cretacic-terciary extinction and other minor events and wonderfully ilustrated. A deligfull reading
April 4, 2018
This is a brilliant book if your interested in the broad sweep of evolutionary history. It is clearly written, well illustrated with artistic renditions as well as charts.
October 23, 2023
Through the Ages:
Over the years there has been a steady stream of quality Science books published and a few of these titles have achieved the status of “Classics”. Books like “The Sea Around Us” (1951) by Rachel Carson and Carl Sagan’s “Cosmos” (1980) come to mind and at least two by author Stephen Jay Gould: “Wonderful Life” (1989) and, the subject of this review, “The Book of Life” (2001). The list could go on and, I’m sure, you could add several other titles with some of your favorites. About 7 years after “The Book of Life” was originally published in 1993, General Editor, writer and Paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould decided to bring the text up to date with the 2000 edition. Along with Dr. Gould’s thought provoking text the book features in-depth articles by several different science researchers who are themselves teachers and accomplished writers in their various fields of paleontology. Some of these scientists you may be familiar with, others not so much. Encyclopedic in scope “The Book of Life” reads like a college level Text-Book that takes you on a journey through the history of Earth and the countless life forms that call it home. Starting with life’s raw beginnings on a mostly lifeless Earth the text moves on to today’s teaming multitudes with the cutting edge science of today’s evolutionary theories (as of 2000). The book opens with the new introduction and the original preface both written by Dr. Gould who talks about his reason for an updated edition and a brief history of the many paleo artist who’s art gave us a glimpse of what these early animals and what their environment may have looked like. Next, in the original introduction, Dr. Michael Benton* explains past geological time periods and how fossils are formed. From there the main text starts out with Dr. John Sepkoski’s overview of how life may have come about and early oceanic life. The next 3 chapters are by Dr. Benton who covers the rise and evolution of the fishes, how life moved onto land and the many dinosaurs that dominated the Mesozoic for a very long time. Next Dr. Christine Janis covers how mammals came to inherited a world without the dinosaurs and how they prospered and diversified to fill many of the available niches. And finally we come the primates, their origins and evolution. Coauthored by Dr’s. Peter Andrews and Christopher Stringer. Although portions of “The Book of Life” are extremely technical in nature and contain a lot of Scientific Terminology for the most part it’s written in a layman friendly manner with lots of detailed charts and illustrations that make even the technical parts clearer. I think, however, the authors assume that most readers will have at least some basic background in Biological reading. If you did well in High School Science classes you should be OK with this book. So if you’re at all interested in evolution and how life of the past continually changes to keep pace with their ever changing environment “The Book of Life” may be just the ticket for you.
(*) See also Benton’s other book “When Life Nearly Died”, a closeup look at the Permian-Triassic Extinction.
Last Ranger
Over the years there has been a steady stream of quality Science books published and a few of these titles have achieved the status of “Classics”. Books like “The Sea Around Us” (1951) by Rachel Carson and Carl Sagan’s “Cosmos” (1980) come to mind and at least two by author Stephen Jay Gould: “Wonderful Life” (1989) and, the subject of this review, “The Book of Life” (2001). The list could go on and, I’m sure, you could add several other titles with some of your favorites. About 7 years after “The Book of Life” was originally published in 1993, General Editor, writer and Paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould decided to bring the text up to date with the 2000 edition. Along with Dr. Gould’s thought provoking text the book features in-depth articles by several different science researchers who are themselves teachers and accomplished writers in their various fields of paleontology. Some of these scientists you may be familiar with, others not so much. Encyclopedic in scope “The Book of Life” reads like a college level Text-Book that takes you on a journey through the history of Earth and the countless life forms that call it home. Starting with life’s raw beginnings on a mostly lifeless Earth the text moves on to today’s teaming multitudes with the cutting edge science of today’s evolutionary theories (as of 2000). The book opens with the new introduction and the original preface both written by Dr. Gould who talks about his reason for an updated edition and a brief history of the many paleo artist who’s art gave us a glimpse of what these early animals and what their environment may have looked like. Next, in the original introduction, Dr. Michael Benton* explains past geological time periods and how fossils are formed. From there the main text starts out with Dr. John Sepkoski’s overview of how life may have come about and early oceanic life. The next 3 chapters are by Dr. Benton who covers the rise and evolution of the fishes, how life moved onto land and the many dinosaurs that dominated the Mesozoic for a very long time. Next Dr. Christine Janis covers how mammals came to inherited a world without the dinosaurs and how they prospered and diversified to fill many of the available niches. And finally we come the primates, their origins and evolution. Coauthored by Dr’s. Peter Andrews and Christopher Stringer. Although portions of “The Book of Life” are extremely technical in nature and contain a lot of Scientific Terminology for the most part it’s written in a layman friendly manner with lots of detailed charts and illustrations that make even the technical parts clearer. I think, however, the authors assume that most readers will have at least some basic background in Biological reading. If you did well in High School Science classes you should be OK with this book. So if you’re at all interested in evolution and how life of the past continually changes to keep pace with their ever changing environment “The Book of Life” may be just the ticket for you.
(*) See also Benton’s other book “When Life Nearly Died”, a closeup look at the Permian-Triassic Extinction.
Last Ranger
November 16, 2008
Actually, "currently reading" also applies to this magnificent work. Edited by general editor Stephen Jay Gould, with articles by numerous contributors, and gorgeously illustrated by various artists, this book gives an overview of life on Earth from its beginnings, billions of years ago, to the present. It also contains essays by Gould and others describing the ongoing process of science and the growth of the life sciences over centuries; reproductions of such works of art as Rudolph Zallinger's panorama murals of dinosaurs at Yale, Charles R. Knight's fascinating portraits of ancient life, vibrant and full of energy, Henry de la Beche's grey-scale cartoons of Mesozoic life, Mark Hallett's modern studies of dinosaurs, Louis Figuier's beautiful lithographs of "pre-Edenic" and "Edenic" life, and many other artistic contributions to evolutionary science that have inspired countless youngsters to go on to become scientists; analyses of major geological events of each eon and era of Earthly life, and the ways in which these shaped the course of evolution; and many other features. Oh, fear not, we're in there, too, almost the last ones on Life's great stage, but brining so great an impact on the rest of Earth's life with us that many scientists now believe a new era of life has begun: the Anthropogenic. A beautiful book for both its gorgeous illustrations and layout, and its brilliant explorations into the very heart of life.
February 26, 2010
Obviously, it's not possible to put everything we know about the history of the biosphere into a 250 page book, but "The Book of Life" does a good job of taking the reader from the beginnings of life through the ages. Each chapter is focused on a major theme (the dinosaurs, mammalian evolution, etc). The explanations of evolutionary processes, the phenomenon of extinction, important morphological developments, and the effects of the geological on the biological are especially helpful.
The only thing that holds me back from giving this one five stars is something mentioned by Gould himself in the introduction as a failing of many accounts on evolution and perhaps this work as well. Although several of the book's authors acknowledge the HUGE intellectual error in looking back on millions of years of evolution and simplifying it to a natural ascent from scum to homo sapiens, I wish the book would have gone further to discredit all anthropocentric subjectivity whatsoever.
The only thing that holds me back from giving this one five stars is something mentioned by Gould himself in the introduction as a failing of many accounts on evolution and perhaps this work as well. Although several of the book's authors acknowledge the HUGE intellectual error in looking back on millions of years of evolution and simplifying it to a natural ascent from scum to homo sapiens, I wish the book would have gone further to discredit all anthropocentric subjectivity whatsoever.
June 1, 2011
This book recorded the best knowledge of man in this field for the common readers, with unparalleled illustrations. It would have been even better if it were thinker, and with more coverage on the invertebrates, the 2nd imperfection being honestly admitted by its editor Dr Gould (He was such an excellent man with rounded wisdom, knowledge, eloquence, courage, and righteousness).
December 8, 2012
The illustrations make the book. Steven Gould passed away too soon. One of the greatest minds of our generation. This is not meaty stuff like his other books on time, evolutionary biology and natural selection. Rather this is a great book to sit down and become immersed in eras from the Pre-Cambrian, the Permian right down the the KT event.
September 9, 2007
Fascinating and beautiful.
November 13, 2011
Surely the most thorough survey of paleontology. (Original, 1993, edition).
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews