Eine (sehr) kurze Geschichte des Lebens

by Henry Gee

Der langjährige Nature-Chefredakteur Henry Gee erzählt die Geschichte des Lebens: Sein Buch versammelt das Wichtigste über unsere Existenz in den letzten 4,6 Milliarden Jahre auf gut 200 mitreißenden und höchst überraschenden Seiten. Dieses Buch macht die komplexe Entstehung des Lebens auf unserem Planeten erstmals für alle verständlich. Dabei stand das Leben auf der Erde schon mehrfach kurz vor der Auslöschung. Katastrophen, ohne die allerdings etwa die Ausbreitung der Säugetiere nicht möglich gewesen wäre. Henry Gee schildert unterhaltsam und anschaulich, wie sich das Leben immer wieder durchsetzte. Am Ende steht die Erkenntnis: Das Leben findet immer einen Weg.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, History, Biology, Nature, Evolution, Audiobook

224 pages, Hardcover

First published November 9, 2021

About the author

Henry Gee's next book The Wonder of Life on earth, illustrated by Raxenne Maniquiz, is out on 5 February 2026. His other books include The Decline and Fall of the Human Empire, A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth (winner of the 2022 Royal Society Science Book Prize) and The Science of Middle earth. His books have been translated into more than 25 languages. He is represented by Jill Grinberg Literary Management and lives in Cromer, England.

Reviews

[Brian Clegg · Rating 5 out of 5]

In writing this book, Henry Gee had a lot to live up to. His earlier title The Accidental Species was a superbly readable and fascinating description of the evolutionary process leading to Homo sapiens. It seemed hard to beat - but he has succeeded with what is inevitably going to be described as a tour-de-force.

As is promised on the cover, we are taken through nearly 4.6 billion years of life on Earth (actually rather more, as I'll cover below). It's a mark of Gee's skill that what could have ended up feeling like an interminable list of different organisms comes across instead as something of a pager turner. This is helped by the structuring - within those promised twelve chapters everything is divided up into handy bite-sized chunks. And although there certainly are very many species mentioned as we pass through the years, rather than feeling overwhelming, Gee's friendly prose and careful timing made the approach come across as natural and organic.

There was a whole lot of information here that was new to me, as we follow the development of life in manifold ways, both in the different ways this happened but also in the way that everything fits together. This is one of the best things about the book. Like, I suspect, most people, I had a distinctly vague conception of the relative timing of many bits of the development and evolution of life - Gee gives us the big picture without ever overwhelming the reader or becoming too summary.

Another masterful aspect of the structure is the way that the first eight chapters build in a kind of crescendo, then the whole thing widens out with first the development of apes, then hominins, then humans and finally looks forward to the future. I use a musical term intentionally - this feels like a well-crafted piece of music, pushing us on to the big finish.

My favourite chapter of all, even though it's inevitably speculative, was the one titled The Past of the Future, where Gee takes us through what is likely to happen to life on a future Earth, including its our and its eventual extinction - this has a slightly wistful, but inevitable feel to it and is quite remarkable. This takes us around a billion years ahead from now - so the whole span of the book is more like 5.5 billion years.

Along the way there are plenty of examples of delightful writing. I loved, for example, the line 'As many bacteria could fit on the head of a pin as there were revellers who went to Woodstock, and with room to spare.' Or the beautiful description of the land-dwelling amphibian Eryops 'which looked like a bullfrog imagining itself as an alligator. Had it had wheels, it would have been an armoured personnel carrier. With teeth.'

A couple of small negatives. Some of the science that is decidedly speculative is stated as if it were fact (for example, the Theia hypothesis for the formation of the Earth/Moon system). It's probably necessary to keep up the momentum, but I would have liked a proviso in the introduction. Gee's descriptions are good, but I really missed having illustrations (for example, he refers to the 'strikingly beautiful' Dickinsonia - I wanted to see a drawing of one). Okay, I could look it up online, as I did with several examples, but it would have been good to have had them there and then. If we're going to be fussy, the first timeline seems to suggest the birth of the universe was 11.2 billion years ago, rather than 13.8. And I'm a little doubtful of the assertion 'Within the next few thousand years Homo sapiens will have vanished.'

The argument for our disappearance is based on, amongst other things, a combination of falling birthrate and declining carbon dioxide levels. This is one of the delights of the chapter that peers in to the future - although all our focus at the moment is on keeping carbon dioxide levels down (and that is essential for now), long term it is likely to be reducing carbon dioxide rates that does for much of life on Earth. My doubt here is that there is no mention of anything outside of biology. Humans have thrived of late because their technology enables them not just to respond to the environment, as is normal in biology, but to modify the environment and add non-biological abilities (such as flying). It's entirely possible that humanity will wipe itself out, but I would surprised that if we do survive it won't possible to hold off environmental changes for more than those 'few thousand years'. To be fair, Gee tempers that later, referring to our future as a 'few thousand to tens of thousands of years' and then a little later still as 'sooner or later'. Like Neils Bohr and others, I believe that prediction is difficult, especially about the future, and I prefer the less definitive figure.

This one is easy to sum up. Brilliant book. Buy it.

[Trevor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this guy’s In Search of Deep Time a lifetime ago. It was one of the best books on evolution I had ever read. And so beautifully written. Then I spotted this in a bookshop the other day. I just assumed it had been reprinted from ages ago, but it turns out he has not joined deep time himself, but is still writing books – although at one point in this he does say that after each book he also says ‘never again’.

This is a lovely book. Highly accessible and with just enough detail to keep you turning the pages without feeling lost. He traces life on earth from the formation of the planet through to the likely end of the planet and possible ‘what’s next’ too. He explains each of the great extinction events and what we lost along the way. Many of these involved remarkable shifts in the composition of the atmosphere – huge drops in carbon dioxide, huge jumps in carbon dioxide. The amount of oxygen has changed remarkably over time too. I had no idea that most of the coal we have in the world was from a time when there was so much oxygen in the atmosphere that trees would basically spontaneously combust. There were so many things I didn’t know before reading this book. The other was that pterodactyl (which means wing finger) didn’t ‘flap’ their wings to fly – but rather were basically gliders. I had no idea most dinosaurs were full of air as a way to control heat and that as such they were much more efficient than we mammals. I also had no idea that sharks are covered with what we use as teeth and this was why their skin was once used as sandpaper. These all seem like things I might have expected someone to have mentioned to me along the way – but it seems not.

We are heading back to a single great continent situated at the equator. This will be bad news for life. Most life lives between sea and land, and if there is only one giant land mass that means less coast for life to be comfortable. He’s not as convinced as many are of the anthracene, that the extinction event we are currently undergoing will be recognisable in the fossil record as being down to us. His reasoning being that in the long run what we are doing to the planet probably will not be over a long enough period to be able to be noticed in the fossil record. Not exactly a reason for us to stop killing the planet, but interesting all the same.

This book is a joy to read and I found it simply fascinating. His other one is probably better – you should read that too, it will change the way you understand evolution – but this was a delight.

[Geoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty much as advertised in the title. Pithy but very well written and interesting chapters n the history of life on Earth, with a big focus on the adaptations that helped creatures thrive and the environmental changes (magma plumes! ice ages! new forests sucking plants from the atmosphere!) that led to mass extinctions. It's always hard to understand geological time scales; a million years just seems so difficult to fathom. But Gee does a good job of walking us through what know about so long ago. Particular highlights are his discussion of the incredibly different anatomy of plants/"trees" in the Carboniferous forests (they were hollow! and didn't rot because more forest floor insects didn't exist yet!), the ways in which tectonics have shaped the plant, the details of our now extinct hominid relatives, and a discussion of what comes in the next several million years. Gee sees human existence as a mere blip in the planet's history, which is simultaneously off putting and bracing (I mean, yeah. We've only been around for 500,000 years or so) and even more of an existential slap in the face is his mater of fact statements that humans will be extinct in a relatively short time by geologic standards (most large animals don't seem to last more than a million years). But life will go on and once Earth can no longer support any life at all, the universe will go on. Pretty humbling and made me want to both hug my kids and just marvel that we get to be here to be reflective on this amazing universe.

**Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Jin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ich liebe es etwas über die Geschichte der Welt zu erfahren und auf der Suche nach einem neuen (leicht verdaulichen) Buch bin ich auf diese kurze Erzählung gestoßen. Henry Gee fasst in kompakten Kapiteln zusammen, wie es mit dem Leben in unserem Universum anfing bis zum Entstehen des Homo Sapiens mit einem kurzen Ausblick in die Zukunft am Ende. Es ist eine gute Zusammenfassung in einer einfachen Sprache, die trotzdem informativ und spannend erzählt ist. Ich finde, man merkt dem Autor die Leidenschaft des Themas an und für alle, die sich allgemein für die Weltgeschichte interessieren, ist das Buch sicherlich lesenswert. Es hilft sich in der Geschichte des Lebens zu orientieren und je nach Interesse kann man dann je nach Thema nochmal tiefer recherchieren. Für mich war es ein gutes Einsteigerbuch und es hat mein Wissen aufgefrischt!

** Dieses Buch wurde mir über NetGalley als E-Book zur Verfügung gestellt **

[John Gribbin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Henry Gee's history of life on Earth is really the story of where we came from -- from the first bacteria right up to date. As always, he writes with great clarity and conveys masses of information in an accessible way. My only complaint is that it is too short -- I was left wanting more! It doesn't quite top The Accidental Species, but to say it is Gee's second-best book is intended as a high compliment.

[Jorge Zuluaga · Rating 5 out of 5]

¡Que delicia de librito!

Abundante en datos curiosos, con muy buen nivel científico (a veces demasiado, pero nunca hasta aburrir), fácil de leer, escrito con elegancia y gracia, pero lo mejor es el tema: el más grandioso y fascinante relato inventado - ¿o descubierto? - por la humanidad: la Historia de la vida.

Reseña en extenso en cocción…

[Jesse · Rating 1 out of 5]

The very interesting information contained in this book is completely ruined by frequent loud sound effects in the audiobook version.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth: 4.6 Billion Years in 12 Pithy Chapters, by Henry Gee, is an interesting little book on the history of life on Earth. Of course, a small book such as this will not, in any way, exhaustively cover any of the topics or lifeforms contained within. It does, however, give a very approachable overview of the subject, and with an extensive source list, and further reading list within, it also gives the reader next steps if they wish to drill down on any one topic. This book examines life as we know it so far, from its earliest theorized state, with cells beginning to cooperate and form more complex structures, to the advent of single cell, and multicellular life, and its slow evolution into more complex and specialized forms. The pursuit of nutrients, and the need to survive both the harsh radiation from the sun, and the changing climate of the Earth, led to numerous innovations for protection, efficient use and storage of energy, and reproduction, amongst other needs. Gee has captivated my attention with this book, giving brief tidbits of information on life from the earliest points in their history, up to the present day.

From a geological perspective, humanity is but a blip on the map, and may not even make as meaningful an impact on the Earth as much smaller, and more simple forms of life. The complexities of life, whether it be the carboniferous era "forests" of old, the Lystrosaurus, which for millions of years roamed the Earth as the dominant species on the planet, the evolution of birds from reptilians, and the interesting menagerie of life in the ocean, are all presented well. The fascinating life of our distant ancestors, Homo Erectus is also fascinating, as are the many and varied human-like cousins that once inhabited the Earth. This book also shows that humans, as the last of their species, and almost the last of the monkeys in general, may not survive long. Our cousins in the animal kingdom are long gone, from human predation, possibly, but much more likely from their inability to survive a changing climate. This will be our greatest challenge, and one we may not be able to survive at all, if the history of life on Earth has any bearing on it. Life will prevail for hundreds of millions of years, until the eventual death of the Earth itself, barring any cataclysmic events, but humans will almost certainly not be around to see it.

[Heather Perkins · Rating 2 out of 5]

This review is going to have two parts. I listened to the audiobook version.
The way the book is formatted you move forward through time with the Earth as it starts out in the earliest and then move forward. Each chapter is nicely grouped and none stand out as being overwhelming or unnecessary. I loved that as he moved through the evolution Henry Gee didn’t just focus on the animal life, he looked at the plant life as well. There were interesting facts I didn’t know and none of the science was too technical. There was always an explanation to help the layman to understand subjects they might not have encountered.
However, I was listening to the book, and not reading it, and this is where the experience really fell short for me. There was a constant barrage of sound effects through the reading that distracted and did not add to the book. During Chapter 7 in a section talking about the difference between how dinosaurs and mammals cooled themselves there was a nonstop wooshing sound that made it difficult to hear the words. It was also a juxtaposition of such scientific and professional topics with childish production. There were fart sounds and at one point talking about homo erectus’ estrus there are kissing sounds. The text of the book is fine from what I could tell, read it and enjoy, the audiobook I would not recommend to anyone. That is the reason why I gave it 2 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the copy of this audiobook.

[Miglė · Rating 5 out of 5]

Atsimenu, kažkada egzistavo knyga „Ką turėtų žinoti kiekvienas išsilavinęs žmogus“, tai aš tokį pavadinimą duočiau būtent šiai knygai – apie Žemės ir evoliucijos istoriją. Pasakojama labai patraukliai, tekstas skaidomas pastraipomis (lengva nepamesti minties), skyreliai išdėstyti daugmaž chronologiškai, bet kiekviename koncentruojantis į skirtingas temas: „Stuburo pradžia“, „Kilkite, amniotai!“, „Dinozaurų skrydis“ ir pan.

Bijojau, kad bus per daug jau žinomų dalykų, bet ne – autorius meistriškai iškapsto įdomybes ir įtraukia jas į platesnį kontekstą. Pavyzdžiui, jei Karbono periodu milžiniški į laumžirgius panašūs vabzdžiai turėjo tris poras sparnų (viena sumažėjusi), tai visi dabartiniai turi dvi poras, net jei viena pora atrofavosi ar virto į kažką kita – štai antra musių sparnų pora virto mažyčiais giroskopiniais organais, kurie padeda musei išlaikyti pusiausvyrą ir orientuotis erdvėje (ir dėl to jas taip sunku priploti). Pirmųjų šarvuotų žuvų galva buvo padengta trimis mineralų sluoksniais: kaulu, dentinu ir emaliu, kurie išliko mūsų dantyse. Iš kur atsirado kaulai? Ediakaro periodu suiro daug žemyninės plutos, kuri nubyrėjo į vandenynus ir davė gyvūnams kalcio. Karbono periodu ant žemės augo įvairiausi augalai, bet gyvūnai dar nemokėjo jų valgyti, todėl tik gainiojo vienas kitą aplink juos, o kai augalai išsivystė celiuliozę, jų negalėjo „suvirškinti“ net skaidytojai – dėl to visa mūsų turima nafta yra iš šio laikotarpio nesuvirškintų augalų.

Apskritai labai fainai integruota geologijos istorija su gyvybės istorija – žemynas pasislenka ant ašigalio, apšąla, daugiau vandens užrakinama lede, susitraukia bentinė zona, išnyksta joje apsistoję gyvūnai. Ledynmetis paskatina augalų ir grybų bendradarbiavimą, kas leidžia jiems geriau apsirūpinti maistu per šaknis ir išplisti giliau į žemyną. Augalai suvartoja daug CO2, atsiranda daugiau deguonies, klimatas atvėsta. Žemynai susirenka į vieną, vanduo nebepasiekia žemyno vidurio, jame prasideda sausra, ten nebeauga augalai, CO2 lygis vėl pakyla...

Visada labiausiai bijau skaityti tokių knygų paskutinį skyrelį „Žemės ateitis“, nes dažniausiai jis mane nuliūdina. Tačiau čia autorius piešia nuostabiai neantropocentrišką Žemės peizažą ir pametėja tokių drąsiu idėjų, kad užsimaniau paskaityti šito paties autoriaus sci-fi knygas.

Vėl ir vėl stebėjausi ir dejavau, kodėl ši knyga dar neišversta į lietuvių kalbą, bet man taip nutinka su dažna mokslo populiarinimo knyga, tai gal neverta labai kreipti dėmesio. Pabaigai paminėsiu vieną mane nuvylusį faktelį – knygoje minima, kad šis gyvūnas yra mūsų, stuburinių, protėvis, bet vėliau paskaičiau, kad pagal naujausius tyrimus jis priskiriamas prie pirminiaburnių (vabzdžių ir pan.) grupės. Aišku, ką jau tokiam puikiam gyvūnui daryti prie mūsų, antriniaburnių, stalo.

[The Inquisitive Biologist · Rating 5 out of 5]

A high-octane biography of our planet, A (Very) Short History of Life On Earth dishes out interesting nuggets apace while reinvigorating your awe of deep time. See my full review at https://inquisitivebiologist.com/2021...

[Melody · Rating 2 out of 5]

Argggh. This was SO frustrating an experience for me. The audiobook has an incredibly intrusive soundtrack. While the narrator is narrating, there are all sorts of weird sounds happening in the background. I would have enjoyed this book so much, but as it stands, I'm bailing right out. It's bad enough when publishers add music at chapter breaks, but random music under narration is untenable.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun ride! Pithy is a good word for it - i
this feels like a very well done evolutionary history documentary in book form. Nothing explored with much lingering depth, but an avalanche of ideas to explore for a beginner. I enjoyed getting to learn about the Great Oxidation Event and the Purple Earth Hypothesis and my new bestie the Lystosaurus.

I would recommend a traditional book over audiobook - I didn’t mind the sound effects that others seemed to very much dislike, but this is so fast moving and densely packed and full of eons-extinct genus names that I personally found the audio version harder to absorb. mileage will vary on that front.

[Xavier Bonilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic book. If you ever wanted to hand someone a short book about the history of our planet, this is the book! Gee masterfully synthesizes information from each of the earth’s periods. He describes the natural history of the climate, animals, and various pivotal points. Excellent book!

[Johan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tip! Effe doorbijten - lees af en toe (of meestal) rond de vele soortnamen - en ontdekt veel moois en nieuws...

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super Überblick über die wichtigsten Stationen der stetigen Entwicklung allen Lebens. Ich habe einiges gelernt, was ich vorher noch nicht wusste. Am Ende sind wir alle nur ein Haufen Cyanobakterien.
Das letzte Kapitel nimmt Bezug auf die zukünftige Entwicklung, auf die unsere Erde und Spezies hinarbeitet, was gleichzeitig faszinierend und gruselig ist.
Definitiv zu empfehlen! (2 of 24)

[Elentarri · Rating 4 out of 5]

In "A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth", Henry Gee has indeed provided the reader with a short, but broad, introduction to the history of the past "4.6 Billion Years in 12 Pithy Chapters".  The chapters are fairly short, very interesting and have the occasional amusing observation.  Nothing to snooze at in this book.  Some of the commentary in the endnotes (which really should have been footnotes!) are also fairly entertaining and informative.  The only unfortunate omission is the inclusion of some sketches or illustrations to show the reader what some of the fascinating creatures might have looked like.  I enjoyed reading this book a great deal, and I particularly like Henry Gee's writing style. 

Other recommended books:

~The Accidental Species: Misunderstandings of Human Evolution by Henry Gee
~The Emerald Planet:  How Plants Changed Earth's History by David Beerling
~When Life Nearly Died:  The Greatest Mass Extinction of All Time by Michael J Benton
~The Vital Question by Nick Lane
~The Earth: An Intimate History by Richard Fortey
~Life: An Unauthorised Biography by Richard Fortey
~Planet of the Bugs:  Evolution and the Rise of Insects by Scott Richard Shaw
~Restless Creatures:  The Story of Life in Ten Movements by Matt Wilkinson

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great science writing: fun and informative

I loved this book. It certainly lives up to its name as it is short, but it isn’t short on great writing. It also lives up to it’s subtitle about pithy chapters. There were several passages that were so well written that I would re-read them several times. I am glad that Henry Gee made room for clever writing in such a concise book. Although the book is concise, I never felt that Gee skimped on content. It all flowed very well, with my never having asked how he got from point A to point B. Even some of the footnotes are worth reading. My one quibble about the book is the speculative nature of some of the information in chapter 12, but this is a minor point. This book is well worth reading. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the advance reader copy.

[Tomas Bella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nie úplne ľahké čítanie, hlavne obdobie prvých pár miliónov rokov, keď sa na Zemi len povaľujú šutre, ale dostanete presne to, čo kniha sľubuje: veľmi krátky, užitočný a od cicavcov ďalej aj celkom svieži prehľad dejín Zeme, ľahko nahrádzajúci pár rokov v školských laviciach, lebo vtedy ste nedávali pozor.

[Vivek KuRa · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have already watched David Attenborough’s Life/Origin of life or Neil deGrasse’s Cosmos docuseries like me, then this book will act as a fantastic recap of the complex history of life on earth. If you haven’t watched the above-mentioned docuseries, then this book will be an absolute delight for anybody interested in natural history. Also, I highly recommend watching these awesome docuseries in the soothing voice of Mr. Attenborough and Mr. Tyson.

Chapters are laid out in chronological order of geological time scale such as different Eons, Eras and Periods of earth along with origin and evolution of life. Book explains how relentlessly life held on even in the midst of great volcanic eruptions, asteroid strikes, continental drifts and extreme climate and atmospheric changes.

Every time majority of flora and fauna gets wiped out (Five mass extinctions), life always reappeared and took a different direction in the evolutionary path. The story is the same with early life forms, or dinosaurs or proto mammals. The chapter about evolution of hominids is pretty interesting and made me realize how the human history is not even a chapter but a mere footnote in the grand book of life on earth.

Book ends with the possible fate of humanity, anticipated sixth extinction and sure imminent death of our Sun and hence all life forms in earth due to lack of fuel several million years from now.

A very interesting short read. Highly recommended for all natural history lovers.

[Camille · Rating 2 out of 5]

Une introduction à l'évolution de la vie sur Terre en 12 chapitres, bien vulgarisé et plutôt agréable à lire.
On se serait passé des pointes d'humour sarcastiques pas drôle qui ponctuent le texte, mais c'est sûrement de l'humour de paléontologue (heureusement c'est surtout dans les notes de bas de page on peut donc les ignorer). Par contre ce qui m'a choqué et que je trouve aberrant c'est quand l'auteur nous explique que le fait que la majorité des espèces vivantes possèdent 5 doigts est tellement extraordinaire que c'est peut-être l'oeuvre d'un dieu ! Wesh mec déjà c'est pas la totalité tu le dis toi même et en plus pardon mais tu parles toi même de Darwin et de la théorie de l'évolution, donc pourquoi tu nous sors dieu ? (C'est le cas aussi beaucoup sur la partie qui parle d'Homo Sapiens, en mode c'est la meilleure espèce, la plus aboutie et blablabla, de la part d'un biologiste je trouve ces propos choquants et sans intérêt).
Donc c'est une bonne introduction et un bon résumé de l'histoire de la vie sur Terre mais certaines éléments sont clairement à prendre avec des pincettes et si c'est de l'humour c'est vraiment pas drôle.
Je vous le conseille malgré tout, on apprend pas mal de choses sur la Terre et son Histoire passionnante. Par contre ne lisez pas l'épilogue (je vous le résume : le changement climatique c'est pas si terrible LOLILOL)

[Iryna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Це дійсно дуже гарна і сучасна науково-просвітницька книга, таких на українському ринку не вистачає. Це такий собі дуже короткий нарис, що підбиває підсумки того, що люди знають на наш час про еволюцію та розвиток життя.
Не зважаючи на крихітний обсяг книги, її читати довго, бо весь час треба гуглити і дивитись що і як виглядає. Насправді, як на мене, це мало б бути гарне ілюстроване видання з великою кількість QR-кодів або інтерактивна електронка. Те як книга опублікована зараз, це для неї затісно.
Особливе зауваження до українського видання.
КСД викинули ВСІ посилання на першоджерела та коментарі автора, був викинутий розділ з рекомендованою літературою та алфавітний показчик.
Також є помилки в тексті.
Є неточність перекладу що може заплутати і ввести в оману.
"Разом з динозаврами встигли вимерти всі, крім чотирьох видів цих спритних, жвавих тварин. Уціліти вдалося лише однопрохідним яйцекладним, сумчастим, планетарним і багатогорбкозубим. Кожен із цих видів сягав далеко вглиб давньої еволюційної історії".
Це не види, а лінії, які включають різні види.
Помилка на шкалі часу на схемі. Вказані мільйони замість тисяч років. (Шкала 6. Homo sapiens).
Дуже не вистачає латинських назв істот які описуються в книзі. Через це деякі з них просто неможливо знайти, бо перекладачі так інтерпретували назву, що вона не гуглиться.
Українське видання м'яко-кажучи зроблено аби як, і очевидно що науковий редактор з перекладом не працював. Це дуже і дуже погано.

[Kasia · Rating 5 out of 5]

No matter what we do life on earth will be extinct in about one billion years. Why try so hard?

[Laura Bazalgette Freeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating book about the history of the earth. I certainly learned a lot from it, and it made me appreciate how transient and fragile life is.

[Joe Davoust · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like I’ve gone to a natural history museum where every specimen is replaced by one of those "item removed” signs. At the risk of sounding like a five year old, this book needs pictures. The bulk of this book is a narrative of the evolution of hundreds of prehistoric plants and animals with polysyllabic names. I only began enjoying it when I got out my iPad and found out what these strange creatures looked like. Being a “very short history,” the discussion about individual species was never enough to form an image in my mind as I read. Other than that, the book was interesting and easy to read. The footnotes provided additional information or cited sources in a way that while interesting, were not necessary to enjoy the narrative. For a light overview of evolution on earth, this book was pretty good but would have been much better if illustrated.

[Leila · Rating 2 out of 5]

It feels kind of mean to rate this because I had a hard time paying attention to all of it. That's why I'm being nice and giving 2 when really this feels like a 1.75 or 1.5.

[Jagoda Budnik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bardzo ciekawie przedstawiona historia. Pierwszy raz uświadomiono mi jak długo w skali rozwoju życia na ziemi trwał etap "morski" ewolucji. Przeszkodą może być dość zaawansowany język (angielskie nazwy gatunków/rodzajów/rodzin/klas organizmów itp.)

[Vinay Bysani · Rating 2 out of 5]

this book is like a tldr of earths history - geological history, evolutionary history. the concepts can be so difficult to grasp at times, I felt like wanting to know why a certain thing happened a little bit more, not just read in a sentence.

I think the author is so knowledgeable, I would have enjoyed the detailed version, not the pocket book edition like this one.

definitely feels rushed at several chapters (especially chapter 3, 4), with a lot of facts that fit well into the bigger picture, but many of those facts are well forgotten.

in chapter 3 for example, author uses a tons of extinct species to tell facts of evolutionary history, it becomes difficult to imagine them in a sentence of information, most of them you might have never heard of them. so it made sense to constantly look at Google images to see what he was telling about. majority of facts won't even stay in your head as a lot of these species won't live more than a sentence or two


maybe this book is not good enough for a pop sci reader like me. I tried my best to bite my tongue and read it but I can't help but dnf it

[Dinh Quoc Bao · Rating 3 out of 5]

[DNF] It is damn near impossible to summarize biology in a 200-page book isn’t it?

This book is like a summary of Campbell biology with a lot of lengthy walls of texts, namedrops, and NO illustrations.

I stopped at chapter 5/12 and did not even bother to read the footnotes.

The book is hinted with rare segments of well-written story-telling, and I acknowledge the author’s attempt to appeal biology to the mass reader, using analogies and clear-cut notations.
However, it is just too tough of a book for me personally. Having never been a fan of biology, with little to no background knowledge, this is more than a mouthful for an introduction to the subject.I could potentially push through the book but it would not be an enjoyable read, no matter how useful.

The book is still immensely rich in biological knowledge, though not accessible to me atm. I’ll get back to this tough nut as soon as I’ve obtained a certain amount of Biology academia.

[Todd Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Truth in advertise ... A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth is just that and no more.

The book is nicely written, but it could have been so much better if it had included one thing ... illustrations! Gee describes many extinct species, but without some sense of what they look like the creatures are left to the reader's imagination (which would be fine for a work of fiction, but not so much for a work of science).

It was fine, but the fact that it could have been so much more leaves a lingering feeling of disappointment.