The Book of Life: An Illustrated History of the Evolution of Life on Earth

An illustrated natural history of the earth and its denizens combines paintings, drawings, and computer-generated images with a sweeping yet accessible chronicle of the world's variegated organisms and species.

So much is unknown, but the modesty of this first-rank team of scientists and illustrators makes all the more trustworthy their seven-chapter telling of the evolutionary story as it is now tentatively interpreted. Gould, of Bully for Brontosaurus fame, leads off with an essay on iconography, the visual depiction of fossils since recognition of their antediluvian origins in the early 1800s. That's appropriate, since this album's illustrations--200 of them, in color--surround the text, excite the sense of wonder, and vivify the past. Further sharpening the book's visual impact, there are bright diagrams, captions, and a phylogeny (the latest concept in speciation) for each crucial argument--such as ancient forms of metabolism or the evidence for a Permian extinction that wiped out 95 percent of all species, clearing the way for dinosaurs. But the writers are no slouches, either, pacing the sequence of change through time's abyssal vastness and showing the slight opportunities that eventuated in the reign of fishes, reptiles, dinosaurs, mammals, and humans--while reminding the reader that evolution progresses not in a simple-to-complex fashion but is a blizzard of improvisations and haphazardry. A marvelous book. Gilbert Taylor

It is hard to know just what to make of this book. On one hand, the inclusion of dozens of striking color paintings and an introductory essay by Stephen Jay Gould on the history of iconography in the life sciences suggest a coffee-table book on biological illustration. On the other hand, the bulk of the illustrations, along with the organization of the text, suggest a textbook or encyclopedia aimed at high school students and general readers. Each of the six chapters--beginning with the origin of life in the seas, continuing through the age of dinosaurs, and ending with the evolution of the primates and hominids--is written by an expert in the field and addresses the latest research. Unfortunately, there are no bibliographies pointing readers to primary sources. This book will probably see the most use in the reference collection of public and school libraries.
- Eric Hinsdale, Trinity Univ. Lib., San Antonio
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.