In this attractively illustrated volume, eminent biologist Sir Richard Southwood offers a remarkable survey of life in all its forms, ranging from the earliest single-celled bacteria, to the evolution and extinction of animals such as the dinosaurs, to the variety of life today. The book follows the major geological periods-such as the Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, and Devonian-explaining how great planetary changes such as the movement of the continents, the rising and falling of sea level, and the periods of glaciation, affected the forms of life on Earth. Beginning with the earliest and simplest forms of life, Southwood discusses such amazing creatures as bacteria that live around geysers and thermal vents and can survive in boiling water. He explains how the development of skeletons triggered the Cambrian Explosion, when animals such as trilobites, sea scorpions, shellfish, cephalopods first spread around the earth. He also examines such landmarks of evolution as the appearance of eggs in shells and of insects in flight. We read about the great dinosaurs and the arrival of the mammals and the primates, and the great extinctions, including the Permian (the largest in fossil history, wiping out 95% of animals) and the Cretaceous/Tertiary (K/T) extinction (the one that wiped out the dinosaurs). Southwood concludes by examining the impact of humanity on Earth, considering if we ourselves might not unleash the next major extinction. Southwood’s love for his subject, for the life he describes so vividly, shines through this carefully crafted story. Generously illustrated with line drawings showing the fauna and flora of the Earth, both past and present, The Story of Life will enthrall anyone interested in nature and natural history.
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This remarkable book succeeds, within less than 300 pages, in summarizing everything essential about all living creatures for more than three billion years. If you are looking for one convenient, reliable, highly readable reference to replace your whole library, this is it. ― Professor Jared Diamond
You will learn more from this book than any number of television programmes, and I hope that, like me, you find the unfashionable approach both refreshing and something of a relief. ―
British Wildlife
As scholarly as any textbook, the book would make a ready read on an airplane trip. It can be heartily recommended to the aficionado and the student alike. It should even appeal to that eclectic readership, the general public, so that people can gain an insight into the astonighing abundance and variety, and the pedigree, of our planet’s chief feature. ―
Norman Myers, Bioscience
Extremely few scientists would be able to cover the entire history of life authoritatively, with wisely chosen examples and principles, presented in lucid prose, and all in fewer than 260 well-illustrated pages. Richard Southwood is one of them, has done so, and I accordingly recommend this book to scientists and public alike. ―
Professor E O Wilson
Southwood displays an impressive sweep of knowledge about life . . . a swift, efficient delivery of the most important information we have on how life has blossomed on Earth. ―
Carl Zimmer, Nature
This is a lovely book. It is short, nicely presented, authoritative, and friendly. This must find a place in every school library. ―
Jack Cohen, Biologist
Besides being a gripping yarn,
The Story of Life is an impeccable review of the science. ― New Scientist
We could all benefit from enrolling for his course. ―
The Scotsman
an excellent and accessible overview. ―
BBC Wildlife
Comprehensive and thorough. ―
Focus
About the Author
Professor Sir Richard Southwood FRS, ex-head of Imperial College and Oxford Zoology Departments, ex-Vice-Chancellor of Oxford, holder of thirteen honorary degrees is, above all, a life long natural historian with an enduring curiosity about the lives of the other inhabitants of Earth. As well as writing and researching, he has played a major role in public policy related to the environment – with direct responsibility for the elimination of lead additives from petrol, inter alia.
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