Michael J. Benton
The History of Life: A Very Short Introduction First Edition
by Michael J. Benton (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 107 ratings
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Here is the extraordinary story of the unfolding of life on Earth, told by Michael J. Benton, a world-renowned authority on biodiversity. Ranging over four billion years, Benton weaves together the latest findings on fossils, earth history, evolutionary biology, and many other fields to highlight the great leaps that enabled life to evolve from microbe to human--big breakthroughs that made whole new ways of life possible--including cell division and multicellularity, hard skeletons, the move to land, the origin of forests, the move to the air. He describes the mass extinctions, especially the Permian, which obliterated 90% of life, and he sheds light on the origins of human beings, and of the many hominids that went before us. He ends by pointing out that studying the past helps us to predict the future: what happens if the atmosphere warms by 5 degrees? What happens if we destroy much of the biodiversity on Earth? These things have happened before, Benton notes. We need only
look to the distant past to know the future of life on Earth.
About the Series: Combining authority with wit, accessibility, and style, Very Short Introductions offer an introduction to some of life's most interesting topics. Written by experts for the newcomer, they demonstrate the finest contemporary thinking about the central problems and issues in hundreds of key topics, from philosophy to Freud, quantum theory to Islam.
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Michael J. Benton is Head of the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Bristol. He has written some fifty books, ranging from children's dinosaur and palaeontology books to standard textbooks.
Product details
Publisher : Oxford University Press; First Edition (December 15, 2008)
Language : English
Paperback : 144 pages
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 107 ratings
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Michael J. Benton
In his books, Mike Benton seeks to amaze, amuse and inform. There are so many exciting discoveries in the world of dinosaurs, ancient life, and earth sciences in general. He has written many books, including leading pop science, textbooks, technical scientific works, and books for children. He translates the latest scientific research into readable prose, and invites the reader into the laboratory or onto the field trip so they can see how it is done. He was part of the team that were first to identify the colour of dinosaur feathers in 2010, identified as one of the key scientific advances of that decade, but also a great example of how the realm of science expands as speculation is pushed back.
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short introduction history of life life on earth benton humans species evolution extinction animals knowledge major science theories covers early land narrative particularly plants understanding
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RockHound
5.0 out of 5 stars Lots of Great Reading HereReviewed in the United States on January 13, 2013
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This is a topic that many shy away from, as it seems like it would be too difficult for the average bear, but Benton presents it all in a concise and entertaining manner that is very accessible, even if you don't have a biology or paleontology background. It's a fascinating subject, and Benton has a great sense of humor - the very understated Brit type.
Highly recommend it, and I read it in only a few settings. He covers a lot of things and yet it all flows easily and is very understandable and well written. There's a reason he's so well-known in the field of paleontology - he really knows his stuff and is able to present it in a concise manner anyone can understand. Really opens one's eyes to the true mysteries of how we all came to be.
6 people found this helpful
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Magical Dragon
5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, and and not too complicatedReviewed in the United States on August 16, 2015
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Interesting book about the eras of life. I like the theories how dna and cells formed from a soup of natural chemicals in water heated by volcanic vents. He talks about how various life forms progressed through the ages from simple cells to corals, early sea creatures, walking onto land, the Permian extinction which killed 96% of all species, and of course humans. Was easy for a non scientist to understand. The only drawback is that it didn't have pictures of the life forms, plants and animals talked about, so I had to keep running to my computer for images.
3 people found this helpful
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Chaz
5.0 out of 5 stars FantasticReviewed in the United States on May 17, 2020
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A wonderful journey
2 people found this helpful
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Ms
5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting update on theories and evidence.Reviewed in the United States on March 26, 2014
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This was a fun read for me. I've been out of college for 44 years and my major was accounting. My interest in The History of Life is a continuation of updating my knowledge at least to 2009 about new theories of life and death.
One person found this helpful
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FT
3.0 out of 5 stars just as general information!Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2013
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As the title says, it is a very short introduction. Contents can satisfy just your curiosity about the history of life.
One person found this helpful
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jkcook
5.0 out of 5 stars Great ReviewReviewed in the United States on February 17, 2014
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It's been a while...still thought there were five kingdoms. Glad I'm getting caught up with the more current information. Very easy to follow his easy going style.
One person found this helpful
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Frank C Kocich
1.0 out of 5 stars Not worth it.Reviewed in the United States on March 16, 2021
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The book as well as the font size is tiny. Don't spend your money.
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Samuel F. Crow
5.0 out of 5 stars Five StarsReviewed in the United States on October 11, 2015
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Wow a really goood book. Delivery was as promised and in the promised condition. Thank you.
One person found this helpful
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Peter Freebody
5.0 out of 5 stars Tough at times but worth itReviewed in Australia on May 1, 2019
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A scholarly, serious, but accessible, and occasionally even entertaining treatment of a 'topic' that surely must be about as difficult an assignment as a mere H. Sapiens a can imagine.
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X 27
4.0 out of 5 stars 読みやすいReviewed in Japan on September 14, 2013
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翻訳に、イギリス英語で、とか書いてあって、翻訳は読みにくいけど、原文は普通の理系の英語でたまーに知らない単語があるくらい。かなり新しい知見を踏まえて書いてあるので面白い。ただ、遺伝学の初歩的ミスがあるような気が。重箱の隅だけど。
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Rooster
5.0 out of 5 stars OutstandingReviewed in Canada on April 27, 2018
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This should be a must read for most people without expertise in the matter. The perspective that an overview of this nature gives should not be understated. Immensity readable and important.
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Amazon カスタマー
5.0 out of 5 stars とうきょうじんのはしくれReviewed in Japan on September 26, 2016
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非常にわかりやすく説明してくれている本だった。このシリーズは色々と勉強になる本が発刊されているが、特にこの本は解りやすい。
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Prometheus
2.0 out of 5 stars A very disappointing historyReviewed in the United Kingdom on January 18, 2013
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Given the reviews for this book, I thought "The History of Life" would be an interesting read. It should be noted that I do realise that a short introduction by definition cannot contain much detail, however, this book fails in its "History of Life". Had this been about the evolution of the vertebrates I would have given it 3 stars, but its title suggests a much bigger story. Ignoring mistakes like typos (e.g. P, 28 3.5 million should be 3.5 billion), the most important areas appeared to be glossed over. A lot of the book is about vertebrates which in terms of Life is not as important as some assume. A major failing in this book is a total lack of references or further reading list. I have a few of these books and this is the only one I have without some form of further reading.
The chapter on the origins of life is poorly done and does not explain sufficiently the various theories. I simply cringed when I read "predicted by Euan Nisbet and Norman Sleep's model for the origin of life". The section on multicellularity wasn't particularly instructive nor helpful. Many undergraduate courses in Biology will cover the various theories of the origin of multicellularity in a number of lectures indicating the complexity and controversial nature of this area.
By the time I got to p.118 and read the section on the runaway greenhouse, my brain could take no more. I think if you are looking for a book on vertebrate palaeontology/evolution then this would be a reasonably simple introduction. But if you are interested in the origin and early development of life, go elsewhere.
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