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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
this wants to be the ancestors tale SOOO bad
informative
reflective
medium-paced
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
adventurous
informative
reflective
fast-paced
The style is great. It is readable, informative, and gives one a profound sense of "aren't I the lucky living thing to be right here right now...in the grand scheme of 'life, the universe, and everything'."
High school biology being a long time ago, I did get lost a bit in the names of things. The timelines helped a lot, but halfway through the Jurassic, I couldn't remember whether it was the whodat that dominated the seas or the whatsit, and when an unfamiliar name would return I felt more lost than I do in the second hundred pages of a Dickens novel, or midway through Gosford Park.
Having said that, the disorientation was usually short lived as the entire group of critters was extinct just a few pages later and new life with new names was on the rise.
I'll definitely have to read this one again, this time with a character map - a list of who's who. :D
High school biology being a long time ago, I did get lost a bit in the names of things. The timelines helped a lot, but halfway through the Jurassic, I couldn't remember whether it was the whodat that dominated the seas or the whatsit, and when an unfamiliar name would return I felt more lost than I do in the second hundred pages of a Dickens novel, or midway through Gosford Park.
Having said that, the disorientation was usually short lived as the entire group of critters was extinct just a few pages later and new life with new names was on the rise.
I'll definitely have to read this one again, this time with a character map - a list of who's who. :D
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
I will read this over and over again. Beautiful, memorable, and validating, in some oddly poetic way I can’t quite describe.
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
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.
informative
medium-paced
informative
reflective
medium-paced