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greatlibraryofalexandra 's review for:
Otherlands: Journeys in Earth's Extinct Ecosystems
by Thomas Halliday
adventurous
hopeful
informative
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
When I decide what I'm going to say about the book half way through, and the rest of it doesn't change my mind, I know it's a 3 stars. This was one of those! Not a bad book at all: fluid, well written, paints beautiful pictures, informs with great attention to detail, etc. It's interesting and also chock full of information.
Where it went "wrong" for me is...it's boring. Even though each "time period" explored is different by definition, the format of the book was repetitive and, since at the end of the day this is all speculation (though obviously well supported by the fossil record) it got a little too whimsical for me. I always wanted to know more about how and why these conclusions were drawn, rather than just being immersed in "what the world looked like." I also did not like that the author chose to just "pick" a theory when several were scientifically possible; I would have preferred he briefly outline the theories and then explain why he was settling on the one he was. Instead, the way he told the stories made what he was saying come off as fact, even though he briefly warned against it in the forward.
It was definitely highly intelligent and full of information, but it didn't keep my attention very well.
Where it went "wrong" for me is...it's boring. Even though each "time period" explored is different by definition, the format of the book was repetitive and, since at the end of the day this is all speculation (though obviously well supported by the fossil record) it got a little too whimsical for me. I always wanted to know more about how and why these conclusions were drawn, rather than just being immersed in "what the world looked like." I also did not like that the author chose to just "pick" a theory when several were scientifically possible; I would have preferred he briefly outline the theories and then explain why he was settling on the one he was. Instead, the way he told the stories made what he was saying come off as fact, even though he briefly warned against it in the forward.
It was definitely highly intelligent and full of information, but it didn't keep my attention very well.