Customer Reviews

Prehistoric Life: The Definitive Visual History of Life on Earth

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

DK has certainly made a name for itself in producing a long line of visually stunning, reference books. Prehistoric Life is a good example of a genre that DK seemed to have invented. The visuals are perfect. DK has some secret printing method that allows its pictures to be excitedly fine textured and vivid. The writing which could be quite pedestrian is well done and done at a adult level. The material is very current and original. It presented material that was totally new to me: the prototaxites on pages 114-115 which look like an eerie spike that was over 26 feet tall and could be either a plant or a fungus. I also liked that DK didn't dwell on dinosaurs (although it has a lot of material about them) but also spent time on plants and invertebrates. At 512 pages it covers a lot of territory. And at the bargain basement price it carries, if you are going to get one book about ancient life, get this book. My only quibble is that the maps showing the distribution of the continents are needlessly simplified. However, that said, I am going to give this my highest recommendation.

This is your typical coffee table book from DK Publishers. Massive in size as well as scope, it covers everything from the beginnings of the planet until we settled down and started farming. With breathtaking CG images as well as real pictures of fossils, "Prehistoric Life" will entrance younger members of the family, while its informative text and nicely-arranged narrative will give adults all the prehistory they can handle. What you have here is a high-quality tome, printed on thick, glossy paper. It gives the impression that you should have paid $100.00 or more for it. Quite a value at the price offered here. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.

This work is a masterpiece. It tells the whole story of our planet, life here and the causes and effects of changes through time. It is both highly scientific and highly visual. It should be the founding text of any life sciences curriculum. I can't put it down.

In general I agree with many of the other reviewers. It's a well-illustrated book, discussing each time period, with beautiful photographs of fossils. I also enjoyed how plants were featured, a vital component of any environment, which are frequently shortchanged in these sorts of tomes. There was also detailed information about featured lifeforms, as opposed to the 'Evolution: Story of Life' book, which this has been compared to.

However, unlike others I was not impressed with the CGI illustrations. Few seem very lifelike, some barely 'adequate', and many are in static poses on an unremarkable backdrop (i.e. blue water, green grass, ect). Additionally, there's far too much emphasis on small fossils in the photographs. The giant arthropods of the Paleozoic are barely even mentioned. I suppose it's easier to prominently photograph a half-inch long trilobite rather than a six-foot eurypterid, but to fail to include these remarkable creatures even in CGI reconstruction? Hardly 'definitive'.

Despite these shortcomings, it IS a wonderful book, especially for the pricetag. However, I recommend 'Evolution: Story of Life' as a companion book, as it's better for full environment reconstructions. I purchased both, and the two compliment one another very well.

This was recommended to me by a female friend of mine who is a huge dinosaur buff and can spot a bad dinosaur product a mile away. She said this was a great reference and as a struggling geology and zoology student that I would love it. And she was right! It's a general access book for all ages. I'm 20 and I love. My 40-year-old mother loves it, my 14-year-old brother loves it, and my baby cousin would probably love it too. It doesn't have every single detail about ancient earth (and why would a single book do that), but it does cover ever major geologic era, from the Archean to modern day. Unfortunately, fans of the Hadean era will be disappointed because it still isn't scientific cannon and will not appear in this book. But what is great is that this book isn't just a dino book! There are dinosaurs, but also paleo-plants, insects, sea life, and environmental conditions. There are also maps of what scientists speculate the geography would be on the earth as well. It even takes a non-controversial approach to the evolution of modern humans in its last chapter, taking a brief look at the primates we supposedly came from. The illustrations in this book are also a plus. They are full color, big, vibrant, scientifically accurate, and just plain fun to look at!

This is one of the most beautiful,informative and spectacular books on Natural History ever made. It deals with everything from the origins of life in the sea to the evolution of man. I am fascinated with the subject. I am especially fascinated with the Natural History of Dinosaurs and yes the book does go into the history but it also takes you back to their origins. Mammals, Insects, Aquatic animals. Just about everything you need to read about the ancient Earth is here. This book is worth alot more than I paid for. Anyone interested in The Natural History of Life On Earth NEEDS to get this book!

if u are thinking about getting this book, Definitely purchase it! amazing beautiful color pictures with text explaining it all. so great to read through this book with about 2,500 images. if ur interested in fossils, how the earth began, evolution, the emergence of species, anything like that, u must have this book. i paid the full price but i dont even care. this book is so interesting to flip through i cant put it down. def a must have for anyone into science or anyone wanting to learn more about the amazing planet and how we evolved.

Prehistoric Life is an excellent pictorial book in the area of paleontology. It is filled to overflowing with illustrations, charts, etc., but don't let the "Visual History" (part of the subtitle) fool you. The book is also inundated with plenty of good text - both technically informative for the serious student, yet very readable for the interested enthusiast. The book is written from the typical evolutionary perspective. It is organized in chronological accordance with the standard geologic timescale. The lay-out makes it very easy to follow. Please note that this work is quite comprehensive in its subject matter. Despite the title, it deals with much more than just the successive appearances of organic life; it also deals with such matters as plate tectonics, climatology, etc. The book does an excellent job of showing the standard uniformitarian interpretation of Earth history from the planet's beginning up to the present time of humanity. This product is highly recommended. It's just a good book to have around as both a quick reference and/or a tome for extended study.

I buy lots of fossil books. This time I didn't read the reviews. So I wasn't expecting too much because of the low price. But the overall quality is stunning. I immediately bought four more copies so I can put them on library reserve for my evolution class, and to give as gifts. I would have paid much more for this book. The team that put this together should get some kind of prize.

The ultimate coffee table book. Got a minute - open to a page and read (or just look at the pictures.) Got an hour - read a chapter or two and learn.
I am enjoying this book.