Customer Reviews

A Walk Through Time: From Stardust to Us--The Evolution of Life on Earth

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A Walk Through Time - From Stardust to Us - The evolution of Life on Earth.

A Walk Through Time (AWTT) is an incredibly well done book, from all aspects. The artwork and printing make it suitable for display and the content challenges us to re-think our position in the world and the decisions we are making.

The explanation of evolution is both plausible and understandable to the lay person. Yet the mystery of life is not diminished or hidden, so there is more than enough room for those who understand our existence through their love of God.

Beginning more than 5,000 MYA (5,000 Million Years Ago, or 5 Billion Years Ago) we are told, the "universe did indeed begin in an explosion of energy powerful enough to send all matter flying apart for billions of years into the future." From that starting point, AWTT traces with considerable detail the evolution of our living earth of which we are a part. And everywhere the mystery of "the life force" is to be found.

One can read the prose or follow the exhibition text along the bottom of the pages, or take in both to re-enforce what is being explained. Sidney Liebes managed to convince HP of the merits of creating a 1mile "walk through time." That project is staffed by volunteers and has been presented in a dozen venues in three countries. The "exhibition text" mentioned above is from that project.

The final paragraph of the book summarizes the challenge for our existence in this totally interconnected web of life. "Is it possible that a sense of awe, wonder and humility, of origins, place, possibilities, and recovery of a belief in the sacredness of nature, can, and perhaps must, become operational imperatives in guiding humanity into the future? Rather than pondering the illusive purpose of life, can we not accept and appreciate the gift, live the life we are given, respect all life, and preserve options for the future. Though none of us has the power to control the future, each of us is free to determine how we will contribute to the circumstance out of which the future will evolve."

Perhaps the purpose of life is simply to ensure that life continues. Then there is much in this book to set us on the right path.

Keith Cowing, Editor of the Astrobiology Web: I grew up in Meriden Connecticut in the 1960's, and like most boys, was fascinated by dinosaurs. Lucky for me, we lived an easy half hour drive from the Peabody Museum at Yale University. One of the most prominent features at the museum for half a century is a large mural by Rudolph F. Zallinger high above the Great Hall of Dinosaurs. This mural was often used in a number of Time-Life books (which I devoured) to depict the march of time and evolution of life. As such, this mural - and its linear format -long ago became fixed as the mental template with which I view and interpret the history of life on Earth. In the Summer of 1997 I had the opportunity to attend a Gordon Conference on the origin of life. One of the poster sessions featured a rather unusual presentation: a series of images describing the origin and evolution of life on Earth - from inorganic chemistry to humans. The pictures were arrayed in a linear fashion in the hallway outside the meeting room. This was a small version of Sid Liebes' wonderful 'Walk Through Time ... from stardust to us; A Five Billion Year Walk' exhibit. When implemented in its full-blown configuration (one mile long) one can spend a leisurly hour or so walking through time. Now Sid and his co-authors have managed to capture this exhibit in a book. 'A Walk Through Time' captures that exhibit in a portable format - with a text deftly designed to both teach the novice as well as entertain the seasoned biologist. Topics range from the formation of the very elements that compose our star, our planet, and ourselves through the formation of our solar system - and Earth. As the book continues, it describes the deposition of the ingredients for life on Earth, life's appearance, diversification, and expansion across this planet - all in a sequential fashion. A chronological timeline on the bottom of each page helps callibrate your movement across time. When you put the book down, you're left with a clearer appreciation for how fast life appeared (as soon as it could), how long it remained in a relatively simple state, how fast evolutionary explosions could transform Earth's biota, and how infinitesimally small our own tenure on Earth truly is. Moreover, using this book to look at the world now and then back at our heritage, it also becomes clear that this planet is still overwelmingly populated by simple organisms similar to those which ruled the Earth for billions of years. Life is both innovative and conservative at the same time. If there was ever a book designed for an Astrobiology (or Biology) course for non-majors dealing with the origin, evolution, and distribution of life on this planet, this is it. Highly recommended.

"A Walk Through Time" is a stunning tale of the history of the universe from the very beginnings to the present. Accompanied by photos and graphs on every page, I was able to see my own evolution and interconnections with all elements of the universe as never before. Particularly fascinating were explorations of how distinctions between animate and inanimate are blurring, and of how every aspect of Earth - soil, rock, water, and air are permeated and altered by living creatures. We are kin to all. With disturbing evidence, the book describes how humans are now precipitating what could become the greatest extinction of species in the last 65 million years and these effects threaten the diversity and stability of life for 10's of millions of years into the future. With detail and clarity, the book describes what science has recently discovered and where our understandings are incomplete. Like the planet itself, our story will continue to evolve. And the story told has the power to unite humanity in our commitment to the future.

I never had the opportunity to see the "Walk Through Time" exhibition, initiated by Sidney Liebes and supported by Hewlett-Packard, but it must have been a marvelous experience. What rivets my attention in this book, however, even more than the beautiful pictures of the exhibit, is the text written by Elisabet Sahtouris, who expresses her own "cosmovision" with an incomparable eloquence and vitality. While her words are grounded solidly in the most advanced theoretical and empirical evolutionary science, she takes the reader not on a walk but an exciting dance through time. If I were asked to recommend just one book that best told the story of how the universe conspired to bring us into being this would be it. It's a real "roots" story but the roots are not merely those of a particular individual or family or species but of all life, reaching back to the point where time itself loses meaning.

Keith Chandler, author of Beyond Civilization

I find the book,A Walk Through Time to be a treasure. The beautiful illustrations depicting the evolution of life are compelling and instructional. We live in an age where story telling is now recognized as being vital to understanding. This book, in text and pictures, tells the most important story of all...our story. My first response after reading A Walk Through Time was that it must be shared with the school children. It will help teach the understanding of connectedness, something that has long been missing in many science classes. I suggest that anyone orderering a copy, order an extra one to donate to your local school. Jane Stavoe Mt Prospect, Illinois

I've just terminated to read this book and it was very interesting in many respects: - The text is well written and a pleasure to read; - Sometimes you have a fact per line, which shows the incredible work done by the author to synthesize a huge amount of knowledge on the subject; - Essential things are said and you'll have doors open for further readings; - The fact that timescale is respected as the text goes on gives a striking perspective of life's evolution over the millions and millions of years; - The first stage of evolution (unicelled creatures) is longly explained; - The incredible role of living creatures (especially bacteria) in shaping our planet is highlighted; - Emphasis is put on the unity of life in it's diversity.

But there are some shortages : - Pictures are of poor print quality; - There is a lack of details, especially after the microbial stage.

Globally speaking, if you want the life's story before animals and plants, it's a good book, but otherwise, the Book of Life by S. J. Gould is better. However, in my opinion, it's a good buy and one can learn many many things by reading this book.

This book!! I have not in recent memory read a book that has affected me so profoundly! Oh, not all at once, since it took a while to become acquainted. The onset of feelings of appreciation and awe did not set in until I was almost finished with the book, and evolved further as I reflected upon it from time to time. Those reflections, though, revealed gaps in my understanding such that I had to read it again. And I don't think a second reading will even be enough to fully savor the implications of this tale.
It is the story of our true ancestors, the single celled bacteria and their progeny. How the cooling earth finally allowed them to form: aggregations of simple molecules that somehow `learned' to form a protective membrane, the first cell wall, the formation and aggregation of more complex molecules with the acquisition of certain chemicals and compounds that could be used as energy to develop and reproduce. Then the accumulation of so many handy compounds that a nucleus was developed to store them for future use.
They covered the earth for millions of years, learning to adapt to climate and other environmental changes and exhaustion of food supplies, learning to use, in turn, the sugars, sulfur compounds, nitrogen and carbon compounds, oxygen and even sunlight and whatever else. They have survived any number of extinctions, taking about a million years after each one to repopulate the earth.
They have learned cooperation in the formation of colonies. They have learned the advantages of specialization within those colonies, and this cellular intelligence and cooperation eventually led to the formation of simple plants and animals. As most of now know, this has finally evolved into the mammals and human beings.
It is rather humbling, at least in my eyes, to realize that my body is composed of millions of intelligent, cooperative and vigorous single celled creatures embarking on the adventure of creating and successfully operating a human body! And then to realize that all life forms are also composed of these same creatures. And that cellular intelligence continues to this day, maintaining our bodies despite stresses of every kind, and learning to overcome noxious environments, such as the antibiotics meant to kill them!
So yeah! They now have my deepest appreciation and respect for what seems to be their highest peak of evolution: The Human Body!

This is the most interesting book I've read in years; Profeser Liebes presents the history of evolution from stardust to us, at the end of the book, I came to the conclusion that all forms of life on the planet, including humans are actually single cells of a larger life form, the planet earth.
In an informative, enjoyable and easy to read book, "A Walk Through Time" presents a holistic theory of evolution that emphasises symbiotic co-evolution of geo-bio-matter admidst the theme that while life starts out in a state of competition, all life forms even on a cellular level learn to cooperate, develop symbiotic relationships that enable life to first develop and then evolve billions of years to present day.
The power, intelligence and uniformity of the sheer will of all life to evolve,(particularly at the cellular level) was indeed a thought provoking eye opener and reminded me of some of the philosophical ideas of Shopenhauer(will to live), Nieztche, Spinoza(Panentheism), Henri Bergson(Elan Vital), Hegal(Zeitgeist) and Pierre Teilhard De Chardin.
This book left me with a profound feeling of awe, wonder and humility. I would recomend this book to all people,especially those who enjoy philosophy and those seeking a more meaningful cosmology.

When I first picked up the book, I feared it would be no more than a long National Geographic article on the earth; a collection of semi tired aphorisms about the wonder of nature and the virtue of diversity, ideas which as yet have not inspired action from conviction. I wondered if yet another book, another long article with pictures on the nature's wonders would really matter. After all, what approach to extolling nature's majesty is not frayed with over use? Sermons on nature temporarily draw our minds into sharp focus then loose their hold on our individual and our cultural consciousness. After brief focus we quickly return to the casual, unconcerned, blind mode of stewardship as if the message of the wonder of nature was never thought nor said. What new could this book offer? Could this book tell the earth story differtly? Was reading still another thicket of pages with worn out words a waste of time? I decided to find out.

Written by a physicist, and a mathematically trained cosmologist and an evolutionary biologist I figured it may offer a new twist. After all, this earth we are so careless with is poorly treated because we poorly understand it. We poorly understand it because it is more complex than we can understand and comprehend. We see the creation as matter when it is system. Our religions have taught that creation was in the past, and the earth as static. Yet we know now that creation is perpetual and the earth a flux. Even modern minds see the earthly creation as the materialization of only one or a few of the many processes that have brought it and us to this hour. We are blind to the broad and majestic array of material and process which we call earth and which dances before us and within us.

None of us has the intellectual capacity or the training to fully understand, comprehend, perceive or appreciate the elegant system that is us and our world. We are in effect blind to the multidimensional, multifaceted organic time brewed and painfully evolved system of which we are a part. We have no capacity for understanding or visualizing the intricate interrelationship between the various components of the system, nor to understand fully that each component is not an isolated component but yet connected to all other components in infinite degrees of intensity and import. We humans are not equipped by nature with the mental tools to see this complexity because such understanding had no survival value in our genetic history.

If then we are careless with the creation because of our inability to perceive, then could these three authors' collaboration present the earth system in such a way that we may better see and understand it? Did they collaborate on a book to bring the breadth, depth and vision of each author's discipline to our individual consciousness? I read the book to find the answer.

I brought to the book a topical knowledge of many of the ideas expressed in the book, ideas that science presents as factual history and method. I did not expect this book to take me into new depths of understanding scientific facts. It is not a book of heavy science theories. Rather it is a book which lists many science conclusions. But in certain important ways it did shed valuable new light on many of the scientific conclusions. This new insight derives from the context of the individual conclusions as explained more fully below.

What I had underestimated before reading the book was how fragmented my science knowledge was. I suspect that most of us have such fragmented knowledge. After all , most of us have read scientific theories over time in a haphazard order as determined by which magazine or book was accessible when we were in a mood to and had time to read science material. Most of us do not have a systematic and coherent body of scientific knowledge.

This book was a great help in bringing the vast array of exciting knowledge about the earth and its impressive history into a coherent and understandable format. In fact the great virtue of this book is its orderly development of increasingly complex systems and processes in a context of time and dependence on previous events and other then extant facts. This development of world within the context of time and other related development allows one to place stages of evolution into a valuable perspective. I have not seen this done in any other work. This added perspective encourages us towards a system of values because values derive from comparisons and choices from within specific context. Without the context offered by this book, scientific facts are isolated and sterile and too abstract for comparative valuing. With the ability to value developments comes enhanced ability to make wise choices. This promotes wisdom. Wisdom is what we need the most as we exercise dominion of our earthly home.

This is not to denigrate the amount of or quality of scientific fact set forth in the book. The book covers so much scientific insight over a range of expertise of three prominent authors in disparate scientific fields that anyone will surely gain much valuable insight into the natural world. It is a valuable aid to perception of that illusive miracle, our world that unfolds right before our eyes each moment.

Obviously the book does not have the whole truth. The whole truth cannot be stated. Yet it is a tremendous aid to the vision we must acquire if we are to steer this earthly ship safely and harmoniously. We are not doing that. We have not been doing that. We don't know how to do that. But we must or else. We have taken charge, so we must take responsible charge. This book can help. I hope many people read it.